Nothing is permanent, so everything is precious. Here’s a selection of some happenings—fleeting or otherwise—in the Buddhist world this week.
Congratulations Father-To-Be Gyalwa Karmapa
Thaye Dorje, one of the claimants to the throne of the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, leader of one of the Karma Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, announced Friday that he and his wife, Sangyumla Rinchen Yangzom, are expecting their first child. The due date is in September, a statement said. “My heart is filled with joy. Sangyumla and I have a precious opportunity and responsibility to be parents, and follow the great examples of our own mothers and fathers,” the Karmapa said.
Last year, the Karmapa disrobed and married Rinchen Yangzom, his childhood friend. “I have a strong feeling, deep within my heart, that my decision to marry will have a positive impact not only for me but also for the lineage,” he said in a statement at the time, explaining that he would continue his duties as Karmapa except for performing ordinations.
Aung San Suu Kyi Human Rights Award Revoked
The US Holocaust Museum has revoked a human rights award given to Myanmar leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority in her country. “We had hoped that you—as someone we and many others have celebrated for your commitment to human dignity and universal human rights—would have done something to condemn and stop the military’s brutal campaign and to express solidarity with the targeted Rohingya population,” the museum said in a statement.
A Scholar Passes
Buddhist scholar and Pali translator Steven Collins has died at the age of 66. Collins, the Chester D. Tripp Professor in the Humanities at the University of Chicago, authored several books on Buddhist studies, including Selfless Persons and Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative.
Nepal Peace Run
Nearly 100 runners from around the world took part in a peace marathon in Lumbini, Nepal, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama. “The major objective of the marathon is to promote the Lumbini-Kapilvastu region at a national and international level by connecting spirituality with sports,” said Bikram Pandey, Chairman of Lumbini Peace Marathon.
Celebrating Losar
Tibetan Buddhists marked the end of Losar, the lunar new year celebration, this week. In Qinghai, China, massive thangka paintings were unveiled, while in Itanagar, the capital of the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the Silver Jubilee festival was held.
Mindfulness Meditation May Treat ADHD
A new study has found that mindfulness meditation can be helpful in treating adults with ADHD.
According to the study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders, while many medications can treat symptoms related to hyperactivity, they do not target emotion dysregulation. The researchers found meditation to be a feasible and acceptable treatment. “These findings add to a growing literature suggesting that mindfulness meditation for ADHD in adulthood is a promising intervention and indicate that a larger, randomized clinical trial is warranted,” the authors concluded.
Chinese Religious Rule “Threatens” Tibetan Buddhism
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights condemned a revised Chinese law at a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, saying that it threatens Tibetan Buddhism’s survival in China. “While they intend to regulate almost every aspect of religious life, in addition, the revised rules conflate peaceful religious practice with ‘threats’ to China’s security, creating a more dangerous political environment for monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists,” the rights group said in its statement.
Chinese President a Bodhisattva, Party Boss Claims
Despite alleged human rights violations, Chinese President Xi Jinping is now considered a bodhisattva, a Chinese official claims. Wang Guosheng, the party boss of Qinghai, where the Dalai Lama was born, said Tibetans who live there believe Xi has attained Buddhahood. “The ordinary people in the herder areas say, only General Secretary Xi is a living bodhisattva. This is a really vivid thing to say,” Wang claims. Tricycle has found no evidence that Xi has attained Buddhahood, but if we had to guess, he hasn’t.
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