Popular Books

By Incarcerated People

Reflections, essays, and poems by people in prison about their Dharma practice.

  1. Home
  2. Dharma in Action
  3. Prison Dharma
  4. By Incarcerated People

All Posts in By Incarcerated People

The words 'Let go' painted on cable car tracks.
On Self-Worth

Letting go of guilt and shame

Overcoming guilt and shame by cultivating loving kindness for oneself first and then expanding it…

View Post
A worker picking flowers at a very colorful flower fields.
On Mindfulness

The path and the garden

C. M. reflects on the effects on his practice of time spent gardening. Any work…

View Post
Man sitting in meditation with eyes closed.
By Incarcerated People

Daishin, big mind

We can embrace our experiences, whether difficult or pleasant, in a way that is neither…

View Post
A yellow flower growing out of a crack in concrete.
On Mindfulness

The reality of adversity

Learn to smile and let go instead of flipping out, even in the most difficult…

View Post
Path through trees
On Self-Worth

The journey

If looking back is hurtful, it can be a relief to find a way forward…

View Post
A man's handcuffed hands behind his back.
On Love, Compassion, and Bodhicitta

Sitting with difficulty

An incarcerated person describes the benefit of sitting with discomfort and sharing the suffering of…

View Post
Yellow-toned image of brothers walking through a field.
On Overcoming Anger

Them

By understanding the suffering of others, a person in prison was able to forgive himself.

View Post
Hard chair in empty room
On Self-Worth

The pajama room

A person in prison experiences a spiritual awakening unlike any he had anticipated.

View Post
Koi fish swimming.
On Overcoming Anger

Flow

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

View Post
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…

View Post
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…

View Post
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."

View Post