Monks light butter lamps on an auspicious night, watched by two fearsome masks, Boudha stupa, Bodhnath, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Man lights butter lamps in the early morning inside the Buddhist Deva Dharma Mahavihar temple on the edge of Swayambhunath (Swayambhu) (Monkey Temple) stupa on a hill above Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

Woman adding yak butter from her butter lamp to those in the Buddhist temple, Meru Nyingba monastery, Bharkor, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

A monk lights butter lamps on gilded shrine at base of stupa at dawn, Swayambhunath (Swayambhu) (Monkey Temple) Buddhist stupa on a hill overlooking Kathmandu, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nepal, Asia

Butter lamps lit in Mongar Dzong (monastery), built in the 1930s, one of Bhutan's newest dzongs, built without plans or nails, Bhutan, Asia

Joranda monks performing obeisance at temple containing a dhuni, an eternal butter lamp, at dusk, Joranda, Dhenkanal, Orissa, India, Asia

Prayer flags at Mebar Tsho, The Burning Lake, where Pema Lingpa is said to have held a burning butter lamp under the water, Bumthang, Bhutan, Asia

Joranda monks performing obeisance in prayer at temple containing a dhuni, an eternal butter lamp, at dusk, Joranda, Dhenkanal, Orissa, India, Asia

Joranda monks chanting in ritual prayer at dusk at temple containing dhuni, eternal butter lamp, Joranda, Dhenkanal, Orissa, India, Asia

Joranda monks performing obeisance in prayer at temple containing a dhuni, an eternal butter lamp, at dusk, Joranda, Orissa, India, Asia

Woman adding the melting yak butter from her lamp to those of the temple, Meru Nyingba monastery, Bharkor, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Butter lamp offerings to the Bagmati River flowing next to Brahmayani Temple. Newar Village Women wears "Haku Patasi" to the Temple. (Haku Patasi is garb worn by Newari woman). Bhaktapur, Nepal

Monks offer butter lamps. Kalachakra initiation, bodhgaya. India. Monks attending kalachakra initiation at mahaboudhi temple in bodhgaya, india. mahabodhi temple marks site of buddhas enlightment twenty-five hundred years. centuries have made pilgrimages across himalayas to sites connected with life of historical buddha. From a tantric perspective, pilgrimage is more than paying homage at sacred sites. Rather, it is that activities performed at these places become a memory of place itself. By attuning oneself through ritual meditation to this timeless presence, similar experiences be evoked

Butter lamps offering inside gompa of Leh Palace. Ladakh, India

Every night, Nightly puja on Dashaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Every night, Nightly puja on Dashaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Woman making offering, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Every night, Nightly puja on Dashaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Every night, Nightly puja on Dashaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Monk filling the butter lamps in readiness for the birthday celebrations of Wenshu, Shuxiang Temple, Mount Wutai, Wutai Shan, Five Terrace Mountain, Buddhist Centre, town of Taihuai, Shanxi province, China

Monk filling the butter lamps in readiness for the birthday celebrations of Wenshu, Shuxiang temple, Mount Wutai, Wutai Shan, Five Terrace Mountain, Buddhist Centre, town of Taihuai, Shanxi province, China

Oil lamps and butter lamps, woman lighting a candle, buddhist ritual, Luohan Temple, buddhist temple downtown, Chongqing, People's Republic of China

Oil lamps and butter lamps, women lighting candles, buddhist ritual, Luohan Temple, buddhist temple downtown, Chongqing, People's Republic of China

Oil lamps and butter lamps, woman lighting a candle, buddhist ritual, Luohan Temple, buddhist temple downtown, Chongqing, People's Republic of China

Butter lamps at the Mahabodhi Temple, place of enlightenment or awakening, "Bodhi" of Siddhartha Gautama, Bodhgaya, Bihar, India, Asia

Pilgrim and Tibetan monks refilling the brass bow with yak butter, Samye Monastery, Tibet, China, Asia

A sign indicates the room containing traditional Buddhist butter lamps at the Rumtek Monastery in Gangtok, Sikkim, India, Asia

Rows of traditional Buddhist butter lamps lined up in a storage room at the Rumtek Monastery in Gangtok, Sikkim, India, Asia