Danny Luong, Daniel Ball & Michael Chan, The Calgary Journal:

Calgary man becomes monk in quest for enlightenment…

In a country where non-Christian religions represent only 1 per cent of the total population, Buddhism is often misunderstood.

But one Calgary man is finding understanding by all means necessary.

20-year-old Brandon is a self-described, “white monk” living among mostly Vietnamese monks at Bat Nha Buddhist temple – known by its patrons as Prajna Pagoda – in southeast Calgary.

Brandon now goes solely by his dharma name – a new name acquired during a Buddhist initiation ritual – Prajna Kusala. Philosophy and spirituality…

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Writer Megan Bishop-Scott has had this one idea percolating in her mind for some time now.

What she calls a “flash mob meditation” in Calgary where people get together for the spiritual practice.

The challenge, she says, is helping people understand what meditation is all about.

One of her main contracts is writing life histories for foster children.

“Because of that, I’ve actually been asked to go to group homes where some of these really hard foster kids are,” she says. “I’ve taught them how to meditate. And they get it in a second. Basically what I explain to them is that life …

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It is a stressful time for university students who are in the middle of writing final exams but now a little relief can be found on campus.

Staff at the University of Calgary’s Wellness Centre say students are all feeling the pressure of finals and dealing with the holiday season.

To help students cope, they have converted a dance studio in the Kinesiology Department on campus into a stress free zone.

The overhead lights are turned off and soothing music is played and a labyrinth is laid out in the middle of the floor for walking meditation.

“Sometimes they don’t even need …

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