Rev. Danny Fisher

Image via the Rimé Foundation.
…is Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. For the full story, check out Daniel Goleman’s post for the New York Times blog Happy Days.

MahaSangha News reports on the 2009 International Conference for Buddhist Sangha Education:

To celebrate the birthday of Ven. Master Wu Yin, her disciples organized a two day conference on monastic education, followed by a two day temple tour. The conference was held in Taipei, Taiwan, May 30-31, and drew 400 people. Bhikshunis (Buddhist nuns) and university professors spoke on a variety of topics centering on Buddhist Sangha Education.

Find out more about the conference (including Ani Thubten Chodron‘s comments and reportage) here.

[Ven. Master Wu Yin. Image via Snow Lion Publications.]

This from the Maitreya Project in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India:

Dear Friend of Maitreya Universal Education School,

We realise this is a difficult economic time for all of us – and that includes our extraordinary school and its 500 students in Bodhgaya, India.

We are writing to you urgently because the school depends on your kindness and generosity to function during this time of global economic trouble.

[...]

Until the last few months we have managed to cover the costs with about 300 individual Child Sponsorships and further donations from major sponsors, but due to the global economic crisis sponsorship levels have dramatically fallen since 2008, for example:

Only 30 out of 300 Child Sponsors have renewed in 2009.
Even following our April ’09 appeal only 22 new Child Sponsors have come onboard.

Although we are doing our utmost to minimise costs, we remain very far short of our requirement and feel we have to advise all our supporters that we face some difficult and dire decisions without your help.

The cost of a Child Sponsorship is minimal when compared to the cost of sending a child to school almost anywhere else in the world.

Please, if you have not done so already, kindly reconsider and donate whatever you can to assist us so we can continue providing education to the children of Bodhgaya in Bihar, the poorest part of India.

Sponsor the education of a child:


• by direct debit .. $20 per month
  
• for 1 year … $240
  
• a whole class for one month … $500
  
• a whole class for one year (11 months) … $6,000
  As well as knowing deserving children are benefiting from your generosity, you will receive:
  
• a fact sheet and photo of your nominated child
  
• the school’s electronic newsletter The Good Heart
  
• a yearly report about the progress of your sponsored child and the school
  Other ways to support the children’s education:
  
  Sponsor nutritious lunches for 1 year:
  
  • for 1 child … $80
    
  • for a whole class … $2,000
    Sponsor books for 1 year:
    
  • for 1 child … $20
    
  • for a whole class … $500
    Sponsor school uniforms (shirt/pants/sweater for boys and blouse/skirt/sweater for girls)
    
  • for one child … $20
    
  • for a whole class … $500

  [...]

  Please note: sponsorship amounts are shown in US Dollars. All currencies will be automatically converted to the equivalent dollar amount at the time of the donation.

  Thank you for your kindness!

Donate here.

“A Burmese woman dressed as pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi takes part in a protest in New Delhi.” Photo by the Agence France-Presse.
Here are today’s headlines about Burma: