BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) — A group of firefighting monks was ready to defend a Buddhist monastery being threatened Tuesday by the so-called Willow Fire burning in the rugged central coast mountains south ...

Eight monks protecting the Buddhist center near Big Sur, Calif., are relying not only on training from professional firefighters but also on their Zen practice. By Michael Levenson Eight Buddhist ...

The zen monk expected a pre-dawn knock on his door, but the news on the other side wasn't what he anticipated. At first, Finnian Kelley, a member of the Tassajara Fire Crew, thought he'd missed his ...

More than a hundred of us slowly ascend the steep asphalt road that leads to the top of a mountain overlooking Deer Park Monastery, a 400-acre Buddhist monastic community in Escondido. We walk in ...