Vol 6 Issue 4 Updated

8/8/2019 Vol 6 Issue 4 Updated

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page 1 Buddhist Correspondence Course Newsletter

Volume 6, Issue 4October-December 2010

Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt,

so also this Dhamma and Discipline has one taste,

the taste of liberation.

Uposatha Sutta

buddhist correspondence course

newsletter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

ArticlesGuided Meditation: Breathing,James Halbirt

Overcoming a Convict's Blindness,

James HalbirtHeedfuless, Carlee HinesDharma in Your Pocket?, JenniferStripping Away,

Tenshin Hyon Sek (Jeremy Jones)No-Self and Impermanence;Buddhist and Western Perspectives

Hans MaverickBuddhist Practice at Red RockCorrectional Center

Paul Stavenjord (Tenshin Ishikawa)Beyond Words?, Douglas Stream (Tojin)

PoetryThe Incense Burns, Travis AdamsGoodnight to the World, Brian AlbererThis Temple Like No Other,

Brian AlbererStrength, James BettisMeditating on the Continuity of Mind,James Davie

ArtWhite Cloud, Travis AdamsUntitled, Kenneth GriggsBuddha,Andre MarzettaKuan Yin, Nhut Vo

LettersJames Davie

Beyond Words?Douglas Stream (Tojin) (Plymouth, WI)

Hsin-hsin-ming is a famous poem by Seng-tsan (Japanese: Sozan), the ThirdPatriarch of Chinese Zen. Hsin-hsin-ming means Trust in Mind.* The poemis 146 lines long and is one of the earliest Chan (Zen) writings. Not only does

the poem show Mahayana teachings in the form of Zens basic principles, but italso has a strong Taoist influence. Here are just a few excerpts from the poem:

The Great Way is not difficultJust dont pick and choose.Cut off all likes and dislikes

And it is clear like space.

Emptiness changing into thingsIs only our deluded view.Do not seek truth,Only let go of your opinion.

Do not live in a world of opposites.Be careful! Never go that way.If you make right and wrong,Your mind is lost in confusion.

Peaceful and troubled are only ideas.Enlightenment has no likes or dislikes.

All opposites arise from faulty views.Without any distinctionsThere can be no comparison.Stop and there is no motion.Move and there is no stillness.

When you see things like this,You are already complete.Trust and Mind are not two.Not-two is Trust in Mind.

What really caught my attention was the final two lines of the poem:

The way is beyond all words:Not past, not future, not present.

continued on p. 4


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MENTOR'S CORNER

Dharma in Your Pocket?Jennifer

When we first come to theDharma, its like meeting anold friend on the street. We smile

and nod. Hello, old friend. Im soglad to see you again. We have somuch in common. You really under-stand me. Ive missed you so much!That sense of recognition, of being understood, can be very strong.

Lets say that old friend is kind enough to give us a photo of him or herself. Whatdo we do with it? Maybe we fold it carefully, put in our pocket, and button it insafely. Ah, now I know this precious photo is safe. I will always know where Ican find it when I need to look at it and remember my old friend. But how oftendo we look at that photo? We may forget about it for weeks or months, then dis-cover it as were getting ready to wash that shirt or pair of pants. Oh, my gosh!I forgot all about this!

Or perhaps we make a beautiful frame for the photo and put it in a place wherewe can see it every day. We look at it. Oh, my good friend. That friend bringsout the best in me. Im so happy to remember that friend. Seeing that personmakes me feel so good, so understood!

We face a similar choice when we discover the Dharma. Do we safely tuck itaway in a corner of our heart, taking it out when we need to clean some particu-lar suffering from our minds? Or do we lodge it squarely in the center, so thathardly a thought can go by without brushing up against it?

The Buddha gave us many important teachings, so many that most of us will nev-er absorb all of them in our lifetime. So we find those that touch us most deeplyat a particular time, and we frame them and place them in the center of ourhearts. There, they can guide our thoughts and feelings, our speech and actions.They can offer us sustenance when we need nutritious spiritual food. They canbathe our battered spirits when we are suffering. They can offer us strength andconfidence when we feel weak and uncertain.

