Nuns Cross Farm under stars, Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Catholic nun stands at a window in the Vatican, Vatican City State

Young female monks waiting to receive rice from donors, Pyay, Myanmar, Asia

Nun sewing, Popenguine, Thies, Senegal, West Africa, Africa

Nun in Dzogbegan Benedictine Abbey, Danyi Dzogbegan, Togo, West Africa, Africa

African nuns, Popenguine, Thies, Senegal, West Africa, Africa

Seamstress at Akepe Catholic Monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

St. Clare nuns at Akepe monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Catholic mass in Lome, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Reuilly Protestant nun, Versailles, Yvelines, France, Europe

Catholic nun, Fadiouth, Senegal, West Africa, Africa

Holy confession, Ars-sur-Formans, Ain, France, Europe

Nun's rosary, Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe

Praying nuns, Popenguine, Thies, Senegal, West Africa, AFrica

Nun at mass, Popenguine, Thies, Senegal, West Africa, Africa

Benedictine nun making religious vestment, Urt, Pyrenees Atlantique, France, Europe

Holy Sacrament adoration at Akepe monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Prayer at Akepe monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Mass in Akepe Catholic Monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Catholic nun teaching in a secondary school, Lome, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Nun lighting a candle at the Lourdes shrine, Lourdes, Hautes Pyrenees, France, Europe

Nun's cross and ring, Danyi Dzogbegan, Togo, West Africa, AFrica

Mass in Akepe Catholic Monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Catholic mass in Lome, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Catholic nuns, Vientiane, Laos, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Cards made at Akepe Catholic Monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

S. Maria Maggiore, Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe

Mass in Akepe Catholic Monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

St. Clare nuns at Akepe monastery, Akepe, Togo, West Africa, Africa

Sang sang rimpoche uses the dorje, a sacred ritual object to make the first decisive cut into the sand mandala on the last day of the mani rimdu festival. chiwang monastery, solu khumbu, nepal. solu khumbu, nepal

Nun Lin Kong village (Akha Tribe), detail of Akha ladies hat, Kengtung (Kyaing Tong), Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Nun Lin Kong village (Akha Tribe), Akha lady, Kengtung (Kyaing Tong), Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Thupten choeling nuns prepare butter-salt tea at nunnery-kitchen. solu khumbu, nepal

Fire ritual at chiwang monastery during the mani rimdu festival. these monks circumambulate the pyre after its ignition. one holds a long book wrapped in a felicitous scarf. the purifying fire takes the offering and raises them towards the sky in smoke. the circumambulatory ritual also recalls the way disciples showed respect for the buddhas body. solu khumbu, nepal

Monk beating traditional drum called gong, int he courtyard of chiwang monastery during mani rimdu festival. chiwang monastery, solu khumbu, nepal

Nuns give out bread at Romanov Chapel of the Holy and Life-giving Cross, Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine, Europe

India. Nuns and girls at prayer. Mary matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

India. Dancing girls. Mary matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

India. Study and reading time, helped by sister bincy joseph.Mary Matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

India. Nuns and girls at prayer. Mary matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

India. Study and reading time, helped by sister jane thennattil (director).Mary Matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

India - health: saint josephs hospice for cancer patients, kottayam, kerala

India. Sister bincy joseph aruviyil serving, during mealtime at the mary matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

Ethiopia nun with painting she made of mary mihur eyesus orthodox monastery, gurage

Italy the funeral of pope john paul ii at the vatican in rome, 8th april 2005. Catholic nuns paying their respects

Religion, ethiopia. Monk and nun staying in the caves near the churches of lalibela

India - religion - christian elderly cmc catholic sister at koonamavu convent, kerala

Myanmar nuns attending catholic wedding of tribal kachins at myitkyina, a largely kachin community in north burma near chinese border

TANZANIA The Roman Catholic Parish of Buza, Dar es Salaam. Sunday mass. Nun giving sacrament to the sick sitting outside church. photograph by Sean Sprague

India - health st. Josephs hospice for cancer patients kottayam, kerala

India. Study and reading time. Mary matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

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

Buddhist nuns collecting morning alms, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

India. Study and reading time. Mary matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

