Jesse Kalisher's 'If You Find The Buddha'

“if you find the Buddha” is a play on the old adage that tells us our spiritual journey is never complete. That adage goes like this, “If you find the Buddha in the road, kill him.” Of course, this chestnut doesn’t advocate murder. It instead suggests that if you actually meet the Buddha then you’d better redefine your image of him and keep searching. The lesson is that, as in any quest in life, enlightenment comes from our journey, not arrival at some presupposed destination.

With this in mind, I set out to create a collection of images that would provide a new perspective both on Buddha and iconography in general. I thought this important because, regardless of one’s religion, it’s important to see past the glorification of an icon and see through to the reality. And if the truth of our spiritual journeys exists anywhere, it’s here in reality, where real people go about their every day lives.

Details:
93 Color images
Foreword by Jeff Greenwald
Introduction by Jesse Kalisher