Like any good medicine, the Dharma works best when we understand the condi-tion it is treating. What challenges are you facing in your life now? Do youstruggle with anger? Try the Buddhas teachings on patience and equanimity. Doyou feel swamped by sadness and dejection? Find the Buddhas words on theplace of joy in the practice. Do you feel lazy and not inclined to practice? Thereare wonderful teachings on energy and right effort.

Do your best to be your own doctor. Find out what is ailing you at the presenttime. Search out possible teachings to address that condition. Then carefullyread, contemplate, and study those teachings until they are as familiar as theface of an old friend. Take the central messages and place them in a frame inthe center of your heart. Pretty soon youll find that that old friend is so close, soaccessible, that you can reach out and take his or her hand easily, and neveragain be without that feeling of security and safety, confidence and stability.

The BCCN is distributed at nocharge to those taking the

Buddhist Correspondence

Course. This is your newslet-

terby you, about you, and for

you. You are the major contribut-

ors, so send us your questions,

problems, solutions you've found

to difficulties in practice, thoughts

you have on practice, artwork, po-

etry, etc. Due to limited space,

some editing may be necessary.

We also welcome your comments

on the newsletter and sugges-

tions for ways we might improve

it to serve you better.

Please mail all correspondence to:

Buddhist Correspondence Course

c/o Rev. Richard Baksa

2020 Route 301

Carmel, NY 10512

Let us know if we may use

your full name or just initials.

To receive copies of any of the

resources listed below, please

write to Rev. Richard Baksa at

the address above.

A listing by state of Buddhist

groups that may be able to

send volunteers to your prison

to conduct Buddhist activities.

The "Religious Land Use andInstitutionalized Persons Act of

2000." This guarantees equal

access for all religions to prison

facilities for the purpose of reli-

gious meetings.

What is the Religious Land

Use and Institutionalized Per-

sons Act? This explains the

Act and how it is to be applied.


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Guided Meditation:Breathing

James Halbirt (San Luis Obispo, CA)

Sit comfortably with your backstraight but relaxed.Take a few deep cleansing breaths,

then let the breath flow out naturally.

Rest your attention on the rhythm ofyour breathing and on the air youbreathe.

Do not imagine your breathing. Donot visualize it. Just experience it.

Do not control your breathing, mak-ing it deeper or more shallow. Just beaware of your breathing as it is, frommoment to moment.

If you become distracted, rememberyour intention to be aware, to rest inthe present. Come back to yourbreathing gently and firmly againand again.

Do not be annoyed by your distractedthoughts. Just notice them and returnto concentrating on your breathing assoon as you can.

Focus on your breathing, but maintain

an open awareness. You may hearsounds, feel sensations, thinkthoughts. Do not grasp at them, makestories out of them, or reject them. Justlet them come and go lightly.

As your mind becomes quiet and still,look more deeply into your breathingand the air that you breathe throughyour nostrils and all the pores of yourbody.

Consider that every human being isbreathing the same air. It goes in oth-er peoples lungs and comes outagain, then goes into your lungs andout again, and so the process contin-ues. Experience that connection. Howwould it be without each others air?

Trees and plants are involved in creat-ing the air you breathe. Animals arebreathing the same air. Focus on your

This Temple Like No Other

Brian Alberer (Smyrna, DE)

This Temple is glorious and no

other is quite like this one.

It is filled with the power and

light of a thousand suns.

On the outside of this temple

there are cracks and chips.

Weather has given it a battle-

scarred look.

This Temple is not much when

you see it from the outside.

Step beyond the threshold and

behold the splendor.

This Temple holds treasures

that there is no price for.

You may take these treasures

and be the wealthiest man of

them all.

Everyone will see you have

something of great value.

You may be harmed for showing

your splendor.

A long as you think of this

Temple and remember

They may hurt this Temple, but

not the powerful light within it.

