Tag Archives: worship

Sri Lanka was a delight! I hadn’t done any homework prior to travelling there, so it was also a delightful surprise. I expected (and got) colonial architecture and Hindu temples (see: Temples, Rains, and Ruins), but the number and variety of Buddhist sites in the country (eg: Dambulla Cave; Avukana Buddha; and Sigiriya) surprised me. […]

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Candlelight is a powerful symbol in many spiritual practices around the world. In Christianity, the candle stands for light and the spirit of truth in the darkness of life; in Hinduism, light is a strong symbol of hope and prosperity; in Buddhism, burning candles evoke the state of impermanence and change, and represent the enlightenment […]

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So much of Ancient Egypt was about one’s relationship to the Gods and the afterlife. And, so much art and architecture dedicated to these relationships remains to be explored today. From the mind-blowing pyramids at Giza (see: Stories in Ancient Stone) to the amazing tombs in the Valley of the Kings (see: The Writing on […]

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Dancing on the wind, dispersing prayers, mantras, and general good will across the landscape, strings of prayer flags hang to the four corners of Boudhanath Stupa. Somewhere, amongst them, were mine!  Prayer flags are said to date back to the battle flags used by the Gautama Buddha in the fight against the asuras – malevolent divine beings considered by Indian mythology […]

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What a treat! The last time I was in Bangkok: a troupe of Chinese-Thai performers was preparing for a traditional Chinese Opera play. It was the middle of October, and in Yaowarat – Bangkok’s Chinatown – the annual Nine Emperor Gods Festival was in full swing. This Taoist celebration is more commonly known as the Tesagan […]

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