Zen, Japanese pronunciation of Chinese chán, "quietude. "Chán comes from Pali jhna, from Sanskrit dhynam, "meditation, " from the Sanskrit root dhy-, dh-, "to see, observe."

From Bodhgaya, India, the site of the Buddha's enlightenment, to Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Japan, the United States and other countries, "Seeing Buddha" takes the viewer on a photographic exploration of Buddhism as practiced by various cultures. The collection of photographs made throughout 2012 will fuse different styles and techniques, tailored to each location, but created by one artist as he seeks visual reflections of the 2500-year-old religion in rituals, architecture and design.

Edited with renowned photography professional Olivier Picard, the collection includes over 80 images in color and black-and-white utilizing both digital and analog processes. A hard-bound publication is being hand-crafted by Los Angeles artist and designer David Brady. This collaboration with Butow will be released as a limited edition, with special papers, original drawings an other materials.

About the Artist

California-based photojournalist David Butow has worked professionally for three decades in many countries including Afghanistan, China, Indonesia, Iraq, Peru and Yemen. His photographic coverage of subjects such as the 2011 Japanese tsunami, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and social issues in the United States have won awards from Communications Arts, World Press Photo, American Photography Annual and others.

His pictures have been the subject of solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles and Visa Pour L'Image in Perpignan, France. Butow is a member of Redux Pictures and has been a guest lecturer at many institutions including the Annenberg Space for Photography, Brooks Institute of Photography and Otis College of Art and Design. His commercial and editorial clients have included National Geographic Books, Apple Computers and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.