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AP) – The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex – a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church. Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and the inclusion or exclusion of transgender people. Some examples: Christianity The Catholic Church’s disapproving stance toward gender transition is shared by some other denominations. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention – the largest Protestant denomination in the United States – adopted a resolution in 2014 stating...

VIDEO I know this Buddhist monk means well with his advice for controlling anger. Perhaps his suggestions would work for normal people. But for some people who appear to have been born angry, such as former mayor Alan Simon of Spring Valley, NY I don't think the monk's methods would have much effect. Perhaps something more drastic is called for. Paging Dr. Buddy Rydell!

The Buddha statue depicts Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in South Asia around 2,550 years ago. Born a prince, he would later renounce his worldly wealth and seek out enlightenment, eventually becoming the Buddha, a Sanskrit-derived word that means "the enlightened one," according to Buddhist tradition...The newfound statue dates to between A.D. 90 and 140, said Steven Sidebotham, a history professor at the University of Delaware who is co-director of the Berenike Project, told Live Science in an email.The 28-inch-tall (71 centimeters) statue shows the Buddha standing and holding parts of his robes in his left hand, representatives from the Egyptian...

We must have been fifteen or sixteen when we discovered the church visitor’s book. It was an old church, maybe medieval, and I would pass it with my school friends on our way to the town center. I’m not sure what possessed us to go in; it might have been my idea. I’ve always loved old churches. For a long time, I would tell myself that I liked the sense of history or the architecture, which was true as far as it went. Like the narrator in Philip Larkin’s poem “Church Going,” I would venture into any church I found,...

A new Pew Research Center in-depth report, “Spirituality Among Americans,” revealed that “7 in 10 U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual in some way, including 22% who are spiritual but not religious.” The 95-page report released on Thursday found that: 83% of all U.S. adults believe people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body. 81% say there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it. 74% say there are some things that science cannot possibly explain. 45% say they have had a sudden feeling of connection with something from beyond this...

(WNN) London, UNITED KINGDOM, WESTERN EUROPE: As a Buddhist myself I’ve been concerned like many others for over a decade about the treatment of indigenous Tibetans inside China, many who follow the spiritual teachings of the Dalai Lama, who received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. The changing face of modern China has had an open opportunity to bridge diversity of thought and religion within its borders over the last decade, but it has critically failed to do so. And it’s not just indigenous Tibetans who are feeling the pressures placed on them by the Chinese government today. Numerous youth...

TIBETAN spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says he's a Marxist, yet credits capitalism for bringing new freedoms to China, the communist country that exiled him. "Still I am a Marxist," the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader said in New York, where he arrived today with an entourage of robed monks and a heavy security detail to give a series of paid public lectures. "(Marxism has) moral ethics, whereas capitalism is only how to make profits," the Dalai Lama, 74, said. However, he credited China's embrace of market economics for breaking communism's grip over the world's most populous country and forcing the...

The greatest transportation explosion since post-World War II America is now underway in China, with the construction of a comprehensive intercontinental transportation network designed to ensure Beijing’s role as the undisputed leader of Asia. No better example of this progress can be found than the recent maiden journey of the US$4 billion Beijing-Lhasa Express, or “Railway of the Skies.” The train’s 2,500 mile journey in June through the once-impenetrable Himalaya Mountains and across the vast Gobi Desert marked an important national victory for Beijing’s communist leadership and another step forward in the country’s much-touted “Great Leap West” campaign. At a...

The Dalai Lama has apologised after footage showed him asking a boy if he wanted to suck the Tibetan spiritual leader's tongue. His office said he wanted to apologise to the child and his family "for the hurt his words may have caused". The video also shows the Dalai Lama kissing the child on his lips. "His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident," his office said.

The Dalai Lama has apologized for kissing a young boy on the lips and asking him to "suck my tongue" after a video of the incident sparked outrage on social media. The 87-year-old Buddhist priest "regrets the incident" and wishes to apologize to "the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused," according to a statement published by his office on Monday. "His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras," the statement adds. A video of...

