Paro Dzong, Paro, Bhutan, Asia

Detail, Nechung Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Stupa, Samye Monastery, Tibet, China,Asia

Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Buddhist Festival (Tsechus), Haa Valley, Bhutan, Asia

Shedrub Choekhor Ling monastery, Mont Saleve, Haute-Savoie, France, Europe

Sunrise on a monastery stupa and prayer flags on Yedou Peak, 3058m, at Wutaishan (Five Terrace Mountain) one of China's sacred Buddhist mountain ranges, Shanxi province, China, Asia

Famous painting indicating the way to Nirvana, Simtokha Dzong, Bhutan, Asia

Tashigang Dzong, Bhutan, Asia

Ngong Ping, Po Lin Buddhist Monastery and temple complex, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China, Asia

Courtyard in Palcho Monastery, Gyantse, Tibet, China, Asia

Sacred texts, horns Cignil (cymbals) and yeti scalp, Namche monastery, Namche Bazaar, Nepal, Asia

Young Buddhist monks, Karchu Dratsang Monastery, Bumthang, Bhutan, Asia

Buddhist monk, Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan, Asia

Prayer flags, Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Ta Gong Tibetan monastery, Sichuan Province, China, Asia

Young Buddhist monk, Karchu Dratsang Monastery, Bumthang, Bhutan, Asia

Lama dancing, Kumbum Monastery, Qinghai, China, Asia

Ganden Sumsteling Gompa (Songzanlin Si) Buddhist Monastery, Shangri-La, formerly Zhongdian, Shangri-La region, Yunnan Province, China, Asia

Young monks, Shweyanpyay monastery, Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan, Asia

Buddhist monk, Mahagandayon Monastery, Amarapura, Mandalay Division, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Derlong Red Sect monastery, Jigzhi, Qinghai, China, Asia

Wall painting, Punakha Dzong, Bhutan, Asia

Ghami monastery monks blessing a field, Mustang, Nepal, Asia

Novice Buddhist monk playing with a cat at Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung, a famous teak monastery, Nyaungshwe, Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Buddha inside the Kumbum, literally one hundred thousand images, of the Palcho Monastery, the largest chorten in Tibet, Gyantse, Tibet, China, Asia

Novice monk, Buddhist monastery, Hsipaw area, Shan State, Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Puna Tsang River, Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan, Asia

Painting in Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan, Asia.

Bhutanese girl, Trashi Chhoe Dzong, Thimphu, Bhutan, Asia

Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Wat Suandok, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Buddhist monk, Paro Dzong, Paro, Bhutan, Asia

Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan, Asia

Taktshang Goemba (Tiger's Nest) Monastery, Paro, Bhutan, Asia

Young Buddhist monks chatting, Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, Wangdue Phodrang (Wangdi), Bhutan, Asia

Sera monastery, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Group of monks dancing in the monastery courtyard rehearsing for Hemis festival, Hemis, Ladakh, India, Asia

Monks with mobile phones, Xiahe monastery, Xiahe, Gansu, China, Asia

Prayer wheels in Dhagpo Kagyu Ling Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Saint-Leon sur Vezere, Dordogne, France, Europe

Door, Hemis gompa (monastery), Hemis, Ladakh, Indian Himalaya, India, Asia

Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Novice monks in Rimpong Dzong (monastery), Paro, Bhutan, Asia

Wat Benjamabophit (Marble Temple), Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Buddhist monks, Paro Dzong, Paro, Bhutan, Asia

Tashilumpo Monastery, the residence of the Chinese appointed Panchat Lama, Tibet, China, Asia

Young Buddhist monk at Ywama monastery, Ywama, Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Courtyard of the monastery of Likir, Ladakh, India, Asia

Repentance ceremony, Fokuangshan monastery, Kaohsiung area, Taiwan, Republic of China, Asia

Buddhist ceremony, Liberation Rite of Water and Land, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Asia

Pilgrims in monastery courtyard,. Sakya, Tibet, China, Asia

Samye monastery, Tibet, China, Asia

Procession in monastery courtyard with monk musicians wearing masks blowing traditional horns, Hemis Festival, Hemis, Ladakh, India, Asia

Old man and prayer wheel, Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

Monk in front of the Buddhist monastery on Mount Popa, Myanmar, Asia

Buddhist monastery, Lashio area, Shan State, Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Young monk in Wat Preah Ang Monastery, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Taktshang Goemba (Tiger's Nest) Monastery, Paro, Bhutan, Asia

Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Group of monks in wooden masks and traditional costumes in procession in the monastery courtyard, Hemis Festival, Hemis, Ladakh, India, Asia

Famous painting indicating the way to Nirvana, Simtokha Dzong, Bhutan, Asia

Young Buddhist monks at window, Gangte Goempa, Bhutan, Asia

Young Buddhist monk in red robes backlit by evening sunlight at the Jakar Dzong, Jakar, Bumthang, Bhutan, Asia

Thimpu Dzong, Thimpu, Bhutan, Asia

Detail of golden plaque of Yamantaka, Doorkeeper of the South, a Tantric Tibetan God, at Erdeni Dzu Monastery at Karakorum, Mongolia, Central Asia, Asia

Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Yushu, Qinghai Province, China, Asia

Entrance gate and main building, Kee Gompa, Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia

The buildings at Tashilumpo monastery at Xigaze, Tibet, China, Asia

Wat Benjamabophit (Marble Temple), Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Monks leaving Wat Phra Singh to collect alms, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Southeast Asia

Punakha Dzong, Punakha, Bhutan, Asia

Punakha Dzong, Bhutan, Asia

Blowing giant horn at Ganden Monastery, Tibet, China, Asia

Trashi Chhoe Dzong, Thimphu, Bhutan, Asia

Selling prayer flags, Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Woman on pilgrimage, Ganden Monastery, Tibet, China, Asia

Buddhist festival (Tsechu), Trashi Chhoe Dzong, Thimphu, Bhutan, Asia

Selling prayer flags, Ganden Monastery, near Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Kumbum, Gyantse, Tibet, China, Asia

Close up of a monk dancing in full traditional costume in monastery courtyard, Hemis Festival, Hemis, Ladakh, India, Asia

Sculpture, Kumbum, Gyantse, Tibet, China, Asia

Masked dancers at Buddhist monastery, Ura, Bhutan, Asia

Exterior steps and entrance to the Tsurpu Buddhist monastery, seat of the Karmapa, at Nenang, Tibet, China, Asia

Buddhist ceremony, Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

Monk praying in the monastery, Luang Prabang, Laos, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

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

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

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

Mongolia mongolian pilgrims at gandan monastery, ulaan baatur

Mongolia buddhist monks at gandan monastery, ulaan baatur

Incense urn, Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery Pagoda, a monastery housing over 12800 statues of the Buddha, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China, Asia

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

His holiness the 17th gyalwang karmapa banners at tergar monastery in maha bodhi temple. Kalachakra initiation in bodhgaya, india

In the Amarapura monastery, close to U Bein bridge, monks collecting lunch, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Trainee monk, monastery, Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

A monk preparing rice in the monastery of Amarapura, close to the U Bein teak bridge, Myanmar (Burma), Asia

Trainee monk, monastery, Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar (Burma), Asia