Buddhism is a central and deeply personal theme in Steve McCurry’s work.
His photographs of rituals, devotees, and sacred places illustrate the profound spiritual influence of this religion around the world.
Taken over more than twenty years, these images form both a fundamental study of one of humanity’s great faiths and an intimate reflection on McCurry’s own relationship with Buddhism.
This particular photograph was taken in a Shaolin monastery in China.
It belongs to a series devoted to the origins of martial arts, which—according to tradition—were developed in the fifth century as a Buddhist practice to protect monasteries from external attacks.
Children, sometimes as young as two or three, come from all over China to study martial arts in these monasteries.
Their athletic and acrobatic abilities are almost unbelievable.