So, stick to the light inside of

the Temple.

This Temple is me and it is like

no other.

Its not hard to see this Temple

is me,

And everything in it will cease to

be.

breathing and look deeply into it. Ex-perience that connection fully to allthat is.

Come back to your breathing. Comeback to the world.

Be one with your breathing. Be oneconnected with the world.

Rest in awareness. Be intimately con-nected to the whole world and eachother.

Open your eyes. Relax your back andyour legs. Stand up gently.

BuddhaAndre Marzetta (Susanville, CA)

The brain is the light bulb. The sunis the heart!The flowers are something I try topicture when I concentrate.

The breath is the circles covering thewhole body.

Sometimes I can see the rest of my

body while my eyes are closed, sothats why theyre inside the feet!

The mountains are a sign of taking adeep breath.

The bird I guess is just attracted to thepeace of mind


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So, after reading 144 lines of the Patriarchs words, he tells us, The way is bey-ond all words?

Obviously in a practical sense, I understand that the way must be experiencedand thus is beyond words. The words are, however, a reminder and act asguidelines in this world of constant delusion. When I read the Patriarchs words,the words of other Zen Masters or Buddhist authors, listen to Dharma talks, and

have discussions with the Sangha, I try to take what Ive gathered and apply it tomy daily life in here.

Its difficult to take phrases like, dont pick and choose, cut off all likes and dis-likes, and do not seek the truth, only let go of your opinions, and apply them toprison life, or any setting for that matter. How do I not pick and choose the wayIm going to spend my time in prison? Do I just wander aimlessly, letting the sys-tem make all my decisions for me? Or do I choose and reject the activities that Ido have control over? How do I cut off all likes and dislikes in this environment?Lets be honest, there are people and things that we like and those that we dislike.How do we not seek the truth, and let go of our opinions? Our very consciousnessis the thing we are most attached to. Its what makes me ME! How do I just let

go of my opinions? Do I not have a voice in the matter? Am I not a part of thisworld?

Again, these are just words but they do have practical value. Im pretty sure Soz-an didnt intend for those who read his words to crawl in a hole and denythemselves to such an extreme. I think in a practical sense it would be wise topractice closely examining the things we pick and choose rather than avoidingthem. It would be wise to look at the motives and intentions behind our opinionsrather than letting go of them. I think that with some introspection the letting goand cutting off will come with the passage of time.

For after all, if the goal of practicing the way is to achieve a mind of non-dualitythen a certain amount of introspection is necessary. Or we can simply do away

with all of the words, questions, and my analysis for that matter, and try what Soz-an suggests in the title of his poem:

Hsin-hsin-ming,

Hsin-hsin-ming,

Hsin-hsin-ming.

Trust in mind,

Trust in mind,

Trust in mind.

* Zen Sourcebook, Traditional Documents from China, Korea, and Japan

Beyond Words?, cont'd from p. 1 White CloudTravis L. Adams (Bradenton, FL

The Incense BurnsTravis L. Adams (Mujin) (Bradenton,FL)

The incense burns.Autumn winds, clouds of

impermanence.A bird in the tree sings his song.The ancient eye sinks into the depths

of the ocean.Rays of sun, as the dharma, fill the

Ten Directions.Time!!Swift as the double edge sword,Kill the Buddha.

The dewdrop falls between Heavenand Earth;

and the incense burns.The autumn wind, cold as that of

Death.Great sages, voices of emptiness

echoing through the mountainvalley;

Do you see them?If so, know this,Mumon is a jokester!!

When the hubles wheel turns,Neither master nor no-mastercan stop it.It turns above the Heavens andbelow the Earth-South, North, East, and West.

This is the Life of a Zen student!


5/10


Buddhist Practice at Red RockCorrectional CenterPaul Stavenjord (Tenshin Ishikawa)

(Eloy, AZ)

The altar that was being set up thismorning consisted of a woodenbase, carved with a lotus on top andthe Six Paramitas around the edges inChinese script. It had folding legs thatkept it ten inches above the ground.

