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The Buddha shrine in its entirety.

Namaste

Suvinayo, the kind monk that spoke with me often during my visit at the temple.  He’s also very clever.  He tricked me into answering most of my own questions.  The monks there are of the Theravada tradition (hint the ochre robes).

The Buddha shrine inside the temple.  The grand statue is over 300 years old, brought here from Laos, and it’s a valued relic of the community’s heritage.  Each time I approached the shrine, I was expected to bow three times: once for the Buddha, another for the Dharma, and lastly for the Sangha.

The “reclining Buddha” inside the temple.  Legend has it that when Siddhartha Gautama died, he slipped peacefully into nirvana, laying comfortably on his right side.

Outside was really beautiful, too.

There were a freakin lot of statues at the temple.

Only some of the Buddhist scriptures at the temple.  Most religions have one holy book, Buddhists have enough scriptures to fill a library.

More statues from the temple.  I don’t know how old these are.

I found this little guy next to one of the monks’ food bowl, about a century old

Some of the temple interior

Temple flag depicting the Dharmacakra, the eight-spoke wheel symbolizing the Noble Eightfold Path (Fort Smith, AR)

Buddhist community temple, once poverty-stricken, now flourishing with the support of a small Lao immigrant population.  I studied here for spring break.

edwardspoonhands:

tastefullyoffensive:

[via]

Well, Axe Body Spray was invented by the same company as Dove, which is all about the power of women’s self-image and health….sooooo….

mendmyheart:

oh my Lord.