I think this article is also relevant for us because though we
are not literally behind bars, as my friend said 'home, work,
school, the stifling environment we're in, and the psychological
problems' we face are in itself a form of prison.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/09/prison.meditation/index.html
RIVERDALE, Georgia (CNN) -- In his darkest
moment, Kenneth Brown lost it all. His wife and kids, the
housebroken dog, the vacation home on Cape Cod all vanished when he
was sent to prison for an arson in 1996.
Trapped in his gloomy cell and serving a 20-year sentence that
felt like an eternity, Brown, then 49, found himself stretched out
on the floor. He was silent. His eyes were shut. His body did not
move.
Brown, a man raised as a Baptist and taught to praise the Lord
and fear the devil, was meditating.
"I try to focus on the space between two thoughts, because it
prevents me from getting lost," said Brown, who discovered
meditation, yoga and Buddhist teachings three months into his
sentence.
"This helped me stay on track and get me through prison," he
said.
Eastern religions encompassing meditation techniques have
captivated hippies, 20-somethings and celebrities like actor
Richard Gere. But since the 1960s, the art of meditation also has
found a growing number of unlikely followers behind prison
bars.
The inmates say meditation -- an ancient practice that develops
mental awareness and fosters relaxation -- is teaching them how to
cope in prison.
"Mostly, the people in Buddhist community are going into the prisons,
providing programs, and word of mouth gets from one inmate to
another," explained Gary Friedman, communications chairman for the
American Correctional Chaplains Association. "It's a break from all
the hustle and noise of the prison environment."
There is no group tracking the number of inmates converting to
Buddhism or engaging in meditation practices. But programs and
workshops educating inmates about meditation and yoga are sprouting
up across the country.
Meditation can help the convicts find calmness in a prison
culture ripe with violence and chaos. The practice provides them a
chance to reflect on their crimes, wrestle through feelings of guilt and
transform themselves during their rehabilitative journey, Buddhist
experts say.
In the past five years, books like the "Prison Chaplaincy
Guidelines for Zen Buddhism" and "Razor-Wire Dharma: A Buddhist
Life in Prison" have emerged.
"This is transformative justice, as opposed to punitive," said
Fleet Maull, founder of the Prison Dharma Network, one of the
largest support networks helping inmates learn meditation and
Buddhist teachings.
Since its inception in 1989, Prison Dharma Network has grown
from one person -- Maull -- teaching Buddhist principles to more
than 75 member organizations corresponding with 2,500 individuals,
many of them inmates.
For the past seven years, Maull's group has taught a weekly
meditation class in Boulder County Jail in Colorado.
Some inmates follow Zen Buddhism, a practice that originated in
China, and meet weekly to focus their minds. Others practice
Vipassana, a Buddhist practice founded in India, which consists of
completing hundreds of hours of meditation in a short period of
time.
Buddhism has gained momentum in the United States over the past
25 years, becoming the third most popular religion in America
behind Christianity and Judaism, according to the 2008 report from
the the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. About 1.7 million
Americans call themselves Buddhists, and many of them are converts,
the study said. According to the American Religious Identification
Survey in 2008, there were 1.2 million self-identified
Buddhists.
Some inmates, like Brown, may not label themselves official
Buddhists, but they meditate, practice yoga and followBuddhist
principles on truth, responsibility and suffering.
The practice of meditation seeped into the heart of the Bible
Belt in 2002. The Donaldson Correctional Facility, a
maximum-security prison in Alabama, was notorious for violence. But a group of
male inmates, including several murderers, completed a Vipassana
meditation retreat that required more than 100 hours of meditation
in 10 days.
One inmate, who was featured in the 2007 documentary "The Dhamma
Brothers," said Vipassana was harder than the 8½ years he had spent
on death row. More than 120 men in Donaldson have gone through
Vipassana at least once. 
Watch a clip of "The Dhamma Brothers"
»
"They don't feel so close to exploding," said Jenny Phillips,
director of the film. "They aren't afraid to have conversations
with people and to express themselves. They aren't always on
edge."
Critics, including some prison officials, doubt that meditation
works. They worry that it may be a tactic to convince parole boards
to lighten a sentence.
In areas that are heavily Christian, some wardens are
uncomfortable with introducing Eastern religions. Alabama prison
authorities were initially skeptical about meditation but next year
will designate an open dormitory for inmates going through
Vipassana, said Ron Cavanaugh, director of treatment for the
Alabama Department of Corrections.
He said corrections officers have seen lower levels of violence
among Donaldson inmates who meditate.
In California, a state where the swollen prison population has
resulted in dangerously overcrowded prisons, teaching conflict
management is critical, said Anne Seisen Saunders, a Zen Buddhist
instructor who was raised Christian.
Her Prison Meditation Project, based near San Diego, began a
decade ago in one prison yard. Today, the program has expanded to
five prisons, with an average of 20 inmates participating in each
location.
Last week, the autumn sky transformed from a deep purple to
light blue outside Kenneth Brown's meager studio apartment. Inside,
Brown sat on his bed, barefoot and deep in concentration, in front
of a makeshift altar holding books a photo of the Buddha. Traces of
incense billowed in the air.
Brown, now 62, resides in Georgia to be near his family. He says
he was wrongfully convicted of arson. In 2005, a Massachusetts
appeals judge reduced his sentence from 20 years to nine.
His body was motionless, his eyes closed and the palms of his
hands facing upward.
These days, Brown's practice of mediation helps him tackle the
challenges of being unemployed with a felony record. The college
graduate has been rejected from jobs catching stray dogs and
cleaning hotel rooms.
But he's got a lot to be thankful for: His daughters, his
grandchildren -- and meditation, he said.
"I finally feel at peace."