An altar cloth was put down first, thena wooden stupa, a 12-inch Buddhastatue, and a hardbound copy of theDhammapada.

In front of the altar, arranged in a row,almost touching, were seven bowls forwater and rice offerings. There wasalso an incense burner, a bell and

vajra, and a candle. Members of theSangha sat on folded blankets in tworows of five each, facing the altar.

After a group recitation of the Prajna-paramita Sutra, one by one theSangha members approached the al-tar and lit one or two sticks of incense,offering them with their personal pray-ers and placing them in the incenseholder.

After everyone had lit incense and

placed it before the altar, the bell wasrung three times and a 30-minute med-itation started, the rising sun warmingthe backs of those in meditation, smallbirds arriving to eat the rice that wasscattered around behind the altar.

A beautiful retreat somewhere up inthe mountains? Actually, this describesthe morning Buddhist meditation thattook place outside on a designatedpiece of land at Red Rock Correctional

Center, a facility operated by Correc-tions Corporation of America (CCA),just outside of Eloy, Arizona. This pris-on houses contracts from Alaska, Cali-fornia, Hawaii, and Washington.

Does our outside morning meditationseem a little out of the ordinary for aprison setting? Originally, requests

were denied for no apparent reasonand the administration acted like theywere bee-stung. The Buddhists wantedto do what?!? No way!

The RLUIPA (The Religious Land Useand Institutionalized Persons Act 42U.S.C. 2000cc et al.) changed all

that.More and more people in prison arefinding out that the RLUIPA is thesword that has the potential to cutaway the prison mindset, or just plainignorance, when it comes to religiousrights. It took us a few months to put to-gether what we needed on the person-al level and for the group. And it alsotook a civil complaint or two as thecherry on the cake.

CCA/Red Rock has made a perman-ent change to its policy, allowing burn-

ing ritual incense at Buddhistmeditation. As Buddhists, we shouldhave realized by now that we arewhere we are because of what wehave done in the past. That doesn'tmean that we must stop or give up ourpractice and beliefs. The courts havegiven us the tool (RLUIPA). Now wemust use it skillfully.

The Bodhisattva Warriors are alsothose who battle with the pen. We are

able to celebrate four Buddhist holydays per year with food purchased byus and brought to the facility by an out-side vendor. Personal Buddhist itemsthat we requested, and that were ap-proved included: altar, altar cloth,Buddha icon or Kwan Yin icon, offer-ing bowls (7 each), battery-powered

candles (4 each), meditation mat,prayer beads (mala), small bell orcymbals (tingshaw), prayer oils (3each), flute, and offering scarf(khata).

Group items included: altar, offeringbowls, prayer wheel, stupa, bell and

vajra, wooden bell (moktok), altarcloth, incense (stick only), and plasticflowers. None of these items, person-al or group, could be determined tobe a security concern. The RLUIPAdefines religious exercise as "any exer-cise of religion." In order to deny yourrequest for religious accommodation,they must show a compelling govern-mental interest and they must offer aleast restrictive means of furtheringthat compelling governmental interest.

For example, we couldn't havecandles in our cells, so the least re-strictive means was to allow battery-powered candles.

On December 19th, 2009, theAlaska contract with CCA/Red RockCorrectional Center expired. Most ofthe Alaskans were transferred to Hud-son, Colorado. The rest were shippedback to Alaska. Being back in

Alaska, after 8 years, is like starting

from scratch again. The Buddhistswant what?!?

The RLUIPA is like a wish-fulfilling-jew-el. It will show you the way, but travel-ing that path is up to you. Soundfamiliar?

Gassho.

Copies of the Religious Land

Use and Institutionalized

Persons Act can be obtained by

writing to:

Buddhist Correspondence Course

c/o Reverend Richard Baksa

2020 Route 301

Carmel, NY 10512


6/10


Overcoming A Convict's BlindnessJames L. Halbirt (San Luis Obispo, CA)

I have been in prison thirty-seven years of my life. In thattime, I have overcome many obstacles related to my mindand my relationships with various people. This is no bigdeal. This is what we should do. We should make

ourselves whole.

