Chris de Ocejo
  • Male
  • Hartford, CT
  • United States
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Chris de Ocejo's Friends

  • David Munro
  • lea ann
  • Moreland Nicholson
  • Aaron Quinley
  • Ven. David Astor Sensei 曦 肯
  • Carter (PDN Admin)
  • Janna

Chris de Ocejo's Groups

Chris de Ocejo's Discussions

Theravadin Practitioners

Started this discussion. Last reply by Chris de Ocejo May 19. 2 Replies

Hi all,So I've started a group for all those who are interested in Buddhist practice and Path according to Theravadin understanding of Buddhism.  Lately I've found myself more and more drawn to…Continue

Dream Yoga?

Started this discussion. Last reply by Chris de Ocejo Feb 23, 2011. 4 Replies

Hi folks,So about a month ago I had some real bad insomnia. Didn't sleep more than maybe 2, 3 hours each night. The last night, I was trying to doze off and was practicing your typical shamatha. I…Continue

Tags: awareness, meditation, lucidity, yoga, sleep

 

Hi, Chris.

Latest Activity

Chris de Ocejo shared a profile on Facebook
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Chris de Ocejo

May 20
Chris de Ocejo posted a status
"First flash of the nimitta!"
May 20
0 Comments
Chris de Ocejo replied to Chris de Ocejo's discussion Theravadin Practitioners
"Josh, I started reading "Food for the Heart," but I found it somewhat inaccessible because Ajahn Chah was often addressing monastics, who live according to the 227 precepts instead of our 5.   Two books I can recommend are…"
May 19
josh replied to Chris de Ocejo's discussion Theravadin Practitioners
"I am new to Buddhism but Theravada is what I've found myself drawn to. I like to have the answers instead of another question haha. Most of my favorite teachers seem to be Theravada teachers. Noah levine, Tara Brach, and I am now reading Food…"
May 18
Chris de Ocejo posted a discussion

Theravadin Practitioners

Hi all,So I've started a group for all those who are interested in Buddhist practice and Path according to Theravadin understanding of Buddhism.  Lately I've found myself more and more drawn to Theravada.  Maybe it's my lawyerly mind, but I find myself more comfortable with the scholastic attitude of this Path.  I've been reading a book titled Buddhist Teaching in India, by Johannes Bronckhorst, and he proposes that the division between the Mahayana and Theravada started between a division…See More
May 18
2 Comments
Chris de Ocejo posted a group
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Theravadin Practitioners

A group for those interested in Dhamma according to the Tripitaka.See More
May 18
0 Comments
Chris de Ocejo posted a status
"Slowly getting closer to the nimitta."
May 17
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Chris de Ocejo updated their profile
May 17
Chris de Ocejo and David Munro are now friends
May 15
Chris de Ocejo commented on Moreland Nicholson's blog post How Prisoners might Learn the Dharma a Bit More Easily
"Galatia, Didn't the Buddha speak at a level appropriate for the person to whom he was talking? As I understand it, Moreland is looking to present Buddhist psychology/philosophy in a manner that is accessible and engaging. Not a task I'd be…"
Feb 26, 2011
Chris de Ocejo replied to David Munro's discussion Setting up a Prison Dharma Group
"Gus,   I'm no expert, but the way I would describe those terms: prison dharma consists of Buddhist dharma as applied within a correctional institution. A prison dharma group is going to consist of non-incarcerated individuals willing to go…"
Feb 25, 2011
Chris de Ocejo replied to Moreland Nicholson's discussion Spaciousness
"Moreland, It depends on use. In math, I think distance refers to a measurement of space between two points. Space is used to describe 3 dimensions (right/left, up/down, deeper/nearer). Spaciousness has also been used to describe Buddha mind or…"
Feb 24, 2011
Chris de Ocejo replied to EG's discussion Do Residential Dharma Centers have an ongoing responsibility to prisoners served?
"John,   Thank you for telling me about Prem Rawat. At this time, I do not feel that I would benefit from following his path. "
Feb 24, 2011
Chris de Ocejo replied to EG's discussion Do Residential Dharma Centers have an ongoing responsibility to prisoners served?
"Aaron,   Well in Zen, it used to be that if you wanted to join a monastic community, you were left outside the front gate for 3 days, during which you were not to move. In Theravada traditions, there is a period where one is a novice and has…"
Feb 23, 2011
Chris de Ocejo replied to EG's discussion Do Residential Dharma Centers have an ongoing responsibility to prisoners served?
"Aaron,   The problem, as I see it, is that it's next-to-impossible to get other people not to hold mistakes against those who have messed up in the past. Doing that myself is often very hard, but then, this is one of the reasons to…"
Feb 23, 2011
Chris de Ocejo replied to Paul McIvor's discussion mental illness in prisons
"Janna,   Before I started law school, I worked as a counselor to people with severe mental illness and substance abuse problems. Our program, in order to receive funding from the state and the Fed to pay us, required that log 40 hours a month…"
Feb 23, 2011

