Incarcerated people

Many incarcerated people from all over the United States correspond with Venerable Thubten Chodron and monastics from Sravasti Abbey. They offer great insights into how they are applying the Dharma and striving to be of benefit to themselves and others in even the most difficult of situations.

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Koi fish swimming.
On Overcoming Anger

Flow

Looking at one's difficult conditions and examining the mind in order to recognize and overcome…

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Vegetables on a prison kitchen counter.
By Incarcerated People

Kitchen Dharma

A person in prison explores opportunities to practice the Dharma in difficult living and working…

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Black and white image of a man thinking.
By Incarcerated People

Thoughts

Two months before his release, a person in prison shares his thoughts on how the…

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A hand gripping at the window grills in a dark place.
By Incarcerated People

Life in the hole

An incarcerated person describes the experience of administrative segregation, or "solitary."

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A Hope Rainbow Mosaic sign.
On Cultivating Wisdom

Owning up, but with hope

An incarcerated person talks about the changes he has made in his life since being…

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A shirtless young boy walking down a city street.
On Love, Compassion, and Bodhicitta

Street kids

An incarcerated person's harrowing account of his childhood growing up on the streets, and his…

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On Love, Compassion, and Bodhicitta

Working with People in Prison

Working with people in prison requires a mindset of humility and understanding: an incarcerated person…

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Prison Poetry

Buddha’s door

In meditation, a person in prison reflects on his experience of freedom and compassion for…

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A wood craving of a sun above the word Awaken.
By Incarcerated People

Glad to be here

A person in prison tells the story of how he happened to be in the…

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Metal bars of a solitary prison cell.
By Incarcerated People

A long-awaited vacation

How Dharma offered an important choice for an incarcerated person to transform.

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Bars on a window with dead tree inside against red bricks
On Self-Worth

Shame

Finding self-respect in the respect we have for our own Buddha nature.

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Cigarettes stacked neatly with the top one burning
On Addiction

An appeal to Linda

A heartfelt plea to a loved one to stop smoking cigarettes.

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