Since 2011 Saskia Janssen has been attending weekly lessons in Buddhism at a small temple based in a cellar underneath a sunbed studio in Amsterdam-East. During these lessons, as well as at the monthly lectures and rituals overseen by visiting Lamas, she takes notes and makes sketches. Once she return to her studio she transforms these into works: drawings, photos, sculpture and text. Alternatively Janssen revisits existing works, but from a new perspective.

Artist Saskia Janssen spent three months on an exchange in Seoul, and part of that time was spent living among the monks at a Buddhist temple in the mountains outside the city. The experience introduced her to their particular lifestyle and values, which she chose to further explore in her home country of the Netherlands and elsewhere. This book comprises a selection of her notes, activities and projects from between November 2010 and March 2013, which were inspired by weekly sessions at a Buddhist centre in Amsterdam. A glass of water symbolises the unchanging natural clarity of our consciousness, so Janssen applies this and other lessons to everyday situations she encounters.
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