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Visions of Buddhist Life [Hardcover]

Don Farber (Author), Huston Smith (Foreword)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Price: $39.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
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Book Description

October 1, 2002
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.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Inspired and inspiring.... [A] visual treat." - Shambhala Sun "The overall impression is that of a rich and varied celebration.... The photographer sets out to open a spectacular view on the beauty and diversity of Buddhism and this he ably does." - Japan Times "The global range of Buddhism, from Los Angeles to Japan to India to Thailand to South Korea, is captured in this astonishing book of photos and text." - USA Today "Since 1987, Don Farber, a Buddhist and Fulbright scholar, has photographed Buddhist life in eight Asian countries and the United States. This beautiful book is a collection of his best work from those travels. As professor of religion and philosophy Huston Smith says in his foreword, 'Farber doesn't tell us what drew him to Buddhism. He shows us.'" - San Francisco Chronicle "This gorgeous, near-square coffee-table volume is a loving, beautifully realized tribute to Buddhists around the world." - Publishers Weekly"

From the Inside Flap

"Devoted eye. Sweet enterprise. Thank you."--Leonard Cohen

"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

"Farber brings us into the temple, monastery, and mountain village with these striking photographs of both ordinary practitioners and many of the great masters. The simple elegance of these images offers a wonderful window into the Buddhist world."--Sharon Salzberg, co-founder of Insight Meditation Society and author of Lovingkindness and A Heart as Wide as the World

"Don Farber's images capture the beauty of his subjects. However, his skill goes far beyond the surface and draws the viewer into a close experience with the structure of the experience that opens before his lens. This rare talent is essential when directing the gaze toward a sacred object or a holy person. It is an even greater need when holding a moment of religious life in the frame. Farber provides us with pictures which give dignity to aspects of religion and culture that appear as a result of his careful focus and sensitivity to the energy and spirit of each event taking place before him. We are directed in our own viewing by his guidance as people and objects take on a quality that touches our emotions. His pictures teach us much about life and art. In his hands, the camera gives us the nuances that escape all but the most talented of artists. It is a pleasure to see the Buddhist tradition depicted in such a masterful fashion."--Lewis Lancaster, Professor Emeritus, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, UC Berkeley

"Don Farber is one of the most important chroniclers of Buddhism in the twentieth century. Whether he is portraying great teachers or ordinary practitioners, he has a unique ability to capture in a photograph the essence of Buddhist enlightenment."--Melvin McLeod, Editor-in-chief, Shambhala Sun magazine

"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., co-author with the Dalai Lama of The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0520233611
  • ISBN-13: 978-0520233614
  • Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.2 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,234,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I would recommend this to anyone interested in Buddhism, December 24, 2002
This review is from: Visions of Buddhist Life (Hardcover)
VISIONS OF BUDDHIST LIFE is a beautiful documentation of the diverse world of Buddhist life and practice. It's hard for me to review this book without succumbing to the familiar cliches of "inspiring," "moving," "breath taking," etc., because, well, that is exactly what this book is.

Many of the photographs have corresponding text to describe what is happening; though such text is informative, it is also often incidental. These pictures are so crisp and so clear that they really don't need much description. My own personal favorite photo is the one of about a dozen monks sitting at a table in full ceremonial attire and performing a solemn ritual blessing on the food they are about to eat. What is so endearing about the picture is that each monk has a can of Coke sitting next to his plate. So exotic and other worldly . . . and yet so down-to-earth.

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
IT WAS JANUARY 1977, LESS THAN TWO YEARS AFTER the fall of Saigon brought 100,000 refugees to America, when I first visited the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
forest monastery
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, Kalu Rinpoche, Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist, Himachal Pradesh, Rinzai Zen, Thich Thien-An, Hui Neng, Santa Monica, South Korea, Bodhnath Stupa, Geshe Gyeltsen, Nyingma Monlam, Wat Suan Mokkh, Biechuan Temple, Hsi Lai Temple, International Buddhist Meditation Center, Rumtek Monastery, Sonada Monastery, Sri Lanka, United States, World Fellowship of Buddhists Conference
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Buddhism by Donald W. Mitchell
 

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