The Dalai Lama has apologised after an unsettling video appeared on social media in which he kissed a young Indian boy on the lips before asking him to 'suck' his tongue. Footage of the uncomfortable incident showed the moment the Tibetan spiritual leader invited the boy on stage during a charity event at his temple in Dharamshala, India in February. In the video, the boy asks the Dalai Lama 'can I hug you?', to which Tenzin Gyatso responds: 'Okay - come!' The spiritual leader first asks the boy to kiss him on the cheek, before pointing at his lips. He...

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama sparked controversy after he was caught on video asking a young boy to suck his tongue after kissing his lips. The controversial incident happened when the young boy went to pay his respects to the spiritual leader on the stage. The clip, the origin of which is unknown, shows the Dalai Lama sitting on a chair surrounded by other monks. A young boy dressed in an orange colored shirt standing near the spiritual leader. The Dalai Lama is seen kissing the young boy on his lips as others around him break into laughter. The...

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama stepped out of his home after a year on Saturday to get first dose of the Covid-19 vaccineTibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama stepped out of his home after a year on Saturday to get first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 85, who lives at McLeodganj, was given the shot at Zonal Hospital, Dharamshala, early in the morning. Earlier, the district health authorities had planned to vaccinate the Dalai Lama at his home after the Indian government permitted provisions to inoculate the spiritual leader along with his core...

The 5,593-page government funding bill that includes the COVID-19 stimulus legislation also includes a section outlining the reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama. The legislation includes some notable sections that are not directly related to government funding or the pandemic.Section 342 of the bill outlines a "statement of policy regarding the succession or reincarnation of the Dalai Lama." Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, currently resides in exile in India after escaping from Tibet in 1959 amid a revolt against Chinese governance. Tibet was occupied by China in 1951 and incorporated as part of the East Asian nation.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama turns eighty-five today. The atheists in Beijing are eagerly waiting for him to die so that they can pick his successor. They will do almost anything to gain control of Tibetan Buddhism—and all religion in China for that matter. Tibetans wear the robes of tragedy. His Holiness fled China-controlled Tibet in 1959, crossing the Himalayas on foot into India just ahead of Chinese soldiers. He and his followers have now settled into the foothills of Dharamshala. In that town and around the world, Tibetans are now celebrating the Year of Gratitude for His Holiness, which...

The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the 14th person to hold the title, made waves this week when he said his successor, if a woman, needs to be physically attractive. “You once said that you would be open to a female successor,” BBC News reporter Rajini Vaidyanathan asked the religious leader, in a video interview published Thursday on Twitter.

* Dalai Lama claims 'Europe is for Europeans' and migrants should be sent back* The Buddhist warned Europe could be 'Muslim or African' if they are not returned* Spiritual leader said continent should help refugees get skills before going back* He also expressed his admiration for the EU for helping to stop global conflicts The Dalai Lama has warned that Europe could become 'Muslim or African' if refugees who have been taken in are not then sent back to their home countries. The Buddhist spiritual leader, who has been living as a refugee in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959,...

“Europe is for Europeans” With too many Muslim migrants, “the continent could become ‘Muslim’ or ‘African.'”“Only a ‘limited number’ of migrants should be permitted to reside in Europe” According to globalist labels, these are the “racist“, “Islamophobic“, “intolerant“, “EU democracy-threatening“, “far right“, “Nazi” words of populists like Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, and Italy’s Matteo Salvini right? Throw in Donald Trump too. Except, that they are not the words of “populists” who have been logically and responsibly aiming to protect their citizenry and democratic heritage, but are constantly attacked and disparaged, even by the Pope–the blind guide sitting comfortably, wealthy and...

The Dalai Lama criticized President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda on Thursday, and urged the United States to lead the world in caring for migrant children illegally crossing the southern border.

The Dalai Lama has told a press conference in Sweden that “Europe belongs to the Europeans”, asserting that refugees should be repatriated so they can rebuild their homelands. Speaking in the multicultural city of Malmö, where nearly half of residents are of foreign background, with Iraqis making up the largest single group, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism said Sweden is seen as “a peaceful, generally prosperous country” with a relatively small gap between rich and poor. “Spontaneously”, reports Norrköpings Tidningar, the Dalai Lama then “moved on to talk about one of the biggest issues in the Swedish election — the...