In 1996, Venerable Dr. Kusuma became the first Buddhist nun in 10 centuries to ordain in Sri Lanka. She later established a meditation center, wrote several books, and has given Dharma talks all over the world. An advocate of women’s ordination, Ven. Dr. Kusuma is credited with helping to revive the Theravada monastic tradition for Sri Lankan women.

Buddhist women—lay and monastic alike—make up half of the Fourfold Sangha. Naturally, they too should benefit from equal access to all Buddhist institutions, but the painful truth is that this ideal has not always been realized throughout history, and even today women continue to be underrepresented and denied rights and respect.

With a new law coming into effect later this month, Buddhist Temples across Japan will be able to rent out their spare rooms to tourists, opening up opportunities for temple stays across the country and allowing them to tap into Japan’s tourism boom.

As the United Nations marked the international Day of Vesak under the theme “Buddhist Contribution for Human Development,” in Thailand this month, the prime minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Dasho Tshering Tobgay, was invited to provide the keynote address for the Buddhist celebration, in which he spoke in detail on the growing need for global change founded in Buddhist values and based on a sustainable, holistic approach to development for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Buddhists in South Korea gathered on Tuesday to celebrate the Buddha’s 2,562nd birthday, an occasion marked by colorful lanterns, boy monks, and a joint inter-Korean prayer for peace.

North Korea’s Buddhist Federation has sent a prayer to the Association of Korean Buddhist Orders to mark celebrations of the Buddha’s Birthday, which falls later this month, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported. The move comes in the wake of warmer ties between the two Koreas following the historic inter-Korean summit and Panmunjom Declaration on 27 April.

SEATTLE—Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) has announced that it has received initial accreditation of its academic programs by the WASC* Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), a regional accrediting agency serving higher education institutions in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific.

Amid an avalanche of objections from furious monks, China’s securities market regulator has put a hold to plans for an IPO launch for a tourism venture associated with Putuo Shan—one of four sacred Buddhist mountains in China—noted for its numerous temples and golden statues of the bodhisattva Guan Yin.

SEATTLE—The Burmese-American organization Saddha: Buddhists for Peace, which describes itself as “a group dedicated to anti-racism and interfaith solidarity efforts,” has issued “An Open Letter to Burmese Buddhists Concerning the Rohingya” detailing their concern about the ongoing repression of the mostly Muslim ethnic group in eastern Myanmar. The organization is led by a diverse cross-section of Burmese from Buddhist backgrounds, some living in Burma and others outside the country.

THIMPHU—Speaking at the International Vajrayana Conference held in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu last week,* the prime minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Dasho Tshering Tobgay, proffered a new vision aimed at ensuring the preservation and development of the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition in the 21st century, proposing the establishment of an international center of Vajrayana Buddhism.