Posted on 03/24/2008 1:08:19 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar
NAHA, Japan (AP) - At a Zen Buddhist temple in southern Japan, even the dog prays.
Mimicking his master, priest Joei Yoshikuni, a 1 1/2-year-old black- and-white Chihuahua named Conan joins in the daily prayers at Naha's Shuri Kannondo temple, sitting up on his hind legs and putting his front paws together before the altar.
It took him only a few days to learn the motions, and now he is the talk of the town.
"Word has spread, and we are getting a lot more tourists," Yoshikuni said Monday.
Yoshikuni said Conan generally goes through his prayer routine at the temple in the capital of Japan's southern Okinawa prefecture (state) without prompting before his morning and evening meals.
"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it, too," Yoshikuni said.
The priest is now trying to teach him how to meditate.
Well, sort of.
"Basically, I am just trying to get him to sit still while I meditate," he explained. "It's not like we can make him cross his legs."
That’s pretty cute.
Cats meditate all the time. Well, I call it catitating... paws tucked under chest, eyes closed, yet not sleeping...
He’s praying for opposable thumbs.
A few “Dog Haiku” for you:
I sound the alarm!
Paper boycome to kill us all
Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!
Dig under fencewhy?
Because it’s there. Because it’s
There. Because it’s There.
Today I sniffed
Many dog behindsI celebrate
By kissing your face.
Smiling from ear to ear!
Thanks.
"Sometimes I sits and thinks...
...and sometimes I just sits."
One of my cats likes to do yoga with me. Whatever I do, he tries (emphasis on tries) to do. When I do standing poses, he gets up on his hind legs and leans against a chair or the wall; when doing sitting poses, he sits and tries to copy whatever moves I make; the poses where I lie on my back, he’s on his back, tummy up. It’s hilarious.
If I want to wimp out and skip a session, he comes and gets me, nags me until I give in and do my yoga.
That is cool!
My cats just bite me to feed them.
It is their only trick.
He’s praying the local street vendors don’t serve him for lunch.
Aw, fluffy cuteness!
Is there a ‘soft fluffy adorable animal’ ping list or something of the sort I could sign up for?
Would I get more Kibble if I said a few Hail Marys instead?
Cute with a captial Q!!

Answer this one prayer and I promise I'll never sniff another butt again. REALLY!!!
There is a Kitty Ping List.
SlingsandArrows owns it.
There is a Doggie Ping List.
I believe HairOfTheDog owns it.
OK, but does a cow have Buddha-nature?
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