I have complained, whined, and denied many thingswhile in prison, but one day, I said, This is enough. Ihave always had somewhat of agenerous heart and compassionfor certain people, but I was notfully whole with myself, my trueself. I carried a great deal of bag-gage from the past. It influencedmy life drastically.

I have heard inmates complainabout their suffering, their stay inprison, the guards, the paroleboard, and just people in general.Yes, we all suffer, but the peoplein Kenya and other places in theworld would just love to live in ourshoes in this prison: three meals aday, a place to stay, clothing,healthcare. Many people donthave that in their lives. I hear badacts all the time, and the roles

they play. I see the masks theywear. Been there, done that. Thebook on Karma changed my life.It was the beginning of a searchfor understanding and wisdom. Ihad to overcome the burdens Ihad been carrying, the fears thatwere affecting my life. I began thesearch with the diligent study ofBuddhism.

We are all connected to each other, related to all that is,but we create our blindness, our own heavens and hellshere on earth. We are heir to our spiritual blindness. Wehave eyes to see and appreciate things, but not things asthey are, because we are blinded to the ultimate reality.

Do we believe what we are told, or do we believe whatwe experience? We convicts tend to abandon ourselves toa life of uncertainty, obscured and distant from any faith. Ifwe choose to live in complacency, we remain weak and

blind. To achieve illumination or spiritual insight, we requirean essential change in attitude and practice. That alterationinvolves our choice to relinquish our old nature of indiffer-ence and independence and submit or surrender to our

true selves.

Too frequently, we are in the thug mentality, opposed tochange. Old age tends to kick your ass. We start to seethis is not working for us. Living faith and practice requires

introspection and personal work.Sometimes it involves pain. Thepain is the change. A majorstruggle of the pilgrimage for youand me is to adopt a new way ofthinking. The Buddha, the Dharma,and the Sangha give us a natural

way to think.This study and practice is the tam-ing of the ego, of our dualistic think-ing, and of our fictitious concepts.To do this, we must endeavor to ridourselves of afflictions, addictions,and negative attachments. We dothis through intensive study andmeditation.

We need to overcome our anger,hatred, separation, pride, distrac-

tions, lust, greed, jealousy, and ig-norance. As prisoners, wedefinitely have been ignorant anddelusional in many instances. Theproof is in the pudding, so tospeak.

As a prisoner I have had troublewith my gossip and talking about

others faults. I know it is wrong, and I catch myself. Fortu-nately, it is happening less and less often. However, withouta sincere heart, we find ourselves bogged down, motion-

less, not knowing how to get free. The Buddhist teachingsshow us the way. We may not be free of prison, but we willbe happy and free in mind.

There are many obstacles in our way. We still cling to the at-titude we belong to ourselves, when in fact we have noself. When we are free of our self-ownership, we tend tosee things in a different light. This blindness of the natural

continued on p. 7

Kenneth Griggs

(Cheshire, CT)


7/10


Meditating on the Continuity of

the Mind

James Davie (Brent, AL)

I contemplate strongly

a positive motivation

Streams of thoughts

and feelings of creation

Comfortable and relaxed in my present state of mind

I observe in a detached way

as I travel back in time

Briefly skimming over

a consciousness flow

Getting a feeling

as I let my mind go

Avoiding involvement

while traveling through recollections

Realizing my mind stream as a flowing connection

Reaching back in my memory

as far as I can

Streams of events

all at my command

A momentum of feelings

time continues to fly

Adolescence, childhood

and infancy flash by

I find myself somewhere

Im not even breathing

In a warm surrounding

not even seeing

Is this where I started

or did I exist before

Will I always be around

or will I be no more

man is the result of complete trust inhis five senses: touch, taste, smell, hear-ing, and sight. This natural man thinksonly of temporal pursuits. When weopen our minds to ultimate reality in-stead of our conventional reality, we

begin to become mindful and awareof the moment-to-moment of pure be-ing. I think it is called maturity. Someof us never grow up. With study andpractice of meditation we begin to seebirth anddeath, the cyc-lic existenceof our pro-duced karma,those evilthings wetend to do toothers andourselves.

