Publisher's Description
VISIONS OF BUDDHIST LIFE
Don Farber
Foreword by Huston Smith
'What a kind, gentle, knowing photo
book Don Farber has done here. It has
taken a lifetime of commitment and
insight for these photos to reach us.'
-Richard Gere
'Devoted eye. Sweet enterprise.
Thank you.'
-Leonard Cohen
'Visions of Buddhist Life is a powerful
and moving work, a spiritual odyssey,
which beautifully captures the living
spirit of Buddhism in today's world.
Through this extraordinary collection
of photographs, Don Farber chronicles
his personal spiritual journey with a
keen eye and an open heart, revealing
a rare and intimate glimpse into
Buddhist life. I highly recommend this remarkable book.'
-Howard C. Cutler, M.D., coauthor with the
Dalai Lama of The Art of Happiness:
A Handbook for Living
Don Farber's highly acclaimed photographs open a spectacular
view of the beauty and diversity of Buddhist life around the
world. His superb eye for composition, his attention to color
and detail, and his intimate knowledge of Buddhism come
together to produce outstanding, often breathtaking images. A
selection of Farber's best work to date, Visions of Buddhist Life
brings an important message of compassion, healing, and
understanding to today's troubled world.
The photographs, together with Farber's extensive captions, take us to the temples, monasteries, and colorful streets
of Los Angeles, Kyoto, and Bangkok, and travel onward to
China, India, Nepal, South Korea, and Taiwan. They depict
Buddhists alone and in crowds, in cities rich and poor, in meditation and in conversation. They also picture some of the great
teachers of our day-the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, and
Kalu Rinpoche. These images capture some of the last Tibetan
masters to have received their training before the Chinese
invasion and are a vital documentation of a tradition in danger
of vanishing forever.
A study in the human face, in the art of spiritual devotion, in
the evocative power of landscape, this collection of images provides an essential context for understanding Buddhism. Visions
of Buddhist Life is also a visual and spiritual journey into a realm
where the doctrine of nonviolence is paramount and where
peace begins with the thoughts and actions of the individual.
Inspired by Buddhism early in his career as a professional freelance photographer, Don Farber became a disciple of the late Vietnamese Zen master and scholarThich Thien-An. Following the publication of his critically
acclaimed book, Taking Refuge in L.A.: Life in a Vietnamese Buddhist Temple
(1987, with text by Rick Fields and introduction by Thich Nhat Hanh),
Farber set out to photograph Buddhist life internationally and, to date, has
carried out this work in eight Asian countries and the United States. This
Fulbright scholar's photographs have been exhibited at the San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art and the Asia Society in New York, have appeared
in magazines such as Life and Time, and have been featured on the covers
of many books, including The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler (1998).
Huston Smith is Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and
Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, Syracuse
University. His book The World's Religions (1958, revised 1991) has sold
several million copies. In 1996 Bill Moyers devoted a five-part PBS special to Smith's life and work.