Documentary photographer Alan Brigish has just released his second limited edition coffee table book, Breathing in the Buddha: A Photographic Exploration of Buddhist Life in Indochina. This carefully crafted compact-sized (8x10-inch) book of images and commentary pulls in readers both familiar with and new to Southeast Asia and the Buddhist philosophy practiced by most of its inhabitants and then hones in on Burma (Myanmar), the focus of the vast majority of the book. The book’s luminous images and extended captions tell two parallel stories. The first explores the daily life of predominantly Buddhist people in three cities each in the countries of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, and then reflects the author’s extensive travels throughout Burma. The second story is the author’s exploration of the Buddha’s teachings and how they impact on people’s lives. As Peter Clothier explains, the author’s “point-counterpoint strategy [of] image

and text, narrative and teaching…creates the rhythm that moves the reader through the book.”

Brigish examines the notion, contrary to most Western thinking, that human beings can find fulfillment and contentment even when they lack property, material well-being, and freedom itself. Nonetheless, Breathing in the Buddha does not romanticize or lecture about deprivation or suffering. “Breathing in the Buddha is about a deeply personal experience,” notes the author, “about the realities of a world not seen by many and very much misunderstood. My inclusion of the Buddhist teaching is more about clarifying what I experienced than about preaching.” 100% of the profits from the sale of the book are being donated to well-established educational projects in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Nepal. “I believe that the true Buddhas are the living ones,” comments the author. “When people can learn to