Puppy Prays Along Side Priests At Buddhist Temple

In Japan, regular believers at a local Buddhist temple have witnessed something almost quite barking mad since their latest member of the congregation is a two year old pet dog who knows exactly how to pray

The two year old pup is known by those gathering at the temple as Conan, the Chihuahua. This fine looking pet sits quite happily on his hind legs and prays alongside anyone and everyone at the Buddhists temple on the island of Okinawa. The lovable pup sits bolt upright and raises his paws up onto and covers his nose in a poise which does not look dissimilar to everyone else at the Jigenin temple. According to one priest there, he told Associated Press,

"He may be showing his thanks for treats and walks."

A dog has such simple pleasures - if only our own lives where that perfect. Yet to pray properly would be, for a dog, somewhat of an impossibility. "...it's not like we can make him cross his legs..." says Joei Yoshikuni, who would rather like the faithful dog to try a little meditation once in a while. The priest said,

"Basically, I am just trying to get him to sit still while I meditate."

After all, many would argue that the temple's pet is only copying what everyone else is doing - they are, by nature a pack animal and will copy what their master does - this is why dogs are so good at picking up tricks, and Conan, was no exception. As the pup only took a few days to actually pick up what the priest was doing at the temple, He said,

"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it too."

Yet if the idea of a dog praying in the temple was something to be embarrassed about, the gatherers at the temple think it's quite gift from the heavens since the congregation numbers have gone up 30%, thanks to Conan... You can find a picture of Conan praying here.