Extended Statment

Buddhism is an Asian originated religion or philosophy. The word Buddhism comes from the word Budhi, “to awaken”. It origins about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, was awakened (enlightened) when he was 35. Since then the religion has gained over 300 million followers, not just in Asia but it has expanded to a lot of other countries as more and more people are becoming Buddhist.  In Steve McCurry’s untold stores it mentions “Buddhist philosophy becomes more apparent when seen against the backdrop of western civilisation” (McCurry, 2013) I personally find this to be true Buddhism is more interesting than our western culture this could be because I was brought up in it.

I started this series because before the temple opened in my home town there were only churches and as I went to a catholic school we mainly were taught about Christianity and only skimmed over other religions, it was similar when I entered high school. I did read some information in books and online but experiencing it first hand is different.  Once I got a better understanding about the religion and got to know the monks and people who attend the temple I wanted to show that the monks don’t just meditate and that they are just human. They like to shop, mainly in charity shops, and they use technology. I wanted to show people what they actually do and not what people think they do. 

My series includes photos from meditation sessions, visits, ceremonies and events that the monks have played a major role in. I have not only photographed the meditation sessions but I have also joined in because I wanted to experience it for myself. The visits to the temple were mainly so that I could photograph the monks while they were just being themselves, either talking to each other or them taking their own photos. The ceremony was a wedding blessing which was a new experience for me, I documented what had taken place during the ceremony. The Songkran festival was an interesting event as it was New Year celebration with different way to welcome the new year.

I wanted the photo's to show Buddhism in a non biased way. I photographed what interests me and what I thought would show others what the religion is like. I am not a Buddhist but I do think the religion is one of the most believable, so photographing and interacting with them was interesting.

At the beginning of the series it seems to be more about the monks and their interactions with each other and others at the temple. As the series progresses it becomes more about the culture and what the Buddhist monks offer to the people who visit the temple.  As at the beginning of the series I was photographing the monks while they were either excepting offerings or talking with each over and visitors to the temple. Towards the end I was photographing more of what they do as Buddhist monks during ceremony and events.