Late last year I went down to Sri Lanka on a humanitarian trip to raise awareness regarding poverty in the region. I stayed in a Buddhist temple with my host, Reverend Mithabani.
One week of vegetarian food, one week of living among the children and orphans opened up my eyes. Made me realise how little I needed and how much I wanted. Interestingly after many long, meaningful discussions with the reverend, we both realised that each of us was the antithesis of the other.
I’m working on making prints from the trip to hopefully raise funds and awareness to give the people in Sri Lanka ways and means to support themselves and grant them means to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty.
Kudos to Jun Wen for setting the gig up. I’ve learned more about myself and my craft and in the process be put in a position to have my photography be put to good use.
Yes the monks and I have different ways of going about our business and I’m not the holiest person this side of the hemisphere. But I’ll be damned if I don’t try making this end of the world a better place.
Monk sweeping the temple grounds
A believer washing a monk's feet before he enters the temple
Orphans at play midday
And he huffed and he puffed
An orphan boy with his newfound toy
Two monks enjoying a laugh
Art in progress
I love his smile
The reverend freshening himself by the stream
The flwer blooms in the morning and withers before noon
High priest altar
How adulated these monks are
Marching out with the offerings after the prayers are done
Wonder if they ever mix their laundry up
Moments as I learned the word Sarungal
The reverend and an orphan in a quiet moment
