Professor Jeannette Ludwig stands near entrance to cemetery.
Children marching, Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Marcher, parade in Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Buddhist pilgrims at religious festival, Sri Lanka
Buddhist flags honoring the Buddha’s birthday, Sri Lanka
Monks and tourists mingle, Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Honoring the Founding Father of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew
Old-style housing development, Singapore
Worshippers at Buddhist temple, Singapore
Offering bowls, Buddhist temple, Singapore
Monks at prayer, Buddhist temple, Singapore
Sign reads: "Chinatown Food Street" in English
Afternoon thunderstorm looms over Singapore
Entrance to Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Monks by Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Sign reads: "Please do not sit in the shop idealing"
Garlands on display, Little India, Singapore
Poster announcing the Sri Nrisimha Caturdasi festival taking place May 3, 2015
"Nrisimha-chaturdasi is the divine appearance day of Nrisimhadeva, Lord Krishna’s man-lion incarnation, who removes all obstacles on the path of devotional service out of His great compassion." - from http://www.mayapur.com/festivals/nrisimha-chaturdasi/
Campbell’s on the other side of the world
Campbell's soup cans showing Szechuan Hot & Sour; Borsch; and Mushroom, Scallops & Seafood
Ad reads: "Hallelujah! Charismatic cooking"
Poster celebrating the ‘Year of the Goat’
Poster reads: "Uncage 2015: Wishing You a Courageous New Year"
Sign reads: "Keep your dog leashed - Pick up your dog's poo - Be considerate"
An old sign for a major Singapore street in Little India
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February).
Tourists in bicycle jitneys, Penang, Malaysia
Stone honoring Dutch East Indies Company, Melaka, Malaysia
Sign reads: "Vereenigde Oost Indie Companie. (United East India Co) The Servant and Pioneer of Holland in the East. Founded-1602 Dissolved-1795"
16th-century Portuguese walls, Melaka, Malaysia
These adjacent Jizō show how Japan melds its traditions with external influences.
Statues of Kōbō-Daishi and other major Buddhist figures
A figure of Kōbō-Daishi, the founder of the Shingon (“True Word”) school of Buddhism, stands at the center. He lived 774–835CE.
Professors Claude Welch and Jeannette Ludwig pour water on funerary plaques to honor the dead at a noted Buddhist cemetery
Worship at this monastery, the major one of the Shingon sect of Zen Buddhism, is focused in this hall
Given the size of the Mount Koya monastery, many racks must be provided for shoes outside the worship area
Before entering the hondo (worship area), Buddhist monks remove their sandals.
Buddhism has attracted followers from all around the world. These monks have joined the major Shingon monastery
Professor Jeannette Ludwig joins Swiss convert to Shingon Buddhism in an early morning chant
Professors Jeannette Ludwig and Claude Welch at Shingon monastery, by protective figure
Snow covers the ground outside the monastery's main hall, where prayers are conducted
Monks and visitors leave food offerings to feed the "hungry ghosts" and their slippers outside the worship area.
Although in a Japanese monastery, this sink is prepared for major guests
Special slippers are worn in Japanese bathrooms, for hygienic reasons. This is a squat toilet.
Following the end of a service, Shingon monks process while returning to contemplation
Given its island nature and limited space for raising livestock, Japanese get most of their protein from fish or soy-based foods. This woman is selling oysters
Destroyed Chamber of Commerce, Hiroshima
The shell of the former Chamber of Commerce stands at the heart of Hiroshima’s Peace Park
This toddler understands nothing about the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima August 6, 1945. This concrete remnant of the Chamber of Commerce was the only structure left partially standing in a wide area
Folded paper cranes, flowers and the statue symbolize the need for peace – a central theme in Hiroshima’s Peace Park