Marilyn Silverstone
Encyclopedia
Marilyn Rita Silverstone (March 9, 1929 – September 28, 1999) was an accomplished photo-journalist
and ordained Buddhist
nun. Hers would be an eventful life, and she is said to have proclaimed with undeniable truth: "I can say that I did it all."
and 20th-Century Fox, working with Charlie Chaplin
and other early movie stars in London; and the family returned to America just before the outbreak of war in Europe.
Marilyn grew up in Scarsdale, New York
. After graduating from Wellesley College, she became an associate editor for Art News, Industrial Design
, and Interiors in the early 1950s. She moved to Italy to make documentary art films.
In 1956, she traveled to India on assignment to photograph Ravi Shankar
. She returned to the subcontinent in 1959; what was intended to be a short trip became the beginning of a fascination with India which lasted for the rest of her life. Her photographs of the arrival in India of the Dalai Lama
, who was escaping from the Chinese invasion of Tibet, made the lead in Life
. As a photographer, she was begging to be taken seriously.
In that period, she met and fell in love with Frank Moraes
, one of the great crusading journalists of his generation. Moraes was then editor of The Indian Express
. The couple lived together in New Delhi
until 1973, socializing in an elite set of politicians, journalists and intellectuals, and diplomats. A number of Moraes editorials had earned the ire of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
, and the situation deteriorated to the point that a retreat to London became the best course.
Over the years, Silverstone's reputation as a photographer grew. In 1967 she joined Magnum Photos
, in which she was only one of five women members. Silverstone's work for Magnum included photographing subjects ranging from Albert Schweitzer to the coronation of the Shah of Iran.
At the time of Silverstone's death, preparation of an exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
featuring her work and that of other Magnum photographers was nearing completion.. St. Andrews University hosted a seminar in conjunction with this exhibition; and as Silverstone had just recently died, the seminar became an opportunity for her peers to celebrate her life and career.
; and she said the book provided a key she long carried in her subconscious.
In the late 1960s, Silverstone had worked on a photography assignment about a Tibetan Buddhist lama in Sikkim named Khanpo Rinpoche; and, when the lama came to London for medical treatment in the 1970s, Rinpoche stayed with the couple. At this point, Silverstone decided to learn Tibetan in order to study Buddhism with him. After Moraes's death in 1974, Silverstone decided to join the entourage of another celebrated lama, Khentse Rinpoche, who left London to a remote monastery in Nepal.
In 1977, she took vows as a Buddhist nun. Her Buddhist name was Bhikshuni Ngawang Chödrön, or Ani Marilyn to her close friends. In her new life in Kathmandu (Nepal), she researched the vanishing customs of Rajasthan
and the Himalayan
kingdoms.
In 1999, Ngawang Chödrön returned to the United States for cancer treatment, and she learned that she was terminally ill. She was clear that she wanted to die in Nepal, her home for the past 25 years; however, no airline would carry a passenger in her fragile condition. Typically, she resolved the impasse by persuading a doctor on vacation to accompany her on the return to Kathmandu.
By all accounts, the journey was fraught with difficulties. Ngawang Chödrön was barely conscious during the trip, and a stopover was necessary in Vienna. Ngawang Chödrön (Marilyn Silverstone) died in 1999 in the Buddhist community she had worked to establish and maintain.
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
and ordained Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
nun. Hers would be an eventful life, and she is said to have proclaimed with undeniable truth: "I can say that I did it all."
Youth
The eldest daughter of Murray and Dorothy Silverstone was born in London. Her father, the son of Polish immigrants, rose to become Managing Director, and President, International, respectively, of United ArtistsUnited Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
and 20th-Century Fox, working with Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
and other early movie stars in London; and the family returned to America just before the outbreak of war in Europe.
Marilyn grew up in Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale is a coterminous town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the northern suburbs of New York City. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several villages...
. After graduating from Wellesley College, she became an associate editor for Art News, Industrial Design
I.D. (magazine)
I.D. was a magazine covering the art, business and culture of design. It was published eight times a year by F+W Media....
, and Interiors in the early 1950s. She moved to Italy to make documentary art films.