Religion catholic nun taking, , ukraine

Nun Lin Kong village (Akha Tribe), Akha lady, Kengtung (Kyaing Tong), Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Nun Lin Kong village (Akha Tribe), Akha ladies and children, Kengtung (Kyaing Tong), Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Myanmar attending catholic wedding of tribal kachins at myitkyina, a largely kachin community in north burma near chinese border

Buddhist nuns in front of tergar monastery in maha bodhi temple. Kalachakra initiation in bodhgaya, india

Myanmar attending catholic wedding of tribal kachins at myitkyina, a largely kachin community in north burma near chinese border

India. Study and reading time. Mary matha bala bhavan, a girls orphanage run by syro-malabar catholic missionary sisters of mary immaculate (msmi), chamal village, thamarassery diocese, khozikode, kerala. 2007

Russia - soup kitchen run by mother teresas sisters of charity for the poor and elderly, yuzhno sakhalinsk, sakhalin island, russian far east

Italy the funeral of pope john paul ii at the vatican in rome, 8th april 2005. Catholic nuns paying their respects

The Paya Shwedagon temple in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Nepal. Of footprints in forest that of is most large of contemplation, contemplation of death impermanence strongest impact buddha in udanavarg

TANZANIA Home of Compassion, for the sick and needy, Kigera village, near Musoma. Nun in red habit adoring statue of mother Mary. photograph by Sean Sprague

Russia - soup kitchen run by mother teresas sisters of charity for the poor and elderly - yuzhno sakhalinsk, sakhalin island, russian far east

Myanmar attending catholic wedding of tribal kachins at myitkyina, a largely kachin community in north burma near chinese border

Nuns collecting morning alms, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Nuns collecting morning alms, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Italy, Rome, Vatican, St. Peterõs Square, Fountain Nuns Visiting

Italy, Rome, San Paolo Basilica,

Italy, Rome, Ponte San'angelo, Angel Statues By Bernini, Nun Passing By

Medieval stained glass in St. Neots church on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Nuns praying before eating their meals, Sakyadhita Thilashin Nunnery School, Sagaing, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma)

Nuns queuing for a meal, Sakyadhita Thilashin Nunnery School, Sagaing, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma)

A young nun studying, Sakyadhita Thilashin Nunnery School, Sagaing, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma)

Nuns queuing for a meal, Sakyadhita Thilashin Nunnery School, Sagaing, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma)

Nuns praying before eating, Sakyadhita Thilashin Nunnery School, Sagaing, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma)

A young nun at the Sakyadhita Thilashin Nunnery School, Sagaing, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma)

Nuns eating their meals, Sakyadhita Thilashin Nunnery School, Sagaing, near Mandalay, Myanmar, (Burma)

Disabled Child

Disabled Teenager

Medicine Mali

Medicine Mali

Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, Mother with child in hospital

Nun, St. Emmanuel Church

prayer ceremony, Nunnery Huangting, Heng Shan south, Hunan province, Hengshan, Mount Heng, China, Asia

Nuns in front of the Facade at Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano Rome Italy

Tibetan monks and nuns on Tiananmen Square, taking pictures, Gate of Heavenly Peace, Mao Zedong, Beijing, People's Republic of China

Nun at symbolic rice oblation, Changcheng monastery, Jiuhuashan, Anhui province, China, Asien

A nun heating up the stove in the kitchen of Nunnery Huanting, Heng Shan South, Hunan province, China, Asia

A monk and a nun at the monastery at Golden Lock Pass, Hua Shan, Shaanxi province, China, Asia

Portrait of a chinese nun, Nunnery Huanting, Heng Shan South, Hunan province, China, Asia

A nun drying tea leaves, nunnery at the village Minyuan, Jiuhua Shan, Anhui province, China, Asia

Interior view of the nunnery's kitchen at the village Minyuan, Jiuhua Shan, Anhui province, China, Asia

Baptisterium, Cathedral, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

A monk and a nun at the monastery at Golden Lock Pass, Hua Shan, Shaanxi province, China, Asia

Cremation ceremony for a passed away Jain nun, Palitana, Gujarat, India, Asia

Praying members of the sect Cao Dai, Tay Ninh, Vietnam, Asia