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Prison Chaplaincy Without Being a Nuisance

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Prison Chaplaincy Without Being a Nuisance Prison Chaplaincy Without Being a Nuisance Tracy Ellen Steele Upaya Zen Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Final Project Cohort four March 2013 Prison Chaplaincy without being a Nuisance 2 Abstract We long to be helpful and sometimes we are more of a nuisance. How does anyone help relieve the suffering of others, particularly those individuals who are serving years and lifetimes in our prisons for inflicting serious wounds on the world? I will explore this question using the three steps outlined by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in the chapter called “Working with People” in The Myth of Freedom. (Shambhala Publication, 1976) 1. First open to ourselves in order to stop being a nuisance to others. 2. Develop kinship by communicating and establishing a relationship with people. 3. Selfless help through offering what is needed over satisfying our own needs. The ground of all three steps is the fundamental nature of all beings; what Shambhala calls Basic Goodness - which has the qualities of unconditional open space, compassion and wisdom. Holding this view of Basic Goodness, I will use these three steps to explore the role and responsibility of chaplaincy in prisons. I will investigate this path of service using Buddhist concepts such as love, compassion and equanimity without attachment, pity and indifference. Prison Chaplaincy without being a Nuisance 3 Acknowledgment I would like to extend my love and appreciation to my partner Beka Davis for her loving support, encouragement and practice. Her presence and loving action in the world is a constant source of inspiration. I extend gratitude to Acharya Dale Asrael for her teachings and to my local sangha for their constant example and motivation. Special gratitude goes to Roshi Joan Halifax for her vision, courage and stamina to create the Upaya Buddhist Chaplaincy training. I deeply appreciate Roshi’s extraordinary capacity to magnetize brilliant and accomplished leaders of engaged Buddhism and beyond so that they may offer their wisdom. Thanks also to Maia Duerr for her leadership and mentoring over the past two years. With palms together, I thank my Upaya Chaplaincy cohort, especially my mentor circle, Phyllis Coletta, Ginger Norwood and Ann Morrow. Deep thanks to Gary Allan for his constant support and mentorship in working with the incarcerated. Gary is a living breathing example of Shambhala Warriorship and I am honored to be on the path with him. Last but not least, all my love, devotion and appreciation to my guru Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Dharma king, heir of the Rigden kings, may your vast Buddha activity spread throughout the whole world! Prison Chaplaincy without being a Nuisance 4 Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 6 Methodology .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Why Serve in Prisons ................................................................................................................................ 11 Ground ...................................................................................................................................................... 13 What is Buddha Nature ......................................................................................................................... 13 Tathagatagarbha ............................................................................................................................... 14 Bodhisattva and Bodhichitta: the ground of chaplaincy ....................................................................... 15 The history of Basic Goodness in Shambhala ........................................................................................ 16 What is Basic Goodness ........................................................................................................................ 17 Doubting Basic Goodness ..................................................................................................................... 19 Tathagatagarbha ............................................................................................................................... 20 Angulimala ............................................................................................................................................ 22 Milarepa ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Path: Not being a Nuisance ....................................................................................................................... 25 Being a Nuisance ................................................................................................................................... 25 Learning to Open .................................................................................................................................. 30 Meditation Tools for Learning to Open ................................................................................................. 31 Shamatha .......................................................................................................................................... 32 Touch and Go .................................................................................................................................... 33 Maitri ................................................................................................................................................ 34 Tonglen ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Path: Kinship ............................................................................................................................................. 36 Emptiness ............................................................................................................................................. 37 Compassion........................................................................................................................................... 39 Examples of Kinship .............................................................................................................................. 40 Fruition: Selfless Help ............................................................................................................................... 42 Serving in Prison ................................................................................................................................... 42 Prison Chaplaincy without being a Nuisance 5 Ratna Peace Initiative ....................................................................................................................... 43 Prison Mindfulness Institute ............................................................................................................. 46 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 47 Appendix A: The Six Points of Posture ...................................................................................................... 49 Appendix B: The Four Immeasurables ...................................................................................................... 50 References ................................................................................................................................................ 51 Prison Chaplaincy without being a Nuisance 6 Introduction There are already scores of studies, papers and books on the criminal justice system and prisons citing conflicting arguments about the death sentence and inhumane treatment of prisoners. Statics show again and again that it does not work to lock people away without any means to rehabilitate behavior. This paper will not attempt to address any of those concerns that are well beyond my expertise. My interest is in how to work with the incarcerated individual in ways that might be helpful. I started offering meditation instruction at the Boulder County jail in 2009. Later I started visiting the Colorado State prisons to teach Buddhist studies and meditation. This is the extent of my experience in working with individuals in prisons and jails. There are far more experienced pioneers of this work, such as Fleet Maull and Gary Allen. I am grateful to share the path with these leaders and gain the benefit of their wisdom and expertise. At fourteen, I learned to trust something within me that I now recognize as wisdom. I called Children and Family Services and placed myself in foster care. I was too afraid of the other choices, to either run away from home or kill my step-mother. Since then, I have cultivated a deep confidence in my own wisdom and goodness and the wisdom and goodness of others – including my wicked step-mother. For twenty years - from my early twenties until my early forties I studied a teaching called Science of Mind founded by Ernest Holmes. I was a licensed Practitioner of the teaching which basically means
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