A Place Of Practice

by Carlton Carr | 9,239 words

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Chapter 5 - Climbing The Mountain

As the Buddhist Movement in our "home away from home" grew larger we suddenly began to encounter difficulties. At first, we were told that having a room to meet and practice in was not a problem, and then suddenly it proved to be impossible. This certainly was not due to a lack of space, for other religious groups had rooms they were permitted to use.

We began to meet in various cells for practice and study. Initially, this was not a problem. Then we were told that this would have to stop. We held smaller meetings in different places but this was also somehow wrong.

The men who showed serious interest in Buddhist practice were suddenly moved into widely separated locations in different buildings. Books that my teacher mailed to me were now being returned to him, although they had been previously approved.

Several of our members wanted to contact the American Civil Liberties Union and complain about this repressive behavior but I talked them out of it. Buddhism is a way of life and anger didn"t seem like an appropriate response to me. When you encounter hatred the best way to respond is with love and tolerance.

Steve told me that if you practice "The Lotus Sutra" and truly propagate it"s teachings then you were certain to encounter persecution. However, the prison communally is like a small village and it soon became known that we were talking about the ACLU.

I don"t know if that was the reason for the sudden change, but we were told that we could now form a prison Sangha. I immediately set to work on forming a set of guidelines that we could follow. We decided by vote to call ourselves the "Good Virtue Sangha." This was a name that I thought could have been improved upon but doubtless it would have changed over time.

We decided that we would follow the teachings of Nichiren and "The Lotus Sutra." It was also decided that I would create a set of principles for the members of the community to live by.

This was the outline that I came up with.

1. Following the Three Conditions--
Each Member must undertake to:

  1. Be Filial and respectful to their parents and Teachers. Further, each member should develop compassion, vow not to kill any living thing, and observe the ten wholesome actions.
  2. Take refuge in the triple gem, obey the laws of the land, and always behave in a proper and dignified manner.
  3. Generate the Mind of a Bodhisattva, properly understand the law of cause and effect, and encourage others to advance on the path to enlightenment.

2. Follow The Six Principles of Harmony:

3. Following the Three Learning"s:

(See "The Search Within" for more details.)

For the next few months this projects was approved several times and then "totally out of the question." By the time the Chaplain took the names of those who definitely wanted to participate the number of men willing to put their name on such a list had dwindled to ten. Convicts can be foolish about some things but if you have not yet developed a sense of survival by the time you enter prison, you are quickly devoured.

It had not escaped their notice that bad things were happening to people considered Buddhist Leaders. Many of the men were quite positive that I was doing extra time because of my activities. They are not the only people who have expressed that opinion.

I wasn"t worried about it. Steve pointed out that cause inevitably led to effect and that the people who were behaving in this way would suffer for what they were doing. Why should I be angry or resentful under the circumstances? I honestly wish that they wouldn"t have to pay any consequences at all for the things that have happened. I don"t want anyone to suffer because of my actions anymore. If there were some way for me to take this evil karma onto my own shoulders I would do so. My earnest wish is that all the people connected with this prison grow into the best people that they can possibly become.

The department of correction was supposed to have made a decision about inmates being allowed to practice Buddhism at their last meeting. They felt that it would be impossible for our faith to be practiced because of a lack of funds within the prison system. When I pointed out that BIONA and other groups would provide all the needed materials free of charge this objection became somewhat silly. None the less this argument is still advanced.

After the meeting I was told that no decision had been reached. They intend to discuss this topic again and a decision will be announced sometime near the end of summer. Since my release date is shortly before that time I now suspect that they hope that this problem will leave with me.

It is possible for a lazy man to sweep dirt under his own rug for a time. He then mistakenly believes that he has solved his problem and won"t have to make the effort to bend down and remove the mess. Of course, eventually, what he ends up with is a huge mound that must be climbed if he wants to cross the affected area. In essence, he has saved the energy he would have used bending over just so that he can expend even more effort to climb the mountain he created himself. The Dept. of Corrections is smarter than the foolish man in this story; they simply lock the door of the room and convince everybody that there is no reason to go in there anyway.

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