Nicholas Kristof Op-Ed column asserts China is insisting on choosing next Dalai Lama as means of controlling Tibet; says Dalai Lama has delivered mischevious response in suggesting that perhaps Beijing should consider next lives of its own leaders if it is so interested in reincarnation; notes Dalai Lama's surprising admiration of Pres Xi Jinping and suggests he extend invitation for Dalai Lama to visit China; offers Dalai Lama's answers to reader questions. MORE

Court in Myanmar sentences Philip Blackwood of New Zealand and U Tun Thurein and U Htut Ko Ko Lwin to two years in prison each for using image of Buddha wearing headphones to promote event at bar where they worked; court rules that image violated country's law against insulting, damaging or destroying religion. MORE

Chinese Communist Party leaders, during annual gathering in Beijing, react angrily to comments made by the exiled Dalai Lama hinting that he might end his spiritual lineage and not reincarnate; move would upset their plans to announce a putative successor who would support China's policies in Tibet. MORE

Funeral for Wenjian Liu, who is believed to be first Chinese-American police officer killed in line of duty in New York, will be carried out in Buddhist tradition, and will also contain all the official trappings known to Westerners. MORE

Jody Jaffe and John Muncie travel article on Thailand's 'gong highway,' 21-mile section of road in eastern Thailand where gongs and bells are made for most of country's more than 30,000 Buddhist temples. MORE

Spiritual enlightenment sweeping America has strong ties to Buddhist mindfulness practice, thanks in part to Jack Kornfield, ex-monk and founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. MORE

Ashin Wirathu, radical monk from Myanmar who has preached hatred toward Muslims and is spiritual leader of campaign to boycott Muslim businesses, says his movement will join hands with a Sri Lankan group Bodu Bala Sena to 'protect Buddhism around the world'; group had been accused of instigating attacks against Muslims in Sri Lanka. MORE

Tibetan Buddhists in Yushu, China, have been flocking to Batang River to rescue small river shrimp; monks say growing interest in so-called 'life liberation' or 'mercy release' is part of surge of religious devotion that followed 2010 earthquake that claimed more than 3,000 lives. MORE

Historical tolerance shown by bygone Buddhist rulers is unraveling in Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, as antipathy between Buddhists and Muslims continues to spread; two people have died from riots, which have prompted nighttime curfew and left the country's best assimilated minorities fearful for their lives. MORE

Buddhist leaders in New York's Chinese neighborhoods have raised concerns about men who present themselves as monks and solicit money from passers-by; men, and some women who claim to be nuns, have become ubiquitous in places like Times Square; similarly attired men have attracted scrutiny around the world. MORE

Authorities in Myanmar have declared nighttime curfew and dispatched riot police to patrol streets following rampage by radical Buddhists that left two people dead; violence is part of series of disappointments that have dimmed euphoria that followed end to country's military rule; critics say that religious politicking has distracted leaders from democratic reforms. MORE

Authorities in Myanmar declare nighttime curfew in city of Mandalay after resurgence of religious violence between Buddhists and Muslims leaves two people dead and more than a dozen injured. MORE

Samuel G Freedman On Religion column; Tassajara Zen Buddhist monastery in Northern California offers female military veterans, who suffer from PTSD and other issues, a workshop retreat using principles of Zen Buddhism. MORE

Three people are killed and 78 injured in riots between Buddhists and Muslims in Aluthgama, Sri Lanka, after months of rising tensions; it is some of the worst religious violence in the country in decades. MORE

International dispute continues 13 years after Afghanistan's Bamian Buddhas were blasted into rubble; major donor countries insist that site be left as it is while Afghan government demands at least one be rebuilt. MORE

Nearly 750,000 people in Myanmar, mostly members of Muslim minority, have been deprived of medical services following government ban of Doctors Without Borders; government ordered halt to group's work after some officials accused group of favoring Muslim Rohingya ethnic group over Rakhine Buddhists. MORE

Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center at Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu, China, houses 12,000 works of Tibetan literature collected by American scholar E Gene Smith, mainly from Tibetan refugees during Cultural Revolution; center has prompted people across country to bring out old Tibetan manuscripts that were thought to be lost or destroyed. MORE

The Week column; architects in Nepal unearth Buddhist shrine erected as early as sixth century BC; discovery provides evidence that the Buddha may have lived centuries earlier than previously thought; other significant developments in science and medicine highlighted. MORE

Excavations by archaeologists at Lumbini, Nepal, which is said to be the birthplace of Buddha, have uncovered evidence suggesting that Buddha's birth may have been as early as sixth century BC, which is much earlier than previously believed. MORE

Stabbing death of elderly Muslim woman Daw Aye Kyi by Buddhist mob in Myanmar is stark symbol of breadth of anti-Muslim feelings in this Buddhist-majority country; growing hatred appears to be fueled by teachings of radical Buddhist group 969. MORE

About 50 members of Muslim minority in Myanmar are feared drowned after trying to flee Rakhine State in a boat that sank; minority Rohingya Muslims have been leaving country in droves since clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, who make up a majority of the state's population, erupted in 2012. MORE

Buddhist mobs kill 94-year-old Muslim woman and burn more than 70 homes in Rakhine State, Myanmar; sectarian violence once again grips region despite visit by President Thein Sein aimed at resolving tensions. MORE

Bagan Journal; curators are working in Myanmar to assemble exhibit of Buddhist art that will travel to Asia Society in New York City in 2015 and offer a rare glimpse into the countrys history. MORE

