South Africa bans Dalai Lama from Peace Conference

I guess you just can't please everyone, though I do like how the prime minister of the Tibetan-government-in-exile interpreted the situation:

"Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said South Africa was under pressure from Beijing and its decision to bar the Dalai Lama was a business matter.

'South Africa is a newly emerging country and China is giving it considerable economic resources so it is understandable,' he said Monday in Dharmsala, India. 'Every country has to protect its economic and political interests.' "

Read full article.

The Buddha as Astute Businessman, Economist, Lawyer

I regret not having attended this lecture by Gregory Schopen, chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and an authority on ancient Indian Buddhism.

"The Buddha was a businessman. But don't take anyone's word for it — it's written in stone.

Of all the iconic scenes found in the earliest Buddhist art from India, none are more striking than the sculpted representation of a title deed involving one of Buddhism's most venerable monasteries: The transaction, involving 10 million gold coins, clearly shows that, far from being an ascetic, other-worldly religious tradition, Buddhism was, in fact, "deeply entangled with money – and a very great deal of it at that," according to Gregory Schopen, chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and an authority on ancient Indian Buddhism."

Read Full Article.