Where Every Breath is a Prayer: A Photographic Pilgrimage in the Spiritual Heart of Asia

In this breathtaking book, photographer Ortner guides readers on a journey into the heart of Asian religious traditions through photographs and text. Although the traditional Asian religious architectural images that have become the standard fare of such photographic extravaganzas are well represented here, what leavens this loaf is an exceptional collection of portraits of men and women in the midst of ordinary worship. The images of sky-clad sadhus in their privations along the banks of the Ganges, the blood-spattered sacred images of the Dakshinkali shrine in Nepal and the noble portrait of the pemangku, or curator, of Pura Ulunin in Bali reminds us just how great a gulf separates the religious traditions of the West from the astonishing spirituality of Asia. In this marvelous book, Ortner has shown us the path he traveled, a path readers might follow, if only in their longings. (Dec.)