Thailand Buddhism

Every morning Buddhist monk Pipit Sarakitwinon takes walks around his temple and does hundreds of arm exercises, part of a new regimen aimed at shedding pounds as a health overhaul for members of the clergy gathers pace in Thailand.

Indian Railways will run a special train equipped with world class facilities on the Buddhist circuit to attract tourists from Japan, China, Thailand and Sri lanka by the end of December this year, an official said on Wednesday.

Buddhism may be touted in the West as an inherently peaceful philosophy, but a surge in violent rhetoric from small but increasingly influential groups of hardline monks in parts of Asia is upending the religion's tolerant image.

A motorcycle bomb killed three civilians and wounded two dozen others on Monday at a bustling morning market in Thailand's insurgency-hit south, the first such attack on a "soft target" in the Muslim-majority region for months.

Thailand today cremated the kingdom's top Buddhist leader more than two years after he died, in a long and elaborate ceremony attended by the Crown Prince.

The dome of Bodh Gaya's 1,500-year-old Mahabodhi temple, Buddhism's holiest shrine, has been inlaid with nearly 300 kg gold donated by devotees from Thailand -- giving the shrine a new look.

Every morning Buddhist monk Pipit Sarakitwinon takes walks around his temple and does hundreds of arm exercises, part of a new regimen aimed at shedding pounds as a health overhaul for members of the clergy gathers pace in Thailand.

Indian Railways will run a special train equipped with world class facilities on the Buddhist circuit to attract tourists from Japan, China, Thailand and Sri lanka by the end of December this year, an official said on Wednesday.

Buddhism may be touted in the West as an inherently peaceful philosophy, but a surge in violent rhetoric from small but increasingly influential groups of hardline monks in parts of Asia is upending the religion's tolerant image.

A motorcycle bomb killed three civilians and wounded two dozen others on Monday at a bustling morning market in Thailand's insurgency-hit south, the first such attack on a "soft target" in the Muslim-majority region for months.

Thailand today cremated the kingdom's top Buddhist leader more than two years after he died, in a long and elaborate ceremony attended by the Crown Prince.

The dome of Bodh Gaya's 1,500-year-old Mahabodhi temple, Buddhism's holiest shrine, has been inlaid with nearly 300 kg gold donated by devotees from Thailand -- giving the shrine a new look.