Contemplative Photography

Contemplative photography is based on the teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche an Tibetan Buddhist teacher who came to the United States following the invasion of his homeland by China. The practice is also called Miksang which means 'good eye' in Tibetan. It emphasizes capturing the moment as your eye sees and experiences it without adding to it. My own experience with Miksang is that the images often evoke a question like 'what am I looking at?' In this moment it is possible to see the ways in which our minds attach a storyline to everything. It is possible to catch your observing mind in the act of observing. The challenge is to let go and simply experience the light, texture, color or pattern in the image without naming it. 

Usually my Miksang photos are something that catches my eye. I often carry my camera with me in case something arises that I want to capture. Thanks to the quality of cameras in iPhones I can capture these pictures almost any time or anywhere.  I've included some of my work below or you can look at my gallery on this website, you can also follow the Miksang link or visit my friend Darryl Burnham's site to see the work of other contemplative photographers.