What if I Don't Hold the Key?...

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, a Zen teacher and Head of Operations at Zen Mountain Monastery states it quite simply: "Zen doesn't save you. The teachings are fundamentally difficult, and you have to work at it." And what if you were one of the over 2 million prisoners held in federal or state prisons or in local jails at the end of 2002 -- what would a call to practice entail behind bars?

In a recent piece in Chronogram, an inmate who is a member of the National Buddhist Prison Sangha (NBPS) writes:

"I would like to take this time to tell you a little about myself. I am 24 years old. I have spent my entire life trying to escape from reality and obtain some type of acceptance...my biggest fear came true when I was sent to prison...It wasn't long before I started taking my own self-hatred out on others and was placed in solitary confinement. I was in a cell 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All day I lashed out more by breaking and burning everything I could...

"This happened six different times during that eight-month period. The last time I was covered in pepper-mace with no way to wash it off. I've heard it said that it is darkest before the dawn. I believe that because that last trip to the hole broke me down to nothing. I didn't want to live and I didn't have the courage to die. All I can remember thinking is that there has to be a better way to live."

Is there a danger is glossing over the magnitude of many inmates crimes? Yes, very certainly. But isn't there also a temptation to ignore the realities of a society that incarcerates an estimated 12 per cent of black men in their 20s and early 30s and only 1.6 per cent of white males in the same age group? Can New York State offer its over 70,000 inmates rehabilitation in addition to punishment that includes the "loaf" diet -- consisting of bread served in a bag, raw cabbage, and water?

The NBPS began in 1984 and offers training and support to Buddhists and those who wish to study meditation and who don't identify themselves as Buddhists.

"NBPS has developed a series of training manuals which explain the basic teachings of Zen, instructions of zazen (meditation), liturgy, and how to work with the moral and ethical teachings of Buddhism, all directed toward those practicing in prison. Volunteers also make regular visits to local prisons for zazen, Buddhist holidays, and retreats."

Better to hear what practice means to a prisoner. For words from practitioners, go to a wonderful online newsletter, Prairie Wind, published by the Nebraska Zen Center.