(RNS) Pope Benedict XVI starts tweeting on Wednesday, and like the Dalai Lama, the pope doesn't plan to follow anyone. Will the tweets be infallible? Will he use OMG or would that be sacrilegious? What holy hashtags will he create? By Regina Brett.

NEW DELHI (RNS) As China's Communist Party began meeting in Beijing this week, six more Tibetans set themselves on fire. Exiled Tibetan leader Lobsang Sangay said while he discourages self-immolation, it is the ``sacred duty'' of the exiled community to support it. By Vishal Arora.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (RNS) Lots of rock stars expect cushy perks at the venues where they perform: special food and drink, music, video games and even a puppy to play fetch. For the Dalai Lama, it’s all about the chair. By Emily Kulkus.

NEW YORK (RNS) The Dalai Lama has given Nicholas Vreeland, director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment. On July 6, Vreeland will be enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in Southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position. By Kim Lawton.

Imagine that thousands of people - including your father - recognized you as the reincarnation of a great Buddhist master. But you wanted no part of it.

NEW YORK (RNS) The 2012 Templeton Prize, which recognizes "spiritual progress" in the world, was awarded to the Dalai Lama for his long-standing support of the engagement of religion and science. By Chris Herlinger.

"My stand on self immolation is the same as that of the Dalai Lama, who has always discouraged drastic actions by Tibetans," says Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of Tibet's government-in-exile. "He does not even endorse hunger strikes."