One of my meditation students decided to write an 8 page letter revealing many layers of feelings for his wife of 15 years. He admitted he only ever shared what he thought and not what he "felt".  He was extremely nervous about this vulnerable position he placed himself in and wanted very much to not shut down.  He was afraid he now handed over all the power to her.  I am praying that his courage pays off

I've been volunteering in Massachusetts prisons for over two years.  I started my voyage into the MA prison system by default.  A few years ago I was helping a meditation center organize some of its activity around various ways to reach out to the Boston area community offering meditation and community service as…

a prisoner's gift

the return

I just got back from prison.

that phrase often surprises my friends..  what did You do now ko shin,  is one response....

nothing I say, I just sat!

that's what it is...a wonderful Sangha of men in a prison near my home...

today, two new members came, these wonderful Sangha seem so…

The following essay is by William Blake, who has been held in solitary confinement for nearly 26 years. Currently he is in administrative segregation at Elmira Correctional Facility, a maximum security facility located in south central New York State. In 1987, Blake, then 23 and in county court on a drug charge, murdered one deputy and wounded another in a failed escape attempt. He was sentenced to 77 years to life. …

I was at a meeting last week with the Ct DOC officials that are charged with starting Buddhist gatherings in order for the inmates to practice together in a formal service.

Some of the tasks that came out of the meeting were:

1- A steady supply of leaders to lead the services and to keep them going.  I have been tasked with finding those individuals that would be interested in doing…

By Carter Tracy, PMI Admin & Books Behind Bars Coordinator

In 2012, PDN-headquarters changed the name of our primary organization to the Prison Mindfulness Institute.  We created a brand new website reflecting our current projects and visions for new endeavors.  The Prison Dharma…

By Michael Fleischer for TakePart.com, March 1, 2013

After a murder charge at 13, Xavier McElrath-Bey earned a college degree behind bars and now saves lives. All convicts should have that chance.  

Xavier McElrath-Bey was locked up as an accomplice to murder before his 14th birthday. A participant in a …

This Week Dr. Patricia O'Brien the author of the Book, "Making it in the Free World: Women in Transition from Prison" will discuss the issues of women returning back to society, life and more

Please help filmmaker finish this important new film, Naked Mind, which chronicles the many ways that meditation is positively impacting modern culture in the West.   The film features many of the most preeminent meditation teachers, East and West and as well as the prison work of Prison Dharma Network (Prison…

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2174940

By Josh Constine for TechCrunch.com, February 22, 2013

Barbed wire and armed guards aren’t your typical intro to a startup pitch event. But today, San Quentin Prison hosted The Last Mile demo day featuring…

I have been chompin’ at the bit to tell you all about an event that happened at San Quentin last night. I've been restraining myself because as you all know, lockdowns, fog-lines and other prison-related obstacles can easily, randomly and suddenly thwart even the best-laid plans!

Sunday night marked the first of hopefully ongoing Devotional Music Nights at San Quentin State Prison. I am so lucky that my…

This Week Dr. Patricia O'Brien the author of the Book Women in Transition from Prison will discuss the issues of women returning back to society, life and more

Faith Behind Bars Moving Beyond Mistakes & Excuses

I'm very involved in the provision of hospice care in Canada, including direct service to patients in a residential care facility. I'm also helping to set up a new free-standing hospice in Ottawa, where I live, and I'm writing a research report on Death and Dying in Canada and its impact on families. Surprisingly, perhaps, my work gives me great hope and energy.

I'm especially inspired by the work I've see on this site by prisoners doing hospice work inside prisons. I'd love to see…

By David Wood for The Huffington Post, December 12, 2012

For a decade, troops returning from war with mental and physical trauma have been dosed with cocktails of numbing drugs and corralled into talk-therapy sessions, often with civilian clinicians who have no experience in combat…