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PENSIVE: Konchog “Kusho” Osel, 16 – once Donald Pham of Laguna Niguel – pauses after a study session at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, India. Cindy Yamanaka / The Register

Once his name was Donald Pham, and he was the shy son of a Laguna Niguel dentist. Now his name is Konchog "Kusho" Osel, and he's the youngest monk studying Buddhist philosophy in Dharamsala, India

Seven monks from the Tashi Lhunpo monastery in India will visit Reno next week, hoping to raise funds for their monastery in exile.The three days of events are free and open to the public, but donations are accepted.

Four foreigners - a Tibetan and three Nepalese - have been taken into custody by the police in Bihar's Bodhgaya where Kalchakra puja, the most sacred of the rituals of Mahayana sect of Buddhism, is in progress amidst heightened security measures, Police said today.

Thousands of Buddhists from abroad have flocked to the birthplace of the Buddha for a festival, but many are clearly unhappy over the poor facilities and infrastructure.

A number of devotees attending the Kalachakra puja has reached its peak in the last two days since the main initiation began. The Kalachakra Maidan is packed to its extended capacity

Ragdi, head of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Regional People's Congress

Ragdi and Lekchog have been re-elected as heads of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Regional People's Congress and the TAR Government respectively, the Chinese government announced on January 17, 2003.

testing

A record 200,000 people from across the globe are attending a Buddhist festival in eastern India, despite reports of death threats to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, officials said today.