We co-sponsor and participate in the Prison Meditation Network, teaching meditation, yoga, and journal writing in 7 local prisons and jails. We hope to eventually add in programs for correctional officers and prison administrators. We want to work with all the people associated with the corrections institutions, as that will ultimately bring the most far-reaching impact. Correspondence is carried on with hundreds of prisoners from all across the United States. We distribute free books and subscriptions to our quarterly journal Turning Wheel to around 550 inmates per issue.
Training is aimed at the people who provide inmate meditation programs.
Advocacy, education and networking activities aim to mobilize people in the faith-based, Buddhist and activist communities, as well as in the general public. The growing interest in prisons means this is a ripe time to promote understanding of the root causes of the current prison crisis, and to work together for change. We have been focusing on resistance to the death penalty. Practically speaking, that means licking a stamp, copying prison packets, or hauling boxes off the book shelves are genuinely as important to us as answering letters or writing books. There is a subtle power that enhances the effectiveness of all our work if we stay focused, with simple mindfulness and sincerity in every task.