Once upon a time there was young girl who lived in California. Her name was Waverly. She loved to read, learn, and experience new things.

One day, Waverly noticed a strange symbol on her arm. It didn't harm nor scare her, but it confused her greatly . She decided to talk to her father since he was a famous historian that had traveled all around the world.

Her father, at first, was shocked. He had never seen this before. He looked in his encyclopedias and found out that it was the symbol of Hinduism.

They decided to travel to one of the places it is worshipped the most: India. In India, they traveled to the Ganges River, one of the most sacred spots for Hindus. According to their religion, you can wash away your sins and become pure when you enter the river.

Once they reached the edge, they saw two young women sitting along the river, reading. Waverly and her father approached them. Waverly asked, "what are you reading?", the one on the right replied, "the sacred vedas". Waverly and her father were confused as to what they were, so her father asked, "what are they used for?" The younger couple then explained that it was one of the ways, along with worshipping thier gods Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva to achieve moksha, which is the ultimate goal in their life.

The travelers then asked what were other beliefs of their religion. The two women explained that one belief is that the soul never dies, it continuously reincarnates until it reaches moksha. Another belief is that your karma decides which level you are in their caste system after reincarnation.

After speaking with the two, a woman on the other side of the river caught their eye. They decided to walk over and speak to her. As they walked over, the symbol on Waverly's arm disappeared and a different one took its place.

When they walked up to the older lady, they introduced themselves. Waverly was intrigued by the woman, and asked her if she knew what this new symbol was. The lady told her it was the symbol of Buddhism.

Waverly's father told her that Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama in the 5th century B.C.E, but the place is unknown although historians think it is around present day Nepal. They decided to travel there next, to learn about this new symbol she acquired.

Basic Beliefs of Buddhism

To achieve complete happiness one must give up all worldy things.

Nirvana is achieved by following the Eightfold Path.

Every soul is reincarnated until it reaches Nirvana.

Once they arrived in Nepal, they entered a temple on the outskirts of the city. On the wall of the temple, three Buddhist beliefs were written: to achieve complete happiness one must give up all worldy things. Nirvana is achieved by following the Eightfold Path. Every soul is reincarnated until it reaches Nirvana.

They noticed a family reading the sacred texts,Dhammapaba, and worshipping in the temple. When they started walking toward the family, her symbol started to illuminate. The people in the temple all turned to face Waverly and were shocked by the glowing symbol on her wrist.

One of the men worshipping walked over to Waverly and asked her, "Have you read Dhammapaba? Buddha said that one day a child would come with a marking on her arm and we were to point her to the country of Japan." Shocked, both Waverly and her father asked how the god, Buddha, knew them. The man at once replied with, "We do not worship any gods, Buddha is a teacher not a holy one. Now travel to Japan and uphold your duty". They then exited the temple and started off to Japan. As they were walking down the stairs, a new symbol appeared on her arm.

They decided to head to mainland Japan and walk around a quaint little town that had many gardens and rivers. Waverly and her father decided to enter a public Zen Garden that had a majestic river running through it.

Our Shinto Zen Gardens

We dedicate our lives to our religion, Shintoism founded in 6th century CE

Here we worship our Kami

We keep our mountains and rivers sacred

Although we have no moral codes, we do expect you to act according to the middle way of Buddhism

Every evening we close out worship by reading from either Kojiki or Nihon-gi

A sign just outside of the garden listed off the main beliefs and rules of their Shinto Zen Garden. Once inside, they decided to walk over to the fountain to wash their hands. The two tourists kneeled beside a woman who had a symbol on her arm in the same place as Waverly's.

Stunned, the two cautiously asked her where she got her tattoo. The old woman replied, "I've had it ever since I was born. I guess it was to lead me to Confucianism, but I decided to come here and practice Shintoism along with Confucianism". Waverly had vaguely seen that symbol before in books and on necklaces. However, she never knew it stood for Confucianism. Once the two walked out of the garden, the same symbol from the woman's arm appeared on her lower arm.

A local historian told the two about Confucianism. He said, "In China, Confucianism is practiced but is not considered a religion, just a way of life. It was founded by Confucius around the 6th-5th century. People who follow Confucianism value the five basic relationships, civil service exams, and the golden rule". This greatly helped the two understand why Confucianism wasn't widely practiced throughout the world. They then walked around the city and were intrigued by a group of people sitting around a table. Waverly and her father decided to approach them.

What are those papers for?

These are our civil service exams

The two noticed that the group was taking a written test. They asked them what the papers were for. The group replied that it was for acquiring jobs and that it was essential for them to work in peace for they want to attain a high job in the Chinese government.

Waverly and her dad walked away briskly for they did not want to cause a scene. They then decided to enter a red temple just outside of town. Inside, they saw a huge statue of Confucius, since he acted as the"god" of Confucianism, and hundreds of copies of The Four Books and The Five Classics. These books where essential to understanding Confucianism and how to live based off of the teachings of Confucius

Look dad!

After reading through some of the books(english of course), they decided to leave. While walking out of the temple, they saw a dark red flower. Right beside the flower was the Star of David, the symbol of Judaism. When Waverly pointed it out to her dad, it started to appear on her wrist in place of the old one. So they both agreed it was time to give Israel a visit.