Mahesi Caplan-Faust
Mahesi Caplan-Faust, born 1962, studied photography for three years in Edinburgh at Napier College. He then ordained as a Theravaden Buddhist monk in what is known as the "Forest tradition" and was trained in a contemplative style that places a strong emphasises on learning from nature. After 15 years in the order he disrobed and is now pursuing his interest in landscape photography.
"I am interested in what I would call an unobstructed vision of the world. This is a natural out come of what in Buddhist circles we call ‘mindfulness’ or what might better be translated as ‘carefulness’.
The capacity for an unobstructed relationship to the experience of existence will yield, I believe, moments of reverence.
Images that present out of such moments are naturally imbued with properties of grace, balance, serenity and beauty.
These images present an attempt to capture those moments where inner and outer vision synchronise into a unifying whole. While images born out of this spirit may not be conventionally ‘sensational’ I believe they can quietly convey a sense of the depth and mystery in life, which we all yearn to contact.
I see the photographic process as having the potential to unify the inner and outer worlds. When we open ourselves to nature, self-centeredness is diminished, and we then discover that forms within nature mirror the balance, serenity and harmony intrinsic in that selfless clarity. For me the photograph can be a vessel that conveys to the viewer some of the energy of that moment of stillness."
Mahesi Caplan-Faust
