Miksang Contemplative Photography

How often do we really experience what’s happening, directly? This question shapes how I live my life. How I see the world, and engage in it directly, beyond hope or fear – whether at work, at home, or the spaces in between.

Miksang is a Tibetan word that translates to something like “good eye” or “unstained” or “pure” eye.

This practice requires shifting our allegiance from our conditioned way of seeing the world to experiencing it directly, with spaciousness, openness, and freshness – like a child in a new place, curiously engaged with a sense of awe, wonder, and playfulness.

But this could happen anywhere, anytime, for anyone. In could happen in Paris. or Tokyo. It can also happen in our bathroom, the car, during a meeting a work – in our everyday, ordinary world.

I’ve found this approach to be more than an an art or kind of photography. I don’t even think of myself as a “photographer.” Rather, it’s a way of living, being, and engaging directly with our world and appreciating it…as it is.

And you don’t need fancy cameras or professional lenses. Besides, this is more about seeing and living true to life. It depends on our intention to experience our experience directly, especially our visual world, without the labels or associations we typically place on our perceptions. We often tend to gloss over the world, on auto-pilot from here to there, either ignoring or immediately commenting internally on our experience. Without even knowing it, we label things as beautiful – and good enough for social media – ugly, or not worthy of our time or attention.

This approach offers a fresh perspective. Another way to see. Another way to live.

The ability to see, experience, and appreciate our world directly is available to all of us, all the time. However, despite our intention to do so, it requires some training to shift our perspective.

Regardless, essentially, all we have to do is let go and relax….

To learn more, visit: www.miskang.com

Sample Gallery

Below are some examples of direct perceptions I’ve seen across the world and in my home over the past 20 years and was able to genuinely express, as they were. I hope you enjoy them!

Publications

Georgetown: An Exploration of Our Everyday Visual World - Brian Sano

“There’s nothing to see there.” That’s what I used to think of the Georgetown area in Washington, DC. Over time, his perspective changed. My Miksang Contemplative Photography practice helped me see this neighborhood – and life – in a more curious and intimate way, with fresh eyes and an open mind. 

Over four years, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic, with my camera, mask, and the mindset I learned from Miksang, I walked around Georgetown, practicing almost every weekend, resulting in hundreds of photos. This book captures my experience.

Reflecting on what I learned, I observed, “Visual perceptions, like those I’ve shared here, can happen anywhere – they are always appearing – always available. In our own neighborhood, our office, our car, our home, our bathroom, or even our kitchen sink.”  

108 pages, PDF