Comments on: Why teach meditation in prison?

By: Into Prisons « Follow your Nose

Into Prisons « Follow your Nose — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:13:29 +0000

[...] A friend of mine told me years ago about the Canadian nun, Sister Elaine MacInnes, who teaches meditation to inmates and was awarded the Order of Canada for her work, and Google reveals there’s also a place in Boston, Wildmind Buddhist Meditation, that has some participants who teach meditation in prisons. [...]

By: Bodhipaksa

Bodhipaksa — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:27:45 +0000

I’d imagine you’d have to be a Buddhist…

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:35:53 +0000

Thanks for the suggestion but I don’t think Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy organization would accept me as I have been following the Sufi path for many years. I know a lot of the Sufi practices are Buddhist and I have very much enjoyed visiting Buddhist temples but would I be acceptable?

By: Bodhipaksa

Bodhipaksa — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:55:25 +0000

Hi, Michael. You'd probably want to get in touch with Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy organization, who would be able to help you.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:12:47 +0000

Hi I have been meditating for over 35 years and found it shch a help on meeting the challenges of daily life. Just let two flats to ex prisoners. How could I teach meditation in a prison near London?

By: Inmates Find New Definition of Freedom Through Meditation « Dialogic Magazine

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:27:43 +0000

[...] Wildmind: “Prison life is incredibly stressful. An inmate is frequently cut off from friends and family, thrust amongst people who may be exploitative or abusive, and subject to a regime where he has little or no control over his life. (Please excuse my gender-specific language – I’m of course aware that there are many female inmates)…At the same time, inmates have an opportunity to pause and to look at their lives: to ask the questions, “How did I end up here?” and “Where did I go wrong?” and, perhaps most importantly, “How can I change?” This brings some inmates to explore religion and spirituality, including spiritual paths that are new to them. Many become attracted to the idea of learning meditation techniques that can help them to cope with the stresses of prison life and to bring about positive character changes.” [...]

By: Jenny Wright

Jenny Wright — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:03:59 +0000

Fantastic! This coming from one of the most “conservative” counties in Southern California. Our Indigo Lotus Buddhism Group and I have just begun a meditation program at the local detention center. We are really excited about working with the inmates, sharing Dharma and listening to them as well.
One of the big differences between them and the rest of the population? The got caught.

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:59:30 +0000

Hey! I currently am volunteering for a charity called Freeing The Human Spirit. We set up yoga sessions in Canadian Prisions
and send the inmates different reading materials. One of our famous request is “We’re all doing Time” that was mentioned
above. We recieve a lot of letters from inmates thanking us for the program and the reading material. They also mention
how yoga & meditation is helping their everyday life!

By: Bodhipaksa

Bodhipaksa — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:41:33 +0000

Alex: I guess what you need first is an effective practice and experience in teaching in more conventional circumstances; there may be people who do their first teaching in prisons but I’d imagine they’d be rare.

You also need a healthy dose of common sense and a good deal of self-confidence. But in the end you’re never ready — you just start doing it and grow so that you can meet the demands of the situation.

There are a couple of books that would be helpful — “We’re All Doing Time” is one and “Sitting Inside” is another. But of course no book can really prepare you…

Good luck!

By: alex84

alex84 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:42:54 +0000

I live in the border with Mexico and as is well known the violence and the fear are taking over a majority of our citizens. I would like to teach meditation in a jail in Mexico, becouse I herd that a similar work shop in Mexico City is having great results but I don’t feel ready. What can I do to be prepared?