If we grasp the spiritual reality of lifeand death, our behavior will be dra-matically impacted. The Dharmateaches us to live for ourselves and oth-ers in the moment to moment of being,rather than living with our past or ourdream of the future. In reality, we onlyhave now.

It serves no purpose to blame our par-ents, our mentors, the cop, the judge,the Board of Prison Terms. We createdour own life as it is. When we find ourtrue wisdom, it is a perfect measure-ment of life and substance. And wecan still have our faith in God. Beinga Buddhist does not separate you fromanything; in other words, it connectsyou with all there is.

Many of us are embittered by lifes for-tunes, specifically our dealings withother people. In Buddhism, we noticeour bitterness, our hatred, our jeal-ousy, our vanity, the ups-and-downs ofrelationships that were stormy and viol-ent. We become aware and gain in-sight into how our ve accusing ofothers separates us from them. Thetendency to divorce ourselves from oth-

er good people and to divide peoplefrom each other through our backbit-ing, accusing tongues is not an expres-sion of a mature, living faith. Still, Ihave been there and done that. Usu-ally all divisiveness is the product ofone of two things: envy or the patholo-gical desire for power and control of

others. We must be willing to sur-render our pride, and begin to seelife through spiritual eyes, to free usfrom our guilt and fear. We are in a

continual strugglefor our integrityand soul.

As prisoners wehave seen that hy-pocrisy is a lie. Itis a shell game. It

is like wearingmasks. It is an

act. We all know about our masks,our dishonest faces to the world. Howour manipulation, schemes, anddesigns regarding others leave uswithout peace and divided from oth-ers. A person who is genuinely con-cerned begins to resonate with theinner person of others.

The habit that leads us to finding fault

with others always steals from ourown true heart. This habit excludes usfrom love and the radiant space inour heart and mind. It excludes loveand compassion for our fellow man.

The antidote is to become a neighborto yourself rather than an accuser.Make friends with the enemy. As youtruly love yourself you will find appro-priate ways to love others. Deep with-in the human mind and heart are

corners of darkness and self-inflictedsuffering that we know as fear, worry,and self-pity. We fear death, each oth-er, failure, solitude, old age, lack ofacceptance, and pain. The under-standing of the Buddha, the Dharma,and the Sangha will free you fromyour mental prison. And so it is

Blindness, cont'd from p. 6

The habit that leads usto finding fault withothers always steals

from our own true heart


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No-Self and Impermanence:Buddhist and Western PerspectivesHans Maverick (Dayton, TX)

The issues of no-Self and imperman-ence have been on my mind a lotlately. I recently finished lesson 4 ofthe Buddhist Correspondence Course,which covers those topics, as doesmuch of Part I of Peter Della SantinasThe Tree of Enlightenment. OtherBuddhist texts Ive read includingKosho Uchiyamas Opening the Handof Thoughtand When Things Fall

Apartby Pema Chodron, emphasizethe notion that what we call the self,I, me, or myself is in reality a con-stantly changing assemblage of otherthings.

Prior to my incarceration, I had the op-portunity to take Western philosophy,psychology, and sociology courses. Ihave continued studying psychologywhile in prison via correspondence,and read some books about Westernphilosophies like existentialism. What Ihave learned is that when modern

Western psychologists and philosoph-ers, like their ancient Buddhist counter-parts, are attempting to identify anddescribe the Self, they cannot find anywell-defined, permanent aspect of hu-man consciousness that maps directlyto what we call the Self. One theoristdescribes in great detail how differentparts of the mind--like the senses, theemotions, and the thought process--af-fect and are in turn affected by the en-vironment, and that these parts of themind do not have clear boundariesbetween themselves, with the rest ofthe body, or with the world. Yet anoth-

er theorist, in examining human behavi-or, found that we do not have fixedcharacteristics, only tendencies, andthat we only behave consistently someof the time in some situations. Yet athird group of researchers over theyears has begun at least tentatively toidentify parts of the brain associatedwith sensation and perception, with

memory, with hunger, with variousemotional states, and with decision-making, but no one of them or even agrouping corresponds to the conven-tional notion of Self. As witheverything else in the body--perhapseven more so--these brain centers andtheir interconnections change in re-

sponse to our experiences.

