Testimonial of an inmate from a prison in northern Israel
I sleep in a room I share with another inmate who always turns the volume of the TV up, whereas I always tell him to turn the volume down. This struggle repeats itself every day. In the last week the volume of the TV bothered me less, so I felt no need to ask my […]
Testimonial of an inmate from a prison in central Israel
During meditation I can see a clearer picture, and can correctly and clearly understand what I am feeling. I’m someone who has suffered a great deal in his life…from those closest to him. When I was a child, I didn’t have the courage to respond to them. When I grew up, the moment I was […]
Testimonial of an inmate from a prison in central Israel
This meditation that pulls me together to focus on myself, sometimes helps me concentrate and sometimes doesn’t. When I concentrate, it feels good, it puts me in touch with my reality, and connects me to the people I love. This is the first time I’ve participated in such a group. On a personal level, it’s […]
A volunteer at Ma’asiyahu Prison shares:
One of the important topics I emphasize is the ability to remain with discomfort, unpleasantness. At first, inmates don’t understand why they should remain with what is unpleasant to them. After practice I hear them, time and again, speak about how situations that in the past caused them great suffering during their stay in prison, […]
A volunteer at Ha’sharon Prison shares:
“Meeting the inmates is very significant for me, and I think it is for them, too. The fact that I come from the outside and don’t belong to the Israel Prison Service already means a lot to them. Their feeling is that they are important to someone, that they are worthy, that I care for […]
A volunteer at Shita Prison shares:
“I went to prison following a teaching of a text that spoke of a “diamond” found in every person, a spark of goodness, radiant and indestructible. I had the urge to see this diamond in the eyes of those imprisoned there. My feeling is that in prison Bodhicitta shines brighter than anywhere else, perhaps because […]
A volunteer at Ma’asiyahu Prison shares:
“I have been volunteering at Ma’asiyahu prison for five years, and before that I volunteered at a hostel for released female prisoners. I came to study the Dharma out of a personal crisis that also led me to study Psychology and want to help and influence. Coming to Ma’asiyahu every week, sitting with people who […]
A volunteer at Shita Prison shares:
“One of the inmates in the group was told that he could not participate in the morning classes because he is driving the teachers mad. When I arrived at prison that afternoon he was irritated and didn’t want to join the meditation. It took time, but eventually he agreed to join the group. I knew […]
A volunteer at Shita Prison shares:
“I was sitting in the New York subway after a year away, during which I started leading meditation in prison. At one point one of those people who stand in the middle of the subway car and give a fiery speech boarded the train. My old response would have been to try and ignore him […]
A volunteer at Carmel Prison shares:
Recently, the project with which I volunteer in the prison has grown and the group of inmates grew too – from 10 to 20. It has been a while now that I come to the meetings with the feeling that the transition to a large group is so difficult that I cannot really get to […]