A Buddhist monk lights a candle at Wat Phra Dhammakaya during a ceremony on Makha Bucha Day in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok February 22, 2016. Makha Bucha Day honours Buddha and his teachings, and falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Shokyo Miura, a Buddhist monk and one of the on-site priests, poses for pictures outside Tera Cafe in Tokyo, Japan, April 1, 2016. At first glance, the cafe, which also serves alcohol, looks like any other except for an altar next to the countertop bar with a Buddha statue set against a gold backdrop. The menu confirms this is something different. It lists classes for 1,500 yen ($14) in weaving prayer beads, calligraphy with sutras, or lines of scripture, and consultations with a Buddhist priest. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as Golden Rock is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Burma. It is a small pagoda (7.3 metres (24 ft)) built on the top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaves pasted on by devotees. According to legend, the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a strand of the Buddha's hair. The balancing rock seems to defy gravity, as it perpetually appears to be on the verge of rolling down the hill. The rock and the pagoda are at the top of Mt. Kyaiktiyo. It is the third most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in Burma after the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Mahamuni Pagoda. A glimpse of the "gravity defying" Golden Rock is believed to be enough of an inspiration for any person to turn to Buddhism.

“Mother and Child”. Snow monkey at “Jigokudani hot-spring” in Nagano, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ookawa)

In this January 8, 2015 photo, a monk Kenmyo Muta bows at the condominium construction site and the gate of Sengakuji temple in Tokyo. The “47 ronin” samurai who inspired the long-loved saga of loyalty and honor eulogized in films, books and plays are fighting a new kind of battle in urban Japan. An apartment complex is going up next to the curved tile-roofed Sengakuji temple where the three-century-old graves of the ronin, or masterless samurai, lie. The banner reads: “We only hope to protect landscape of Sengakuji temple”. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

Monks attend a prayer service for blessing at the Gandan Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, February 5, 2020. Tibetan Buddhist temples held prayer services to support novel coronavirus-infected areas in China. The monks here were also organized to donate money to help fight against the epidemic. (Photo by Chogo/Xinhua News Agency)

A woman poses for a picture taken by her friend (not in picture) in a temple decorated to celebrate Chinese New Year at Samut Prakan province outside Bangkok February 7, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Revelers throw colored corn starch into the air as they celebrate the 2015 Holi (Festival of Colors) at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah on Saturday, March 28, 2015. (Photo by Rick Bowmer/AP Photo)