Buddhist worshipper burning incense sticks, Chua On Lang Taoist Temple, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Tibetan monks and the Tibetan Buddhist temple of Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, Asia

Devotees gathered in the grounds of the 12th century Jagannath Temple, dedicated to Lord Jagannath, embodiment of Krishna, waiting for a sign from Krishna, in Puri,the oldest of India's four holiest Hindu religious centres, State of Odisha, India, Asia

Pilgrims, devotees and locals outside the walls of the Jagannath Temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath, an embodiment of Krishna, situated in Puri,the oldest of India's four holiest Hindu religious centres, in the State of Odisha, India, Asia

Hindu Sadhu holy man with traditional robe reads on steps of the Ghats in holy city of Varanasi, Benares, Northern India

Hindu Sadhu holy man with traditional markings in street in Nandi near Varanasi, Benares, Northern India

Devotees at Mookambika Temple, Kollur, Karnataka, India, Asia

Koneswaram Kovil Hindu temple, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, Asia

The Memorial Stupa and Buddhist devotees, Thimphu, Bhutan, Asia

Devotees attending the Makha Bucha Buddhist celebrations where relics of Buddha are enshrined at the Royal Park Rajapruek, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Devotees attending the Makha Bucha Buddhist celebrations where relics of Buddha are enshrined at the Royal Park Rajapruek, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

The Memorial Stupa and Buddhist devotees, Thimphu, Bhutan, Asia

Devotees chanting kirtans in the Sarcelles ISKCON temple, Sarcelles, Val d'Oise, France, Europe

Devotees attending the Makha Bucha Buddhist celebrations where relics of Buddha are enshrined at the Royal Park Rajapruek, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Devotees attending the Makha Bucha Buddhist celebrations where relics of Buddha are enshrined at the Royal Park Rajapruek, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Buddhist visitors applying gold leaf as traditional offering at Dhamakh Stupa at Sarnath ruins near Varanasi, Benares, Northern India

The Memorial Stupa and Buddhist devotees, Thimphu, Bhutan, Asia

Indian Hindu pilgrims bathing in The Ganges River at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Holy City of Varanasi, Benares, India

Procession of female Buddhist devotees with offerings at the sacred Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy, Sri Lanka, Asia

A line of women at a ceremony for the ordination of Buddhist monks, Bagan (Pagan), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Hindu pilgrim with turban at Dashashwamedh Ghat in holy city of Varanasi, Benares, India

Candomble devotees celebrating Lemanja festival in Rio Vermelho, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, South America

Entranced devotee embodying Orixa (Orisha) Oxosse during Lemnaja festival on Rio Vermelho beach, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, South America

Lighted candles offering Buddhist prayers at Dharmarajika Stupa at Sarnath near Varanasi, Northern India

Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Asia

Devotees performing a Harinam during Janmashtami Hindu festival at Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Devotees at the Sun Temple, Modhera, Gujarat, India, Asia

Incense sticks, Taoist temple, Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Candomble devotees celebrating Lemanja festival in Rio Vermelho, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, South America

Hindu pilgrim with turban at Dashashwamedh Ghat in holy city of Varanasi, Benares, India

Indian man at Holi Festival, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

The Memorial Stupa and Buddhist devotees, Thimphu, Bhutan, Asia

Hindu pilgrim from Jharkand wearing the trident-shaped mark worn by the devotees of Vishnu, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, Asia

Priest and devotee performing aarti, Haridwar,Uttarakhand, India, Asia

Buddhist worshipper burning incense sticks, Chua On Lang Taoist Temple, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Devotee, Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Hindu pilgrim with turban at Dashashwamedh Ghat in holy city of Varanasi, Benares, India

Devotee singing and playing cymbals, Chariot Festival, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Priest and devotee performing aarti, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India, Asia

Entranced Hindu devotee restrained, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Buddhist monk passes prayer flags at Mulagandhakuti Vihara Temple at Sarnath near Varanasi, Benares, Northern India

Devotees making garlands at Krishna-Balaram Hindu temple, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Buddhist worshipper with incense sticks, Khanh Van Nam Vien Taoist pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Man praying in copy of the Grotto of Massabielle, St. Philip Church (Huyen Sy Church), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Khmer woman praying in a temple, Cambodia, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Devotees rally round Amma, Mata Amritanandami, a Hindu guru, Cergy-Pontoise, Val d'Oise, France, Europe

Devotee with Buddha statue, Paris, France, Europe

A solitary mask dancer appears wearing a frightening mask and silk brocade. they circle the courtyard with sprightly leaps. called protectors of faith, or dharmapdla, the origins of figures like these can be traced back to the pre-aryan peoples of india. originally known as yaksas (literally, a wondrous thing), they were tree spirits, who were accepted by the buddhists as defenders of the faith. in nepal and tibet, as in india, local deities were converted into protectors. a devotee of an alien sect devised a means to humiliate the buddha and his disciples. the buddha discovered it and succeeded in converting him to his teaching. due to lack of wisdom, the buddha remarked, some could not realize the goodness of his disciples and he compared the ignorant to the blind and the wise to those who have eyes.nobody is condemned in buddhism, for greatness is latent even in the seemingly lowliest just as lotuses spring from muddy ponds. -the dhammapada. solu khumbu, nepal

Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims prostrating at the Jokhang temple, Barkhor, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Hindu devotees in the Sri Veerama-kaliamman Temple, Little India, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Asia

Thailand devotees praying and lighting incense. Ancient buddhist temple and stupa of phra pathom chedi, nakhon pathom

Pilgrims receive puriying essence blessings. Kalachakra initiation in bodhgaya, india

Between the villages of Nyaung U and Wetkyi-in, devotees at Shwezigon Paya first built by King Anawrahta and completed by King Kyansittha in 1087, Bagan (Pagan), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Between the villages of Nyaung U and Wetkyi-in, devotees at Shwezigon Paya (first built by King Anawrahta and completed by King Kyansittha in 1087), Bagan (Pagan), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Tibetan pilgrims in devotion. Kalachakra initiation in bodhgaya, india

Devotees offering prayer to sun god during "Chat Puja", a religous festival celebrated by the hindus in India, Kolkata, India

Devotee woman praying at the ghat ( river bank ) at dawn. Varanasi , India

Volunteers cooking for the pilgrims who visit the Golden Temple, Each day they serve free food for 60,000 - 80,000 pilgrims, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

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

Praying, in Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Delhi, India

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

Volunteers preparing onions for cooking to do meals for the pilgrims who visit the Golden Temple, Each day, they serve free food for 60,000 - 80,000 pilgrims, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Making chai. Volunteers cooking for the pilgrims who visit the Golden Temple, Each day they serve free food for 60,000 - 80,000 pilgrims, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Sadhus sleeping, in the ghats of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 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.

Person who recovers wood used in cremation, which has not burned completely, in Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ghat, on the banks of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

pilgrim bathing in the sacred pool Amrit Sarovar, 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.

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

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

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

Maiking chai. Volunteer cooking for the pilgrims who visit the Golden Temple, Each day they serve free food for 60,000 - 80,000 pilgrims, Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Cremation of bodies, in Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ghat, on the banks 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.

Cremation of a body, in Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ghat, on the banks of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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.

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

Bamboo to hold, at its top, baskets with offerings, in Panch Ganga Ghat, Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Men praying, in the Ghat of Yamuna river, Vrindavan, Mathura, 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.

Buffaloes, Lalita ghat, in Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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

Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ghat, on the banks of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 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