Prison retreat

fivebells

A group of us are trying to set up a "Dhamma Brothers" style retreat in a prison I'm volunteering at. If anyone here has any experience with prison retreats, particularly how to sell them to prison authorities, I'd be grateful to hear from you.

cork

Is this a set up? I am currently putting on my shoes to go to work at a prison. I am the Volunteer Activity Coordinator at the jail. I do this stuff many times a month. I'll talk after my shift ends.

BhikkhuJayasara

Sadu sadu sadu friend. I only wish i could help. Much success in your endeavor.

fivebells

@cork: No, not a set up. Looking forward to hearing from you.

genkaku

The most convincing Buddhist practice group I ever met was in a maximum security prison: Bars on the windows, incense on the altar, Christians belting out hymns on the floor below, all the guys with steroid-sized biceps, and everybody still as salt.

All best wishes.

cork

fivebells, there should be a central figure whose job it is to approve volunteers. Prisons love volunteers because they provide free services. With our budgets getting slimmer each year we love them more and more. If you can find this Volunteer Coordinator, you can pitch to him or her. Although us officers consider Buddhists to be wacky, we also understand they should be less agressive. That's always a plus. How do you reach this person?.. Try calling the top banana (eg: warden or facility administrator). If you get no response, try the chaplain. The chaplain should use lots of religious volunteers. I'm kind of like the go-to chaplain when he's away. You might try contacting the Human Kindness Foundation (Bo Lozoff's group) for pointers or contacts. Odds are he's already been to that jail. Once you make contact, it wouldn't hurt for someone in your group to have ordination papers or at least a letter from an established society stating what an all-around swell person he or she is.

I think your actual question was "how" to pitch this. Well, inmates have a first amendment right to practice religion. As long as security isn't compromised, this right has to be acknowledged. Pitch that you would like to help the Buddhist Community in their meditation practice.

There's so much I can add...dress code...what we consider contraband at the jail. Zafus might not be allowed (you could hide too much stuff in them). Just ask me more and certainly let me know how things turn out.

For the record, I'm not in NY state. I'd certainly be able to help more if I were.

fivebells

Thanks, cork. I know the volunteer coordinator, actually. She is very nice. The points we need to sell are the fact that it's a ten day silent retreat in isolation from the rest of the prison, and we don't really have anyone with formal authority who's prepared to lead the group. There is a workable space for it in the gym.

BhikkhuJayasara

Just an aside, you could propose some less intensive and prison changing to get in the door and create a presence there first. Jumping right into trying to sell a 10 day retreat could be a little much for prison staff.

cork

10 days. Wow. That's maybe 70 count-times.

sndymorn

Bring in the exercise angle . Tai Chi or Yoga maybe...

fivebells

There's a Buddhist group meeting there. (I can't meet with them, because the prison only allows volunteers to participate in one group and I am already participating in a non-violent communication group, which is the way I met the inside guy I'm collaborating with.) The Buddhist group is headed by the abbess of a local Zen group, but she can't lead a 10-day inside meditation session.

The angle we intend to take in selling it is anger management, because that works very well for the NVC programs.

What is a count-time?

Jeffrey

fivebells do you know of any online NVC courses? I am assuming NVC is 'non-violent communication'.

fivebells

@Jeffrey, nothing effective. It requires human interaction.

The program I'm involved with is Alternatives to Violence.

cork

I'm sorry. I didn't know you were this far along, fivebells. Are there in-house social worker programs off of which you could piggy-back? We have a VERY structured 6 month in-house drug treatment program. I could see them sliding meditation into that.

Count-time or just count is just simply counting the inmates. It is done seven times a day at my facility. Each inmate is accounted for whether on his bunk, at his prison job, on road crew, etc. Count is the most important thing we do. It is said that if you have a thousand inmates in the morning and a thousand at night, you've had a good day.

My point is that there would be interruptions during meditation to count the inmates. They might have to present their ID cards. Also, we have one count a day when each inmate has to stand, thus proving that he's not dead.

fivebells

Thanks, @cork. I've been put in touch with a former Buddhist chaplain who gave me some very illuminating perspective on the matter. I'm going to have to back off and think about this some more.

sova

"inmates have a first amendment right to practice religion. As long as security isn't compromised, this right has to be acknowledged. Pitch that you would like to help the Buddhist Community in their meditation practice. "

Rockin!


Fivebells that is wonderful news! Support and wonderment all directions (:

I think it'll go super well.

AllbuddhaBound

In reading @fivebells trials when starting a Buddhist group in a prison, it just occurred to me how difficult that really must be. With prisons focusing on punishment as the only way to redeem oneself, and the Buddhist way being more along the lines of compassion for others as well as self, I could see prison staff and management seeing Buddhism as a waste of time.

Of course, Buddhist prison groups have been proven to be highly effective if you are to believe a person like Ajahn Brahm who has practiced in prisons for years. Now that would be an interesting study. Comparing the recividism rate and general wellbeing for groups with no religion, with Christian beliefs and with Buddhist groups upon release from prison.

That would be a worthwhile pursuit.

Zenshin

Slightly off-topic but related in the UK we have this organisation.

http://angulimala.org.uk/

vinlyn

I wonder if it would be more realistic to develop programs in some of the institutions that serve such folks before they end up in prison, or after they leave prison?

BhikkhuJayasara

What about those who will never leave prison?

how

@vinlyn
Unrealistic? In my world, trying to practice "before" or "after" this moment is a dream compared to the awakening that this "now" presents.

sova

Lonely_Traveller said:

Slightly off-topic but related in the UK we have this organisation.

http://angulimala.org.uk/

that is wonderful!

fivebells

The Buddhist chaplain I talked to (former chaplain at Sing Sing) advised me to abandon this project for a variety of reasons specific to the institutional structure I outlined to him, and I have decided to take his advice.

vinlyn

Okay, so now I go back to my "unrealistic" suggestion that interested folks look into the "before" and "after" prison opportunities.

Having visited someone in prison every Saturday for 3 months, and talked to him about this, there are more opportune environments where the opportunity to find some success are more likely.

how

@vinlyn
Success is just attempting to practice where ever you find yourself.
If your prison friend dies tomorrow, how will your present advise to him weigh on you?

vinlyn

He's not in prison now. But having a visited a prison and seen these guys...I'm not very optimistic that the scenario presented would be very feasible or successful. Suggesting to start at an out-of-prison program, which if successful could lead to something inside a prison.

But to be honest, most of the people who are commenting on this...are just commenting. They aren't going to do anything and aren't even going to visit a prison.

cork

Another way to look at this is that religion might not do a shred of good once the inmate hits the street. That's up to him. But I'm convinced it makes a world of difference to help him through the day-to-day. Ask 10 inmates how they are doing today and nine will say "maintaining". Emotionally, it's a very murky place.