“It’s Been a Big Week or So” – This Week’s Post is Up at Shambhala Sun Space!
by Danny Fisher
My latest “On the Buddhism Beat” post is now online over at Shambhala Sun Space. As I note in the post, the biggest news developments in the past couple of weeks (I didn’t do a post last week) revolved around “climate change—discussions about it, and its devastating effects in parts of the Buddhist world” as well as “stories about presidential politics (at home and abroad), and human rights concerns.” Of special note are developments in Sri Lanka:
The Venerable Battaramulle Seelaratana Thera is set to make history as the first Buddhist monk to run for the presidency of Sri Lanka this January.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s current president Mahinda Rajapakse and former army general Sarath Fonseka, who is also running in the election this January, “opened their campaigns [last] Monday with visits to separate Buddhist shrines.”
President Rajapaksa also “expressed his appreciation to the Buddhist monks for the guidance and blessings he received from the Mahasanga during the liberation of the country from terrorism.”
The country’s newly-appointed tourism minister, Achala Jagoda, plans to try to attract more visitors from “Buddhist countries.”
Read the rest here.