Having grown up in a traditional West-ern Christian environment, at first Ifound the thought that my Self hadturned up missing pretty unpleasant.The Self, I thought, was who I am,who I had been, and who I would be,for all time. Western religion posits asoul or Self that is essential and per-manent, something that, if it followedcertain rules, could expect to attain

an eternal reward. Even Western secu-lar tradition thinks in terms of an un-changing core personality or essence,something that can be found, meas-ured, and actualized. WesternEuropean and American systems of re-tributive (punitive) justice, recidivism,and increased punishment for repeatoffenders simply dont make muchsense without assuming the existenceof a permanent Self.

Thus, we come to what is, for me, theheart of the matter. As hard as I findthe notions of no-Self and imperman-ence to embrace, I cannot escape theevidence that supports these ideas. In-stead I see in them tremendous reliefand opportunity. Even though I acceptresponsibility for committing awfulcrimes and hurting innocent people, Iam not those crimes. If the Self wereas permanent and unchanging assome worldviews would have us be-

lieve, there is no way we couldchange and become better people.

Accepting responsibility is itself achange, perhaps the most importantkind of all: a change of thinking.

Thus, by having searched forsomething permanent I can call theSelf and failed to find anything clearly

defined, fixed and permanent, I havedecided that it is, to use Peter DellaSantinas metaphor, more like aforest, whose trees are constantlysprouting, growing, dying, and decay-ing: not one single thing, but an ag-gregation. Both ancient Buddhistteachings and modern Western psy-

chology support his view. (It is no coin-cidence that many renowned Westernpsychological theorists have vener-ated Buddhist teachings and studiedunder Buddhist masters.) After the ini-tial shock of grieving a self-concept Iheld so dear, however, I realized thatthese teachings--no-Self and imperman-ence--represent an opportunity: an op-portunity for change and liberationthat would not otherwise exist.

Strength

James Bettis (Clarinda, IA)

some people look for it

some people pay for it

some act like they have it

travel the world for it

travel all over land

travel all over the sea

for strength of mind

for strength of spirit

for strength of body

but true strength is always

with us

the true strength comes from

within.


9/10


Stripping AwayTenshin Hyon Sek (Jeremy Jones) (Bunker Hill, IN)

As members of a modern society, we are used to filling every waking hourwith mental distractions. In prison, this is no different. We might wake upand begin to expend our energy on any number of distractions. Whether we arewatching TV, listening to the radio, or engaging in a conversation does not mat-

ter. A distraction is a distraction.I know men who watch TV from the moment they wake up until they decide to goto sleep. Then there are those who have to talk constantly. They fill their day witha non-stop barrage of, for the most part, non-productive idle chit-chat or negativecrying and moaning. Even reading and exercise can be a way to distractourselves.

What are we running from? What are we hiding from? What do we dislike somuch about ourselves that causes us to go to such mind-numbing extremes toavoid facing? Are we even aware that we are running?

I like using food as my escape from the reality of my own suffering. We all haveour own favorite escape. This fact has spawned the clich, Everyone has a vice,as if this makes it all right.

OK, here is a challenge. I am preparing to take it tomorrow myself. Picksomething you enjoy and set it aside for a pre-determined amount of time. Thensit back and observe yourself. For me, I am choosing to fast by not eating fromsun up until sun down. Not too long I know, but for me a lifetime. I love to eat.

