The Top Ten List of Things Not to Do
By Belinda My friend's uncle was a Buddhist and prominent in his community, so when he died recently, the memorial service she and her family attended was a large one, with over 300 people in attendance. When they arrived, she and her sister were briefed, with other family members, on the protocol of a Buddhist memorial service. At the front of the room was a large incense urn. Behind it they could see a statue of a god. To the right was a photo of her uncle. The man instructing them said that at a certain point in the service, the family would file to the front, put some incense into the urn, bow from the waist and then turn and bow to the photograph of their deceased family member. Alarm bells were going off for my friend and she and her sister looked at each other, then said to their guide, "We can't do the first bow, we're Christians." "Oh, it's nothing," said the man (I'll call him Barry,) "...