News of the bombing of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya on July 7, 2013 came as a great shock to Buddhists far and near. Bodhgaya is the holy site where the Buddha gained Enlightenment and has become a holy pilgrimage centre for Buddhist from all over the world. It is also of international importance as it is declared a World Heritage Site by United Nations Educational and Scientific Organisation. Till today we still do not know why and who targeted the Mahabodhi temple for this violent act.

Bangkok (19 May, 2013) -- The Mahamakut Buddhist University (MBU) awarded Venerable Wei Wu, the founder and council chairman of IBC, the Honourary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Buddhist Studies.

Venerable Pannyavaro , the founder of Buddhanet devotes his life to the meditational aspects of the Buddha's teachings. We were indeed fortunate and blessed to have him conduct a 1-day workshop on Satipatthana-Vipassana and Loving-Kindness meditation techniques during his short stay at Than Hsiang Temple on his visit to Malaysia recently.

To start at the beginning-

9.00 – 9.30am: Arrival of Venerable Pannyavaro and 14 participants.

It all started back in April 2011 when Than Hsiang Temple (THT) and the Penang Municipal Council were planning for a river clean-up campaign and they needed an activity for warming-up before the clean-up began.

Ven. Zhen Ti Shifu then suggested to Master Tang Chin Yong to start a Taijiquan class under the THT banner so that by the time the campaign started, the class would be ready to lead the performance.

As a part of Than Hsiang Temple Social Responsibilities program, a blood donation campaign was

organized by Than Hsiang Mitra Welfare Association Penang on 23rd March 2013. Our co-organizer,

the Penang General Hospital sent 14 members of the staff to Than Hsiang Temple at 9am to set up

counters and beds for the blood donation drive in the Great Compassion Hall at the ground floor.

Tadika Than Hsiang organized the 3rd annual Transmission of the Ten Good Deeds on the 15th March 2013, to parents, teachers, Ai Xin Ba Ma and Than Hsiang kindergarten children.

The ceremony for parents and teachers was held at 9:00am in the Multi Purpose hall on the ground floor.

On 26 of February, 2013 , Tadika Than Hsiang organized a birthday celebration for children born in the month of January and February.

I. CULTIVATION AND EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS

●Cultivation