These images were made during several trips to Asia between 2005 and 2008. Before these visits, I held a picture in my mind of temples filled with orange clad monks quietly meditating. I was surprised to find a different reality.
Many Southeast Asian families, especially the poorer rural ones, send their sons (and, in some nations, their daughters) to monasteries for the rite of passage of a temporary ordination. The monasteries gives an education that is both practical, such as learning to read, and religious. There are strict regulations, such as celibacy, and a rigorous instruction in the path of the spirit. Most of the young men leave the monastery and take the lessons learned out into society and the families they help create.
So, while I did find scenes of quiet meditation, I also found young men and boys relaxing, playing games, listening to Walkmen and basking in the joys of a waterfall. The monasteries we visited were always welcoming and in most of them there was at least one monk who was trying to learn English and eager to talk with us.
I present these images to you in the spirit of creating a broader understanding of the world, in the hope that we all can see the real people within the images we hold, and delve deeper into the wonderful complexity of cultures different from our own. I found it heartening to have a culture where one sends youth to two years in a monastery, rather than, or in addition to, two years in the military. The images in this show were made in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China. Enjoy...