Buddhist Temple, Saigon - April 2005: May 2005

Paulina wanted to adopt this little monk.

Buddha ("the awakened") was the title given to Siddhartha Guatama, the son of a Nepalese rajah. According to tradition, Guatama left a life of luxury at age 30 and devoted himself to years of contemplation and self-denial, finally reaching enlightenment while sitting beneath a tree. Henceforth known as Buddha, he spent his life teaching disciples about his beliefs (embodied in the Four Noble Truths) and the goal of achieving the enlightened state of Nirvana.

Our little monk thought it was strange that I was taking pictures of the dead.

A lady making a special request of Quan Yin, who carries the Goddess and Divine Mother aspect of Buddhism.

Siddharta Gautama (the Buddha).

I was amused at how they used neon lights as halos.

Our little monk posing for the camera.

This little monk followed us around. He was very friendly and curious.

Doug at one of the higher levels of the garden.

The swastika is an extremely powerful symbol. Though the Nazis used it to murder millions of people, for centuries it had positive meanings. What is the history of the swastika? Does it now represent good or evil?

The Oldest Known Symbol

The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. (That even predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh!) Artifacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 BCE.

During the following thousand years, the image of the swastika was used by many cultures around the world, including in China, Japan, India, and southern Europe. By the Middle Ages , the swastika was a well known, if not commonly used, symbol but was called by many different names: