Who hasn't seen photos of people bowing down to Buddha or to Hindu idols? I've seen as many of those as anyone, but it is somehow different seeing it firsthand. During my recent trip to Asia, I had the opportunity to visit a Buddhist pagoda. It is heartbreaking when you know the Lord, to see people so sincerely and earnestly praying to an idol which cannot help them.
This pagoda has hundreds or maybe thousands of Buddha images -- so many that even our guide didn't know how many there were. But there are four main ones, on the north, south, east, and west sides of the pagoda complex. People were everywhere around the pagoda, praying to the idols or just sitting around with friends eating snacks.
Around the main pagoda building are many of these little shrines. They represent different days of the week, and people go through a special water-pouring ceremony at the shrine which represents the day on which they were born. They believe that this will prevent bad luck.
Here's a closeup of a Buddha worshiper. I didn't like to take too many of these, as I didn't want to invade their privacy, but I wanted you to get a taste for what we saw there.
The kids were the real heartbreakers for me. Buddhist boys and girls are dedicated as novice monks when they are quite young. Our guide told us they can't get married unless they spend several years as novices. The beautifully dressed children in this photo are new novices (monks under 20 years old are called novices; those over 20 are monks. The word "monk" is used for both males and females).
This mother was teaching her small son to pray at this shrine. Whenever he would start wandering (as kids do), she would pull him back onto his knees in front of the image. This little fellow has no control over what his mother teaches him. Pray that someone will share the truth with him!
This pagoda has hundreds or maybe thousands of Buddha images -- so many that even our guide didn't know how many there were. But there are four main ones, on the north, south, east, and west sides of the pagoda complex. People were everywhere around the pagoda, praying to the idols or just sitting around with friends eating snacks.
Around the main pagoda building are many of these little shrines. They represent different days of the week, and people go through a special water-pouring ceremony at the shrine which represents the day on which they were born. They believe that this will prevent bad luck.
Here's a closeup of a Buddha worshiper. I didn't like to take too many of these, as I didn't want to invade their privacy, but I wanted you to get a taste for what we saw there.
The kids were the real heartbreakers for me. Buddhist boys and girls are dedicated as novice monks when they are quite young. Our guide told us they can't get married unless they spend several years as novices. The beautifully dressed children in this photo are new novices (monks under 20 years old are called novices; those over 20 are monks. The word "monk" is used for both males and females).
This mother was teaching her small son to pray at this shrine. Whenever he would start wandering (as kids do), she would pull him back onto his knees in front of the image. This little fellow has no control over what his mother teaches him. Pray that someone will share the truth with him!
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