Despite all the external and internal challenges presented by the pandemic on a personal front, it was a productive time for moving this project forward. Because my main source of income was severely impacted, I had much time on my hand to learn video editing and go through all the footage. Originally, I was working with another video editor but being a self funded project, I had to take over the responsibility of ‘processing’ the hours of […]
Even though I would love to explore the theme of what sangha looks like, access to group environments have been challenging. I was fortunate to have permission from my subject, the senior teacher at the monastery, to roam the ‘campus’ after our interview. It’s always an interesting dance between peeking into other people’s world with the camera but also respecting their privacy. For the most part, images from this monastery aren’t necessary the level of intimacy I […]
In this day in age of attention deficits and instant gratification, I had short debate on how much video I wanted to incorporate into this project. Nonetheless, it become pretty evident that the stories that people were sharing and their passion for the subject manner warrant my commitment to this medium. Although I had always enjoy the poetic nature of photography, there is no doubt I am drawn to the long form that is video and power […]
I am not a big fan of putting things in neat boxes and classifying people in terms of what lineage they follow or at what stage they’re at on their journey. Still, as my intention to make this website a more interactive resource than just a linear format of a book or documentary, I have classified the subjects along the lines of lineages and stages of development to provide a mechanism in which views can explore a […]
In the beginning, the concept of this project was around a coffee style photo book focusing on how lay practitioners manifest their practice ‘beyond the cushion’, hence the name of the project. But as I interviewed people on their journey on this path, I realize that their passion and authenticity should be captured with video. Given the format of these sessions and the nature of being a one man show, the individual video clips themselves wouldn’t be […]