Photo-journalist
Silverstone became a working photojournalist in 1955, traveling and capturing the range of images that her vision led her to find in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.In 1956, she traveled to India on assignment to photograph Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
. She returned to the subcontinent in 1959; what was intended to be a short trip became the beginning of a fascination with India which lasted for the rest of her life. Her photographs of the arrival in India of the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, who was escaping from the Chinese invasion of Tibet, made the lead in Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
. As a photographer, she was begging to be taken seriously.
In that period, she met and fell in love with Frank Moraes
Frank Moraes
Francis Robert "Frank" Moraes was editor of many prominent newspapers in post-Independence India, including The Indian Express.-Biodata:...
, one of the great crusading journalists of his generation. Moraes was then editor of The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
. The couple lived together in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
until 1973, socializing in an elite set of politicians, journalists and intellectuals, and diplomats. A number of Moraes editorials had earned the ire of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
, and the situation deteriorated to the point that a retreat to London became the best course.
Over the years, Silverstone's reputation as a photographer grew. In 1967 she joined Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
, in which she was only one of five women members. Silverstone's work for Magnum included photographing subjects ranging from Albert Schweitzer to the coronation of the Shah of Iran.
At the time of Silverstone's death, preparation of an exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery on Queen Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. It holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. In addition it also holds the Scottish National Photography Collection...
featuring her work and that of other Magnum photographers was nearing completion.. St. Andrews University hosted a seminar in conjunction with this exhibition; and as Silverstone had just recently died, the seminar became an opportunity for her peers to celebrate her life and career.
Buddhist nun
Silverstone's conversion to Buddhist nun could be said to have begun when she was an impressionable teenager suffering from the mumps. She would later explain that during this conventional childhood illness, she picked up Secret Tibet by Fosco MarainiFosco Maraini
Fosco Maraini was an Italian photographer, anthropologist, ethnologist, writer, mountaineer and academic.-Biography:...
; and she said the book provided a key she long carried in her subconscious.
In the late 1960s, Silverstone had worked on a photography assignment about a Tibetan Buddhist lama in Sikkim named Khanpo Rinpoche; and, when the lama came to London for medical treatment in the 1970s, Rinpoche stayed with the couple. At this point, Silverstone decided to learn Tibetan in order to study Buddhism with him. After Moraes's death in 1974, Silverstone decided to join the entourage of another celebrated lama, Khentse Rinpoche, who left London to a remote monastery in Nepal.
In 1977, she took vows as a Buddhist nun. Her Buddhist name was Bhikshuni Ngawang Chödrön, or Ani Marilyn to her close friends. In her new life in Kathmandu (Nepal), she researched the vanishing customs of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and the Himalayan
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
kingdoms.
In 1999, Ngawang Chödrön returned to the United States for cancer treatment, and she learned that she was terminally ill. She was clear that she wanted to die in Nepal, her home for the past 25 years; however, no airline would carry a passenger in her fragile condition. Typically, she resolved the impasse by persuading a doctor on vacation to accompany her on the return to Kathmandu.
By all accounts, the journey was fraught with difficulties. Ngawang Chödrön was barely conscious during the trip, and a stopover was necessary in Vienna. Ngawang Chödrön (Marilyn Silverstone) died in 1999 in the Buddhist community she had worked to establish and maintain.
Books by Silverstone
- Gurkhas And Ghosts: The Story Of A Boy In Nepal. London: Methuen Publishing, 1964. [reprinted by Criterion Books, New York, 1970. ISBN 0-316-92875-5.]
- Bala: Child of India. New York: Hastings House, 1968. ISBN 0-803-80670-1.
- Ocean of Life: Visions of India and the Himalayan Kingdoms. New York: Aperture FoundationAperture FoundationThe Aperture Foundation was founded in 1952 by Ansel Adams, Minor White, Barbara Morgan, Dorothea Lange, Nancy Newhall, Beaumont Newhall, Ernest Louie, Melton Ferris, and Dody Warren. Their vision was to create a forum for fine art photography, a new concept at the time. The first issue of...
, 1985. ISBN 0-893-81195-5.
Books with contributions by Silverstone
- Miller, Luree. (1987). The Black Hat Dances: Two Buddhist Boys in the Himalayas (photography by Marilyn Silverstone) New York: Dodd, Mead and CompanyDodd, Mead and CompanyDodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. Its history properly began in 1870, with the retirement of its founder, Moses Woodruff Dodd. Control passed to his son Frank...
. ISBN 0-3960-8835-X (cloth)