Profile Information

Country
USA
How you are involved in Prison Dharma
Pen Pal, Interested
Tell us about yourself & your interest in prison dharma: (answer required) .
I've been sitting for 14 years. I graduated from Naropa University (where Fleet sometimes taught though I never got a chance to speak with him much) in '05 with a degree in Contemplative Psychology. I worked as a drug- and alcohol-counselor to the severely mentally-ill in Hartford until a year and a half ago, when I went back to school for a degree in law (graduate in '13). I'm hoping to be a public defender.

Most recently I've been volunteering on prison-based gerrymandering, and am hoping to get involved in alternatives-to-incarceration, restorative justice programs, creating better re-entry programs, etc.
My Website:
http://taeis.blogspot.com
Prison or Dharma Books I Love
Bodhichariavatava, by Shantideva (fan of the Padmakara Translation, especially - one of the most beautiful pieces of spiritual writing of all time).

Buddha, by Karen Armstrong.

Buddha, by Osamu Tezuka (6-volume manga of the Buddha's life - plenty of liberties taken, but still a great read).

In the Buddha's Words, edited and translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi.

Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond, by Ajahn Brahm.

Favorite Quote

The bad news is that you're in free fall, no parachute, nothing to grab on to.

The good news is, there is no ground.

-- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

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Chris de Ocejo's Blog

Samsara Blues

Posted on February 16, 2011 at 8:00am 0 Comments

All of my life, as far back as I can remember, I've been looking for the end of the movie, the part where the end-credits roll. I thought that if I got this girl, got into that school, got this job, built those muscles, did that major life-task... everything would be OK. It'd all be smooth sailing from there. Roll the credits. Buddhism has a word for it: samsara. The endless chase for the end of the film. And the reason it's an endless chase is that none of those things actually are the end of… Continue

Depression

Posted on December 4, 2010 at 4:30pm 0 Comments

I've been depressed longer than I've been meditating. Meditation was suggested for me as a practice to handle the depression, actually; and for the most part, I think it's been one of the better tools.I was just writing a letter to my school's administration, to ask for extra time to take my exams. Over the past several months the anti-depressant I've been on has been slowly wearing off. This has meant attempts to switch to other medications, and to supplement other ones in, too. I wrote to the… Continue

Comment Wall (4 comments)

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At 6:18pm on January 21, 2011, lea ann said…

Continued . . . He would love to have someone to befriend or correspond with.  I think right now the charges he is faced with are pretty severe . . .over 13 and Attempted homicide on two police officers. . .which is untrue, but who will the courts believe.  He has never been in trouble before and never violent!  The pic below is David and his sisters, Sarah and Gabrielle.. The bottom pic is myself and grandson Cody.  We are all he has and with limited resources.

The two bottom pic are him, his sisters, Sarah and Gabrielle, and myself w/grandson Cody.

His temporary address is:

David Jordan Griffin

I.D. 438614 Unit 206

San Luis Obispo County Jail

P.O. Box 15409

San Luis Obispo,CA  93406

Feel free to pass any information to others who might be able to help

Sincerely, Lea Ann Barnick

At 6:08pm on January 21, 2011, lea ann said…

I appreciate your response, thank you! He can use all the help he can get to sustain an inner peace wherever he goes. 

His arraignment is on the 28th of this month in San Luis Obispo....The news article makes him out to be a typical felon.  Before all this happened I was speaking to a girlfriend about my sons strange behavior and mentioned that he seemed schizophrenic.  He was growing paranoid, didn't make sense, was having audible hallucinations. All this scared me.  We live in an isolated area which didn't help.  We made a decision to send him to his uncles to help him start fresh and to get checked out . . . unbeknown-st to us all, the severity of his inner turmoil was about to come out.

Right now he is in the San Luis Obispo County jail awaiting sentencing.  This all happened in April of 2010.

 

Here is
At 9:57am on November 17, 2010, Ven. David Astor Sensei 曦 肯 said…
Thank you, Chris, for reaching out. I send positive thoughts your way and trust your practice is flourishing.

/\ David
At 5:42pm on November 2, 2010, Carter (PDN Admin) said…
Hello!

Thanks for joining the PDN community! We are looking forward to seeing your posted pictures, videos, blogs, discussion topics, etc. Please let me know if you have any questions about the site or check out the “Help” tab at the top of this page.

Welcome Aboard!

Samara Spitzer, Books Behind Bars Coordinator
 
 
 

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