Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (C), who left Vietnam in 1966 and lives in France, walks among believers after finishing a speech at the opening ceremony of a requiem mass at the Non Nuoc pagoda in Soc Son mountain, 64 km (40 miles) north of Hanoi, April 20, 2007. Internationally renowned Zen monk Nhat Hanh on Friday led larger-than-expected crowds in a ceremony intended to heal wounds of the Vietnam war that ended 32 years ago this month. REUTERS/Kham (VIETNAM) 

Buddhists attend a requiem mass at the Non Nuoc pagoda in Soc Son mountain, 64 km (40 miles) north of Hanoi, April 20, 2007. Internationally renowned Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh on Friday led larger-than-expected crowds in a ceremony intended to heal wounds of the Vietnam war that ended 32 years ago this month. REUTERS/Kham (VIETNAM) 

Buddhists eat lunch during a requiem mass at the Non Nuoc pagoda in Soc Son mountain, 64 km (40 miles) north of Hanoi, April 20, 2007. Internationally renowned Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh on Friday led larger-than-expected crowds in a ceremony intended to heal wounds of the Vietnam war that ended 32 years ago this month. REUTERS/Kham (VIETNAM) 

A woman prays during the 'Hari-kuyo' festival at the Senso-ji temple in Tokyo February 8, 2007. Kimono-makers laid their old needles to rest during the 'Hari-kuyo' festival, which is a ritual of thanks and respect for the tools of the sewing trade, at Buddhist temples all over Japan on Thursday. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN) 

Mummified Zen Buddhist Vu Khac Truong who died in the 17th century sits
in a glass box after being restored in Gia Phuc village, 25 km (15.5
miles) south of Hanoi, Nov 29, 2003. Vietnamese scientists on Saturday
said they had completed the restoration of two mummies from the 17th
century which depicted Buddhist monks in a position of meditation.
REUTERS/Kham

HBM/FA 

A Vietnamese monk looks at the mummified Zen Buddhist Vu Khac Minh who
died in the 17th century in Gia Phuc village, 25 km (15.5 miles) south
of Hanoi Nov 29, 2003. Vietnamese scientists on Saturday said they had
completed the restoration of two mummies from the 17th century which
depicted Buddhist monks in a position of meditation. REUTERS/Kham

HBM/FA 

(From R-L) Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, Ven Kok Kwong of
Hong Kong Buddhist Association, Tong Yun-kai of The Confucian Academy,
Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kium of Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, attend a
joint prayer session in Hong Kong, June 2, 2003. Leaders from 12
difference religious and hundreds of their followers attend the prayer
session to honour the victims who died from SARS virus and to bless
Hong Kong. REUTERS/Kin Cheung

KC/DL 

Leading Vietnam dissident Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do, 72, sits in his study room at the Thanh Minh Zen monastery in southern Ho Chi Minh City. Do, who was released from jail last September, continues to speak out against Vietnam's communist regime and has issued a new plea for democracy and the restoration of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Photo taken April 1, 1999.

AJS/CC/CLH/ 

Leading Vietnam dissident Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do is seen in this file photograph taken April 1, 1999 in his study room at the Thanh Minh Zen monastery in southern Ho Chi Minh City. Police in southern Vietnam detained Do and a group of followers on Saturday to stop them making an independent aid distribution to Mekong Delta flood victims in defiance of a government ban. Penelope Faulkner of the Paris-based International Buddhist Information Bureau said Nobel Peace Prize nominee Do, deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), was detained in An Giang province and was being held at a customs office.

CC 

Singapore-born performance artist Evelyn Chen sits amongst lines made of poppy seeds during a performance of her work "Transience" at the First Site Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Union Gallery March 12. Chen, 25, who performs naked and encourages audience participation in her Zen Buddhist-inspired work, says she tries to reflect the impermanence of life in the performance which incorporates meditation, a ritual using poppy seeds, a drum and bowls of Chinese joss paper. She is in the final year of a Fine Art (Painting) degree at the city university.
??» 

Singapore-born performance artist Evelyn Chen has her face covered with poppy seeds after staging her work "Transience" at the First Site Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Union Gallery March 12. Chen, 25, who performs naked and encourages audience participation in her Zen Buddhist-inspired work, says she tries to reflect the impermanence of life in the performance which incorporates meditation, a ritual using poppy seeds, a drum and bowls of Chinese joss paper. She is in the final year of a Fine Art (painting) degree at the city university. ??» 

Singapore-born performance artist Evelyn Chen sits amongst lines made of poppy seeds during a performance of her work "Transience" at the First Site Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Union Gallery March 12. Chen, 25, who performs naked and encourages audience participation in her Zen Buddhist-inspired work, says she tries to reflect the impermanence of life in the performance which incorporates meditation, a ritual using poppy seeds, a drum and bowls of Chinese joss paper. She is in the final year of a Fine Art (Painting) degree at the city university.

WB/JIR 

Singapore-born performance artist Evelyn Chen has her face covered with poppy seeds after staging her work "Transience" at the First Site Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Union Gallery March 12. Chen, 25, who performs naked and encourages audience participation in her Zen Buddhist-inspired work, says she tries to reflect the impermanence of life in the performance which incorporates meditation, a ritual using poppy seeds, a drum and bowls of Chinese joss paper. She is in the final year of a Fine Art (painting) degree at the city university.

WB/JIR 

FOR RELEASE WITH STORY BC-HONGKONG-CHINA-ZEN - Freelance Sinologist Bill Porter poses with books on Zen Buddhism in Hong Kong. The author of intuitive travel accounts and award winning translations of Zen Buddhist Chinese scripture has sought the heart of China from nearly every vantage point, and Porter is setting out on a 50-day odyssey to visit 50 Chinese Zen monasteries and meet 50 Zen masters. Picture taken February 19, 1999.

BY/TAN/WS