Tara, Great to hear you're coming back to NY--where do you live now? Which NY women's prison are you looking at? Bedford? Albion? I know some women Buddhists working at Bedford, and an inmate who meditates (lying down) at Albion.

As for Auburn, we lead a Buddhist service there, with chanting, prostrations, sitting, walking meditation, and reading/discussion. It is only 80 minutes long because of the prison guards' schedule, so we usually try to sit for half an hour during that time. The men can't usually get there right away (they don't get their call-out till 9 a.m., when it is supposed to start) so that cuts into the time we have. Most of the (now 7-9!) men have sat in other prisons and are registered Buddhists, so they sit very well.

With university students, we hold several half-hour sittings per week, but have much less in the way of ritual. In some of the sittings, we just set up the room and altar, light incense, sit, and debrief afterwards. There we are providing a space for people to meditate, not leading a Buddhist service. The men at Auburn would like to go further, taking precepts if possible, things like that. At the university, a student wanting to do that can come to the Zen Center of Syracuse and work with our teacher. The men do not have that alternative, so we do more there to support the depth of their practice.

At the university, though, we have a Student Buddhist Association that puts on events and brings in speakers with student funds. And I do give guidance if a student wants it. I am not a Dharma teacher, so I'm clear about that in both settings; however, I'm the nearest thing right now to a teacher that the men have so I'm trying to work out what's next there.

There's a lot more going on at Auburn. I plan to write about it soon, and can post it if you're interested. Where will you be moving when you come back? Would you want to meet other Buddhists doing prison dharma work in the state?

Jikyo

Thanks so much for the reply. I do plan to go to Omaha soon...is that closer or further away? I never go to Ames now, as everyone in my family has left there. I moved with my then-husband to Omaha in 1968, and lived in Nebraska till 1986, when I moved to Syracuse. You're right, my teacher is Roko Osho Sherry Chayat, and she is wonderful for me. Soon, I hope, we'll be working in Auburn CF, and at this time I and others are working in the local facility (pre-trial and short term). There's a man in Auburn who has asked for us, and who says there are men in other blocks who also, he's heard, want to meditate. We're working with the chaplain there to get it off the ground; it's slow, but it's moving.

Jikyo