The Best Buddhist Writing 2010. A Book Review.

How would you like to have a collection of excellent Buddhist writings all in one book for your library? Well, that's exactly what Melvin McLeod and the Shambhala editors have offered up in the "The Best Buddhist Writing" series. Each year they select the cream of the crop in Buddhist essays and other writings to inspire and edify the Buddhist community. This year they have complied one of their best, and it's not simply Buddhist masters who are featured.

You'll read heartfelt writings from people as diverse as a man on death row to Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Death row inmate Jarvis Jay Masters was a hardened criminal who has since shed those violent ways and dedicated his life to practicing the Dharma. His narration of a short visit to a hospital outside the prison walls will make you see the present moment in an entirely new way. One that will rededicate your will power to soak up every last drop of it. He writes about the ride to and from the hospital for a basic hearing check-up and how he savored each time the car he was traveling in stopped at a red light.

It gave him precious time to take in the beauty of regular life unraveling before his eyes hungry for a glimpse of an average life. How easily do we go about our day and take for granted that we can freely walk out our door at any time and go for a walk to see things that an prisoner would give anything to experience again. The simple beauty of watching the traffic lights turn from green to red was enough to make this inmate tear up with appreciation. May we all too learn to see the world in such a pure way. This is a good book if you are looking for a collection of easy to read, inspirational tales from both Buddhist masters but also average practitioners.

~Peace to all beings~

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The Dhamma Brothers.

This Sunday, May 9th on the American T.V. Channel PBS there will be a documentary on inmates at a maximum security prison who are studying Buddhist meditation.

It is titled, "The Dhamma Brothers." Check your local listings for times. In the Mountain Time Zone (U.S.) where I live it will air from 1:00a.m. to 2:00a.m.

I believe it's a re-airing of the original program but still might be of interest to you. I haven't seen it yet, so I'm looking forward to it.

~Peace to all beings~

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Mindful Gardening in Prison.

Nelson Mandela may have started it all when he was in prison—"A garden is one of the few things in prison that one could control," he wrote in his autobiography. "Being a custodian of this patch of earth offered a small taste of freedom." But the idea probably rose to national fame only earlier this past decade, when the Garden Project of San Francisco started selling fresh produce to Alice Waters's acclaimed Chez Panisse restaurant.

Catherine Sneed, the woman who in 1992 founded that project, which is a post-release program for ex-prisoners, did so because she had already seen such success with the Horticulture Program at the San Francisco County Jail, where she would go out on a daily basis with prisoners to work on the farm within the boundaries of the jail. The vegetables they grew were donated to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Her moment of realization of a need for a post-release program came when one student of hers asked the visiting sheriff for permission to stay and work on the farm; Sneed recalled, "he had nothing on the outside."

James: One of the failures of our justice system is that we don't rehabilitate prisoners very well. This can be seen in how often prisoners come out of prison a better criminal than going in. These prison gardens, which offer a chance for inmates to practice mindfulness via caring for vegetables is wonderful rehabilitation. It teaches them patience and focuses the brain to make it harder for the mind to chase dangerous thoughts down the rabbit hole. It gives them the tools to release less skillful energy and transform it into something wonderful such as vibrant, life-sustaining food.

It gives them hope that their lives can still have some meaning despite having committed horrible crimes, and thus, unfortunately treated as no longer having a benefit to society. I think it's wonderful that the food they grow is used in soup kitchens and homeless shelters. It is a way for these prisoners to do some good instead of causing harm. It is a way for them to feel like they can pay some of their debt to society, and reduce less skillful karma. I know that it's very difficult for victims' families to think anything positive should happen in the lives of these prisoners. However, if anything good can come from such horrible events then I would hope that they could take some comfort in such programs. Especially one that helps feed the homeless. If it weren't for these gardens that these inmates grow, who knows what crimes some homeless might commit to feed themselves. What a wonderful thing to think of inmates helping people potentially stay out of prison.

Sadly the U.S. prison system is structured in a way as to build up tensions between inmates and offer few programs to help them release that emotion in a more positive way. It is my hope that these prison gardens will become a trend and that mindfulness will help relieve some of the problems in our prison system. I know it can if given a chance.

---End of Transmission---

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