Trumpet player, Plaza de la Catedral, Havana, Cuba, West Indies, Central America

Novice Buddhist monks sparring, Nanwu temple, Kangding, Sichuan, China, Asia

Novice Buddhist monks sparring, Nanwu temple, Kangding, Sichuan, China, Asia

Cathedral of Kananga, Central Kasai, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa

Malagasy worshippers praying at Ambohimanga Royal Palace, Antananarivo, Madagascar

Woman holding a candle in Vezelay abbey, Sainte-Marie-Madeleine Basilica, Yonne, France

Islamic prayer beads for sale in market, Ampel Arab Quarter, Surabaya, Java, Indonesia

Al Akbar Surabaya National Mosque, The holy books of Quran, Surabaya, Java, Indonesia

Al Akbar Surabaya National Mosque, Muslim man praying on carpet with arch design pointing towards Mecca, Surabaya, Java, Indonesia

Al Akbar Surabaya National Mosque, Muslim men praying together at Friday prayer, Surabaya, Java, Indonesia

Al Akbar Surabaya National Mosque, Muslim men praying together at Friday prayer, Surabaya,Java, Indonesia

Muslim woman praying with islamic beads in hand, religious meditation, worship, Ramadan concept, Surabaya, Indonesia

Woman reading an old Bible in a church, Tan Chau, Vietnam

Eighteen Arhats of Mahayana Buddhism await return of Buddha as Maitreya, Long Quang Pagoda, An Giang Province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

One of Eighteen Arhats of Mahayana Buddhism await return of Buddha as Maitreya, Long Quang Pagoda, An Giang Province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Islamic Holy Book Quran with rosary beads, Ramadan concept, Indonesia

Hand and lotus flower, Guan Yin (Quan Am) (Bodhisattva) (Goddess of Compassion), Cau Dung Pagoda, An Giang Province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

View of ema (small wooden plaques), Nishikubo Hachiman Shinto Shrine, 5 Chome, Toranomon, Minato City, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

View of ema (small wooden plaques), Nishikubo Hachiman Shinto Shrine, 5 Chome, Toranomon, Minato City, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

Miko or shrine maiden (Young women serving in a Shinto shrine) at Kasuga Taisha Shinto shrine, Nara, Japan

Calligraphy monks, Kofuku-ji Buddhist Temple, Nara, Japan

Prayer room in Henjoko-in Temple, Pilgrim's and tourist lodging (Shukubo), Mount Koya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, East Asia

Details of high relief on the western Gopuram (gate tower) at Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore district, Chennai (Madras), Coromandel Coast, Tamil Nadu state, South India, Asia

Followers bathing in the 'Sarovar' pond whose water is considered holy, inside Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the most prominent Sikh gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, in Delhi, India, Asia

Monk at the Tibetan Buddhist Hemis Monastery, Ladakh region, state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Asia

Monk at the Tibetan Buddhist Hemis Monastery, Ladakh region, state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Asia

Ishiyama Wakamiya Daimyojin Shinto shrine within the walls of Osaka Castle, Japan

Makha Bucha (Magha Puja) celebrations, monks pray under illuminated Buddha statue annually at Wat Phan Tao temple, Chiangmai, Thailand

Enryakuji Temple of Mount Hiei, sacred mountain, near Kyoto, Honshu, Japan

Buddhist monk performing daily duties in Chiangmai, Thailand

Women carrying offerings at the annual Makha Bucha (Magha Puja) celebrations, Wat Phan Tao temple, Chiangmai, Thailand

Close-up of Thai money offerings in blue temple interior, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Celebration of Purim festival, Rabbi reading the Meghilat (Book of Esther), Beth Loubavitch Synagogue, Montrouge, France

Celebration of Purim festival at Beth Loubavitch Synagogue, Montrouge, France

Maundy Thursday celebration and foot washing ceremony, Saint Philippe du Roule Catholic Church, Paris, France

Faithful people touching the grave, Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, Padua, Veneto, Italy

Offerings and prayers to the temple deities, Asian woman praying, Guan Di Chinese Temple, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tac Say Church (Father Diep Church), believer praying after lighting incense, Bac Lieu, Vietnam

Prayer at home, Bible with a religious image on a cushion, Malaysia

Thien Quang Buddhist Pagoda, Vesak celebration, Birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha, bathing infant Buddha to purify the heart, Tan Chau, Vietnam

