otherwise what would you call this?
And here who they call this 'worshipping their Buddha"
Actually, no.
Again, the Buddhists don’t think the STATUE is a god - they are worshipping Buddha, and the statue gives them a focal point for someone they cannot see anymore - Buddha is dead (or ascended, or whatever they think).
In the case of Catholics (and others!), oftentimes the statue is specifically a location of where the Virgin appeared. So the fact she may have appeared there gives extra reason for them to concentrate on prayer there.