On the way between Kusinagar and Vaishali, we paid homage to the monumental ruins of Kesaria Stupa, (10 KM from Rampur Khajuria on National Highway 28, about three hours drive from Kusinagar, 120kms from Patna). According to some scholars, this is the place where Prince Gautama cut his hair to renounce the world, after leaving his palace...

From Shravasti, our pilgrimage proceeded to the long journey to Sankisya (called Sankassa in the scriptures, or Sankasya) the place where the Buddha is said to have returned to earth, after preaching the Abhidhamma in Tushita Heaven and teaching his deceased mother. Until recently, Sankisya was rarely visited, since it lies in very remot...

Over the past thirty years more and more scientists have been showing genuine interest in the Buddhist views of the mind and of its relation to the body. As a result some scientific institutions, in America and in Europe, have undertaken some research. This collaboration has two purposes: First, simply to expand our knowledge, not only a...

From November 20 to 23, at New Delhi in India, the XXIII meeting of the Mind and Life Institute gathering a remarkable array of contemplatives of the ancients Indian traditions (Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism) together with Indian and Western scientists, in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai-Lama, who had long aspired for such a meeting t...

Shravasti, located approximately 175 kilometers from Lucknow, is the place where the Buddha spend the longest period of his life, including twenty-five rainy seasons retreats. It is said that this is also the place where he began to perform a series of miracles. The merchant Anathapindika, who was very devoted to the Buddha, as well as t...

The pilgrimage led by Yangsi Khyentse Rinpoche and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche began on December 9th at the birthplace of Buddha Shakyamuni, at Lumbini in Nepal. On 10th morning, the Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Memorial Stupa dedicated to universal peace was consecrated by the Lamas and monks of Shechen monastery, together with a hundred monks of the...

From December 9th to 26th, a group of pilgrims, led by Yangsi Khyentse Rinpoche and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, visited the 8 major Buddhist sacred places of Nepal and India, to consecrate 8 Stupas that were built, one in each place, in fulfillment of the wishes of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991). About 60 monks and another 50 disciples from...

From an interview recently published in the French press (end). For what cause would you be ready to die? If it could save a few lives. I hope that I will have the courage to do so, would such circumstances occur. How would you like to die? The mind filled with joy and fully lucid, blending my mind with that of my spiritual ma...

From an interview recently published in the French press (continued). According to you, the height of luxury is�? It is spending a few months in retreat, facing the Himalayas. Which object is indispensable according to you? There are only useful objects. The only thing that is indispensable is to put an end to suffering. C...

Thorbjorn Jagland, the Chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee said at the recent ceremony in Norway: ‟People like Liu Xiaobo are not dissidents, they represents the world's common values and standards.” Pointing to Liu Xiaobo's empty chair, Jagland said: ‟This fact alone suggests that the Price was necessary and appropriate.” He also reminded ...