Thien Truc Buddhist Pagoda, Quan Am (Quanyin) (Bodhisattva of Compassion) (Goddess of Mercy), Bac Lieu, Vietnam

Thien Truc Buddhist Pagoda, Reclining Buddha, the final Nirvana, Bac Lieu, Vietnam

Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang, Catholic Mass, Holy Communion, La Vang, Vietnam

Wong Tai Sin Temple,Kowloon Peninsula,Hong-Kong,People's Republic of China,Asia

Ablutions, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Catholic church, Rosary and crucifix, praying the rosary, Hail Mary full of grace, Vietnam

Holy Quran with Muslim prayer beads and Bible with rosary, Interfaith symbols between Christianity and Islam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The killing tree, dedicated to those killed during the Khmer Rouge conflict at Choueng Ek, Phnom Pehn, Cambodia, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Spiritual leader dressed in leopard skin in the Church of Black People in Mbandaka, Equateur province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa

Spiral incense, Kun Iam buddhist Temple, goddess of Mercy, Macau, Special Administrative Region, China, Asia

Makha Bucha (Magha Puja) celebrations, monks pray under illuminated Buddha statue annually at Wat Phan Tao temple, Chiangmai, Thailand

Faithful sitting and reading Kuran in Moulay Driss I Mausoleum (Maqam Moulay Idriss), Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, Morocco

Hindu priest performing puja, Hindu Temple and shrine of Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Close-up of small, blue Buddha statues arranged on shelves, symbolizing serenity and devotion at Sanzen-in Temple, Kyoto, Honshu, Japan

Pha Chiao Sing Kham temple gate at Muang La, Oudomxay Province, northwestern Laos

The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, 1685, Church of Gesu (Buon Consiglio), Museum of Sacred Art, Lecce, Salento, Apulia, Italy

A young sadhu reads holy scripture near fire. Worship is part of daily life. Some sadhus chant mantras. gayatri mantra is of several mantras that sacred incantations or mystical formulas of ancient literature. gayatri mantra given by brahma mentioned in rigveda is named after consort of brahma: o that glory- of savitri most high. Oh divine us mediate upon. it inspire understanding. goal of recitation is to attain realization. Practice lead mind into a transcendental union with deity.Pashupatinath, kathmandu, nepa

Purchang (cremation palace) of h.h. Dilgo khyenste. Bhutan. H.h. Dilgo khyentse rinpoche (1910-1991), tutor to present dalai lama revered as of greatest exponents of dzogchen- teachings of great perfection. Khyentse rinpoche®s purchang (cremation palace), satsam chorten, below paro takstang, bhutan, november 4, 1992 never forget swiftly this life will be over, like a flash of summer lightning or wave of a hand. that have opportunity to practice dharma, do waste a single moment on anything else, practice with your energy.oe h.h. Dilgo khyenste rinpoche, heart treasure of enlightened ones my delight in death is, greater than delight of traders at making vast fortunes at, or of lords of gods vaunt their victory in battle or of those sages have entered rapture of perfect meditative absorbtion. So just as a traveler sets on road when time come to go, i will remain in this world no longer, will dwell in stronghold of great bliss of deathlessness. -longchenpa, fourteenth- century dzogchen master

Pilgrims making a ritual offering, and praying, ghats in Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

pilgrims and sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

pilgrim bathing in the sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Barber shaving the head and beard of a pilgrim, Dashashwamedh ghat (main ghat), in Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Pilgrims praying and bathing, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

pilgrim bathing in the sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Followers of the Christian sect of Fifohazana, sunday mass, Soatanana village, Madagascar

Access door to Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

pilgrim and sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Interior of golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Pilgrims praying, golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Interior of golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

pilgrims and sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Sadhu meditating, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Pilgrims praying and bathing, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Pilgrims making a ritual offering, and praying, ghats in Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Pilgrims making a ritual offering and praying, ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Pilgrims praying and bathing, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Sadhu meditating, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

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

Men praying and bathing, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

pilgrims and sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Followers of the Christian sect of Fifohazana, sunday mass, Soatanana village, Madagascar

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

Baeber shaving the head and beard of a pilgrim, Dashashwamedh ghat (main ghat), in Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Pilgrims praying and bathing, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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

Pilgrims praying and bathing, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Pilgrims in a boat sailing and praying, Ganges river, in background the ghats, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Pilgrims making a ritual offering and praying, ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Interior of golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

pilgrims and sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Pilgrims praying and bathing, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Dashashwamedh ghat (main ghat), in Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

pilgrim and sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

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

Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India