I recently received a letter from a man in prison requesting guidance on the Buddhist path. He didn’t have specific questions other than a request for help. His letter stated that he’d been in prison for seven months.
I can’t imagine the hardship of being pulled apart from my family, however dysfunctional it may be, and landing in a place of confinement that may not feel safe enough to mature, or understand the workings of my own karma. I’m sharing my response to the man who sought my advice here. You can consider it one possible way of working with this sort of situation. You might also find it helpful to consult Nebraska Zen Center sangha members who work with inmates at facilities in both Omaha and Lincoln.
As a practice, how can we think of the incarcerated with greater compassion? The United States imprisons more people per capita than any other nation in the world. And if we take Buddhist teachings seriously, then we know that concentrated suffering anywhere, even if it involves appropriate punishment for wrong actions, results in increased suffering for all of us. It is in our best interest, even if we are appalled by the past actions of the incarcerated, to educate and to help them find relief from suffering. Meditation is a powerful practice for all of us, maybe even more so for the incarcerated. Some of the best students are behind bars, as they lean on and listen more intently on every word you say.
As Zen practitioners we strive to be bodhisattvas, or awakening beings, who vow to awaken others before ourselves. Zen master Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of our Soto Zen school, describes the Four Activities of a Bodhisattva as Giving, Kind Speech, Loving Action, and Cooperation. As you read through my letter to the man who requested my help you might recognize these four activities at play. Keep in mind, too, that the first person to read this letter will probably be a prison guard or facility worker whose job it is to review the content of all inmate communications. My letter is as much for that person as it is for the inmate.
If you are interested in helping out with this inmate, please contact me, Daishin.
Dear R.,
Thank you for reaching out to Zen Fields to request guidance and support from a Buddhist perspective. It’s during times of great hardship that we look to religion for guidance. All religions have something important to teach us, but we can’t always hear the message. So, if we can’t find wisdom in the religion of our birth, it doesn’t mean it’s not there, but that there may be some obstruction that stops us from receiving the message. What’s the message?
You are worthy of love, compassion, and forgiveness. You have access to unconditional love right now and always. Unconditional love means that you are worthy to receive love immediately regardless of your past mistakes.
Christians might put it like this: Jesus loves you now and always beyond your comprehension.
Buddhists might say it like this: Your value is not based on what you have done, or will do, or are doing now, but on your very existence. Every breath you take is a blessing from the universe.
I have included a piece of Japanese calligraphy. There is a famous Buddhist saying: “No mud, no lotus.” This means that just as the flower blooms thanks to the mud that it’s planted in:, so, too, Enlightenment and suffering are never apart from each other. Conditions don’t have to be your idea of perfect for you to grow spiritually. You just need to see the great opportunity you have right now for awakening.
Going forward, I recommend a daily meditation and prayer practice. Are there books or people you have access to that can help you to do that?
If so, learn as much as you can from them. Then, if you have questions that are more specific, don’t hesitate to share them with me. Meanwhile, learn how to meditate and pray. I don’t care what kind of religion you draw from to do that, so long as you come to peace in yourself.
May God and Buddha bless you always,
Daishin