Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0608/p06s03-wosc.html

On June 8, 2004 The Christian Science Monitor reported, "Seven strangers pulled into [Mis Ainak, Afghanistan] a few weeks ago with a keen interest in a nearby Buddhist temple. They asked the local villagers why they wanted to work for pennies when they could make hundreds of dollars stealing Buddhas instead. The villagers' response? On May 16, they called the cops and had the...

Source: Straits Times

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,254943,00.html?

On June 7, 2004 the the Straits Times reported, "Hindu priests and Buddhist monks joined in religious prayer at the $2.25 million Arulmigu Velmurugan Gnanamuneeswarar Temple in Sengkang yesterday. The sculptural and ornamental works in the Hindu temple...got off to an auspicious start when MP Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar GRC) placed the main sangus, or...

Source: Belinet

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/147/story_14710_1.html

On June 5, 2004 Beliefnet reported that "Buddhists are coming together in Washington D.C. in response to the war in Iraq. The leader of this effort Hugh Byrne, a Buddhist minister at Georgetown University and meditation teacher at the Smithsonian Institution, helped to organize The Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowship in early 2003. The group's first public event was a peace walk from the...

Source: The Sun Herald

Wire Service: AP

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/8841405.htm

On June 4, 2004 the Associated Press reported, "A grouping of Christian, Jewish and Sikh organizations is urging Congress to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Twenty-six organizations, ranging from the 2.3-million-member Episcopal Church, USA, to the 60,000 represented by the...

Source: ABC Central Victoria

http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/news/200406/s1124249.htm

On June 4, 2004 ABC Central Victoria reported, "Work will start today on a $10 million Buddhist temple near Bendigo. The design is based on the Great Stupa built in Tibet during the 15th century. The building will be 50 square metres across the base and about 50 metres high. Work on the foundations will begin this morning after a special ceremony. A spokesman says the...

Source: Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0406040161jun04,1,3180154.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed

On June 4, 2004 the Chicago Tribune reported, "Buddhism teaches that change, or the 'impermanence of all things,' is part of life. Faith in that notion will be on display June 12 at two temples in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood when area Buddhists try to reshape their...

Source: Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/metro/des3_20040603.htm

On June 3, 2004 the Detroit Free Press reported on Gehlek Rimpoche, a Tibetan monk who is the founder and director of Ann Arbor's Jewel Heart, an international Buddhist center, and the creator the the Tara Box. "The Tara Box is about half the size of a Kleenex box, lavishly decorated with pictures of flowers, fruits and the mountains of India. It's a small altar with a statue of Tara, the most...

Source: Xinhuanet

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-06/02/content_1504671.htm

On June 2, 2004 Xinhuanet reported, "The Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Linxia in northwest China's Gansu Province is known as the 'little Mecca' in China for the existence in peace and harmony of residents of different ethnic groups and different faiths. The prefecture has a population of 1.92 million. People of Hui ethnicity constitute 56 percent of the total population....

Source: Honolulu Advertiser

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Jun/01/ln/ln05a.html

On June 1, 2004 the Honolulu Advertiser reported, "A sea of glowing lanterns floated from the shores of Magic Island yesterday evening, their flickering orange light a symbolic beacon to the dearly departed as they return to the spirit world. Thousands of people went to Magic Island last night for the annual Toro Nagashi ceremony. Toro Nagashi is the Buddhist...

Source: The Scotsman

http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=616672004

On May 31, 2004 The Scotsman reported, "The Dalai Lama, who began his six-day visit to Scotland on Saturday, has said that the country’s devolution settlement could prove a useful model for a form of government which would bring peace to his homeland of Tibet. The Tibetan leader said there were many parallels between Scotland and Tibet, and that a form of devolved government may pave the way to...

Source: The Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/living/religion/8786037.htm

On May 31, 2004 The Kansas City Star published an interview with a Buddhist leader and a Baptist Pastor on whether or not religion is vital to leading a good life. Lama Chuck Stanford of the Rime Buddhist Center...

Source: The Honolulu Advertiser

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/May/31/il/il01a.html

On May 31, 2004 The Honolulu Advertiser reported, "Nanette Napoleon has seen the strangest things left as graveyard memorabilia, or what she calls 'visitation goods.' We're not talking about people bringing lei, flowers or photos to their family's graves. We're not even talking oranges or tangerines, cans of beer, bottles of soda, incense, cups of tea,...

Source: The Journal News

http://www.nyjournalnews.com/newsroom/053104/a0131buddhists.html

On May 31, 2004 The Journal News reported, "To religious chants and drumming, hundreds of Chinese Buddhists came to the Chuang Yen Monastery yesterday for the inauguration of a walkway designed to put adherents on the spiritual journey to enlightenment. The two-hour ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Western hemisphere's largest Buddhist temple dedicated the Bodhi Path,...