United Nations human rights envoy visiting Myanmar says that confrontation he had with mob made him empathize with victims of the countrys deadly sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims. MORE

Wes Nisker Preoccupations column relates how as a teacher of Buddhist principles, who once depended only on his students generosity, he found a more sustainable income through his Buddhist-inspired comedy routine. MORE

Sri Lankan police impose a curfew on a Colombo neighborhood, day after a Buddhist-led mob vandalized a mosque in an episode that has heightened religious tensions in the country and prompted a statement of concern by the United States. MORE

More than 20 Buddhists are sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison for murder and other crimes for March incidents of violence against Muslims in Myanmar; sentences do not erase sense of unequal justice in country where Muslim minority has borne most of legal brunt for Buddhist-Muslim violence. MORE

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warns Myanmar government of 'dangerous polarization' between Buddhists and Muslims, urging leaders of Buddhist-majority country to resolve citizenship for nearly one million stateless Muslims near border with Bangladesh. MORE

Series of explosions rock one of Buddhism's holiest sites in Eastern India, attack that officials call an act of terrorism; two people are wounded in explosions at Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. MORE

Yangon Journal; those in Myanmar's Muslim minority say they are constantly wary and fearful of attacks from country's Buddhists, unsettling change after decades of peaceful religious coexistence; root of violence, which has left around 200 Muslims dead, appears partly legacy of country's colonial history. MORE

Myanmar government awards major telecommunications contracts to two foreign companies, milestone in country's connecting with rest of world; Buddhist monk Ashin Wimala, one leader of radical nationalist Buddhist movement, calls for boycott of one company, Ooredoo, because it is based in Muslim country of Qatar. MORE

Nationwide fundamentalist movement of extreme Buddhism has grown in Myanmar, with hate-filled speeches and violence against Muslim minority revealing darker side of country's greater freedoms after decades of military rule; Buddhist agenda includes boycotts of Muslim-made goods, and lynch mobs have killed more than 200 Muslims and forced more than 150,000 people from their homes. MORE

Court in Myanmar finds two Muslim women guilty of setting off sectarian violence, one of them by bumping into a Buddhist novice monk; both are sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor for 'insulting religion.' MORE

Editorial calls on Myanmar government to speak out and act against anti-Muslim violence in country; warns that news reports of more frequent clashes suggests radical strains of Buddhism may be spreading, and such deadly sectarianism will undermine efforts to stabilize the country. MORE

Security forces in Myanmar struggle to bring peace to northern city after Buddhist mobs set fire to mosque, Muslim school and shops, latest outbreak of religious violence in country and sign that radical strains of Buddhism may be spreading. MORE

Court in Myanmar sentences seven Muslim men to prison on charges related to incidents of religious violence in March that left more than 40 people dead and chased thousands from their homes; Muslims are critical of decision, saying that most of violence was carried out by Buddhist mobs attacking Muslims. MORE

Buddhist mobs overrun two mosques and set fire to over 100 homes in central Myanmar, killing one person and wounding at least nine other people. MORE

Myanmars venerated Buddhist order, the Sangha, has become largely corrupt and a breeding ground for sectarianism. MORE

Simmering religious and ethnic violence in Myanmar spreads beyond its borders when brawl breaks out at immigration center in Indonesia between Muslim and Buddhist detainees, leaving 8 dead and 15 wounded. MORE

Myanmar's government arrests dozens of people in connection with anti-Muslim protests by Buddhists and some will go on trial within days. MORE

Pres Thein Sein of Myanmar says he is prepared to use force to quell religious rioting that has shaken country, answering calls even from longtime democracy advocates for more forceful security measures. MORE

Major commercial area of Yangon, Myanmar, shuts down after rumors spread of sectarian attacks on Muslims; shutdown reflects nervous mood in country after deadly rioting by Buddhist mobs. MORE

Deadly rioting between Buddhists and Muslims further underlines how ethnic and religious fissures in Myanmar pose serious impediments to democratic change in country; interviews with ethnic leaders suggest some minorities are more pessimistic than ever about hopes for reconciliation. MORE

Army units restore order to city in central Myanmar devastated by three days of religious rioting and arson attacks; state news media says 32 people died in violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Meiktila. MORE

Myanmar Pres Thein Sein declares state of emergency in area of city of Meiktila and orders military to assist in quelling riots that residents say have left at least 20 people dead; religious violence in city between Buddhists and Muslims underlines what residents say is vacuum of authority. MORE

At least five people in central Myanmar are killed in fighting between Buddhists and Muslims, another sign of resurgence of communal violence that is testing country's fledgling democracy. MORE

Project aimed at restoring artwork of two of three main Buddhist monasteries in Lo Manthang, Nepal, stirs debate; some scholars of Tibetan art say painters are altering important historical murals and jeopardizing scholarship; those involved in project argue residents want complete artwork in their houses of worship. MORE

Investigation by an independent council of Buddhist leaders claims that renowned 105-year-old Buddhist teacher Joshu Sasaki groped and sexually harassed female students for decades, taking advantage of their loyalty and his exalted position. MORE

Op-Ed article by freelance journalist Andrew Lawler warns that Chinese engineers, with encouragement of American government, are preparing to demolish vast complex of richly decorated ancient Buddhist monasteries in Afghanistan because they sit atop one of world's largest copper deposits; contends that destroying humanity's common heritage limits understanding of past. MORE

Thailand's monks and Buddhist temples, once central parts of village life, have become marginalized as country grows more secular and wealthy; while many countries have undergone shift from sacred to secular as they have modernized, rapid pace of change in Thailand is particularly striking. MORE

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