The new year brings a fresh start, symbolized in some cultures by the cherubic baby New Year who replaces the old year that has come to a close. In Japan, the roly-poly god Hotei, who is often ...

Wesak (or Vesak) is the annual (well not exactly annual since there is no Wesak in 2020) birthday celebration of Siddhartha Gautama, the first and best of all Buddhas who lived from the sixth to the ...

Brahma at the Erawan Shrine, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, the creator. If people are in deep anguish, Erawan Shrine is where they can pray to Brahma for their wishes to be granted. All ...

DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama has often called himself a simple monk, but millions of his Tibetan Buddhist followers have worshipped him for decades as a near deity. They also see him as ...

I'd say it depends on the mission's purpose. If it's civilian, and the government talks about it openly to the Chinese people, I imagine it's highly symbolic and relevant. People want to relate to ...

Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. Megan Bryson, University of Tennessee (THE CONVERSATION) The new year brings a ...

One more note - in China, very few people are exclusively one religion or another. If someone actually says they're only a Buddhist in China, they're probably in religious orders as a monk or a nun.