*****

So, my fast is up. It was a little rough in the beginning but got easier. When thosefirst hunger pangs began to rumble and shake I started thinking, Im gonnastarve. Hey, its not healthy to deprive the body. This all took place during thefirst three hours. I seemed to be hungrier since my mind knew what I was trying todo.

The predominant thought was that I was going to somehow miss out onsomething if I did not eat. Not following my normal activities produced a sense ofdread. I felt out of place in my own life.

People everywhere cling to who they believe themselves to be and the familiarworld around them. I believe this is even truer for us in prison. We have so little toidentify ourselves with that we cling that much harder.

I am going to start stripping away all of those things in my life that I identify my-self with. I am not giving all of my possessions away or stopping all personal activ-ities. Instead, I will detach myself from, wellmyself.

Does my TV define my life? No, it only offers an escape. So I will watch less TV.In fact, I will lessen all of my time spent in unmindful attempts to escape the real-ity of life. I invite you to do the same. Give it a try. Your discoveries will besimple, yet vast at the same time.

HeedfulnessCarlee Hines (St. Louis, MI)

Mindfulness, examining the stateof our emotions. The mindraces from here to there, not stoppingto form anything tangible. Theres nofilter between brain and mouth, like ariver flowing into the ocean. With noprovocation, our delusions and non-virtuous ways are causing us to harmourselves and others by not being

mindful of our speech and actions.Ignorance is not bliss. Avoiding theweb that is being spun will only let itget so big that there will be no placeto turn without being stuck in our owndefilements.

Im just like everyone else, I want tobe happy as well as I want to be suc-cessful and accomplish goals in life.But in the striving for accomplishment,we experience greed and jealousy.

We become attached to the struggleof surviving. The funny thing aboutthat is, no matter how much we ac-complish in our struggling, imperman-ence taps us on the shoulder just toremind us that it is everywhere and ineverything.

You see, by looking into your ownheart, you can find the unclouded ex-perience of all kinds of situations andhow things really are. No matter who

we are, nothing ever measures up,nothing is ever good enough. Theproblem is the confusion within us.The beginning of mindfulness is con-trolling the chaos and telling yourselfthat I can stop all of this and stepaway from the norm and possess apower all of my ownthe power ofsentience.


10/10


Even though Im in prison, Im happyand content. They can lock my body in-to a confined area but they can nev-

er put a lock on my mind. Im free,no matter where I am. In fact, I neverrealized freedom until I came to prisonand learned about the teachings ofBuddha. Im a lucky man. Luck has todo with chance. By that I mean Imthankful for the chance Ive been givento study and learn about the FourNoble Truths and how the Noble Eight-fold Path is the way to end all suffer-ing. I hope everyone eventually findsliberation in their life. I wish them well.

Thank you for listening to me. Yourfriend.

James DavieBrent, AL

Goodnight to the World

Brian Alberer (Smyrna, DE)

Goodnight to the pain that keeps me here

Panic, anxiety, and deadly fearGoodnight abuse, tension, and strife

I have no need for struggle all of my life

Goodnight ignorance, greed, and anger,

All of which seem to be a doppelganger

Goodnight sadness, starving poor, poverty-

Stricken children who sleep on the cold hard

floor.

Darkness falls and the time is right

So I flip the switch and turn out my light.

I no longer struggle with what I mentioned.The last thing I say when I remove the world

From my aching back

Goodnight, Dear World, time to hit the sack.

Kuan Yin

Nhut Vo (Delano, CA)

Our practice is to meet life

exactly as it is and to notice

whatever fear, anger, or doubt

gets in the way of direct

intimate contact with thismoment, bringing attention to

that as well. Rather than

changing something or seeking

to get somewhere we imagine

we should be, practice is about

seeing clearly exactly how

things really are and how we

relate to them. Practice thus

becomes an increasing

intimacy with life just as it is,

and there is nothing--including

the ideas that we should be

getting something or

somewhere--that is unworthy

of the clear, nonjudgmental

attention we call mindfulness.

Douglas PhillipsTricycle magazine