James Gritz is a longtime Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and artist whose work is deeply rooted in the Dharma. A student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1973, he has continued his path under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche and other teachers. His Buddhist-inspired projects include a five-month documentation of the Nangchen Nuns in eastern Tibet with Tsoknyi Rinpoche where he was the still photographer with Victress Hitchcock who directed the documentary Blessings: The Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet. James spent five months in Tibet—resulting in a limited-edition photo book, and exhibitions—as well as co-directing Never Give Up, a documentary on the 17th Karmapa filmed during the Kagyu Monlam in India. He also served as the official photographer for the Karmapa’s first U.S. and European tours and is the author of Pith Instructions from My Teachers (Sumeru Press, 2024), a collection of teachings received over decades of practice. Visit jamesgritz.com to learn more about his work.
James Gritz
Recent Articles
Footsteps of Buddha: Buddhist Pilgrimage in India
Read an excerpt from Footsteps of Buddha, the upcoming photography book by James Gritz—a visually rich and spiritually grounded reflection on twenty years of pilgrimage to India’s most sacred Buddhist sites.
Remembering Sherab Zangmo, Great Yogini of Tibet
We crowded into the small dark room and sat shoulder to shoulder. The ceiling was covered with years of soot so thick that black stalactites had formed. My eyes teared from the fumes of incense and the yak dung smoke leaking from a crude wood stove. In the dark corner, light spilled from the doorway illuminating an ancient face, deeply etched from the harsh Tibetan life at 14,000 feet. There, leaning back in her meditation box was Sherab Zangmo spinning her prayer wheel.