The Dhamma Brothers: How Vipassana Meditation Transforms Lives

The Dhamma Brothers is a documentary film about the first maximum-security prison in the USA to use a Vipassana meditation program (Vipassana means insight or clear-seeing) to rehabilitate its prisoners. (There is also another prison documentary called Doing Time, Doing Vipassana that shows how this program works. The program is Indian in origin.)

In the film you learn about the 10 day Vipassana meditation program, as well as what its like to be part of the program. You will also witness the results. At the bottom of this blog post is a recent letter that one of the prisoners sent to the film’s director Jenny Phillips. The prisoners continue their meditation practice to this day (it’s been over 10 years). The program truly transformed their lives, it gave them a life long practice, a tool for not only understanding the self, but for greater awareness & peace.

I won’t say much more about the film, other than to see it. As far as Vipassana programs go — I recommend them. I’ve participated in several Vipassana programs over the years (at Spirit Rock & Insight Meditation Society). The basic program is outlined in the documentaries: 10 days of silence & meditation — no talking, no reading, no music, no phone, no entertainment, no vigorous exercise, no computer — just 10 hours of meditation daily (plus eating & sleeping & walking, of course) — while you learn to observe the sensations in the body (observing without a reaction). During that time, deep feelings that have been suppressed begin to surface. Not being able to mask or dull oneself with daily distractions (like entertainment, constant chit-chat or obsessive busy-ness) can become difficult. Many people have no idea what it’s like to just be with oneself. The 10 day Vipassana program provides the support & facility to do that.

Dear Jenny,

I once said of Vipassana meditation, “This feels like freedom”. I spoke only of what I was feeling at that time. I had no reason, not even the idea that has attached itself to me these last six weeks. During that time, I have been meditating in my cell four hours a day. It is all so very clear to me now. Vipassana is freedom. It is the freedom – I believe with all my being – that very few people attain.

I have none of those longings to be out of here. At the same time, I don’t have the desire to be here. Everything is just so right. All things are connected, and I am just a tiny part of the universal beauty. I am not always able to maintain this level of pure contentment. I sometimes become sad until I realize I’ve developed attachments, and I quickly find balance. It is so wonderful to be detached while at the same time to be a part of a stream that flows through everything.

Jenny, I don’t know that words could really communicate these feelings, but I simply have tried to tell you about them. I think that I am missing something, but even that is okay.

Much metta,
Johnny Mack

If you have a direct question about Vipassana programs or other meditation practices, you can email me (my address is above, in the blog header menu) or leave a comment below. I teach meditation & I practice it in various ways. Meditation is not only a big part of my life — it is my life. I realized that the most important thing I could do is be. You can read more of my thoughts on being in The Tao of Disasters & How I Practice Meditation, as well as my website www.AimeeLovesYou.com

No one compares to you, ever.

Should an orange model itself after a strawberry? Should it even compare itself to a strawberry?

If the orange did, & it caused pain & suffering for itself, could you see how it would be a silly situation?

So why do you think humans do it, yet do not recommend it as wise for fruits?

[This week's blog post is a re-post from May 1st 2011. Let the message of this blog post stand as a reminder. May we never forget that no one compares to us. Everyone is uniquely themselves for a reason. Let us not only celebrate that in each other, but cherish it in ourselves.]

Who is responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing? …Are you sure?

The news about what happened in Boston is everywhere. The response I generally heard from the media after the tragedy was: “we are going to get them & bring justice!”. Get who? The guys you think you saw in security camera footage? The blurry pixelated faces? The two bodies covered in winter clothes? Then, with whatever leads the police supposedly had, they shut the city down for a manhunt? Eventually hunting down a 19 year old & killing a 26 year old? And of course these two were from a foreign land with an unpronounceable name (for the average American). After the hunt, the police tweeted on Twitter: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won.” Uhh, yea, OK.

Anyway, (*sigh*), how is it that they (the police, government, & the average American) think the problem is an isolated incident? That terror is over when two young people are killed or hunted down? The problems we are facing in the U.S. are way bigger than what happened in Boston (we have many more threats to consider). And things will continue to get worse if we do not look at the bigger picture. What is the environment & culture & thinking that breeds or inspires such hate? (Not just the hate that bombed, but the hate that hunts, kills & blames.) And is shutting down a city (telling people to stay home) for a manhunt of a teenager & his brother (supposedly shown in an unclear video) wise? How can we call that justice? And how is the hunt (& killing) of them by the police even legal? Whatever happen to innocent until proven guilty in a court of law?

There is a friend of one of the ______ …..do I call him a victim, or a terrorist, or the accused? (I’m not even sure now, since the media & government has decided that for us.) There is someone that personally knows Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. His name is Troy Crossley. He started a campaign (more like a hashtag campaign called: #TroyCrossleyTruth on Twitter) to spread awareness about what is happening.

The mother (Zubeidat Tsarnaev) of Tamerlan Tsarnaev & his  younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has spoke out against what is happening via BBC NEWS on April 20th. She said that what is taking place is a set-up & that her oldest son, Tamerlan, was controlled by the FBI for years.

You can also read this post on THE WEEK by Chris Gayomali. He is also questioning what is happening.

Alex Jones (who is a bit of a Negative Nancy in my opinion, & I can’t hear him too much, because it’s… just too much) has some good points. He raised the points (along with photos) in two videos he made about the Boston bombing. You can view them HERE & HERE.

Please be clear! I’m not saying anyone did or didn’t do it. I’m not saying that I take this person’s side or that person’s side. I am saying two things: think for yourself & take responsibility for your life. That means, don’t just allow the media & this government to create your thoughts or resolve things for you. Look for yourself, & choose the bigger picture. Let’s also look at the source of problems & not just the symptoms. If we don’t have peace of mind, & we feel that we are hated, & we feel threatened — why? Why is this happening? And is there a way to bring about a change? Not just in your own life, but in life as a whole. What are our priorities? Are they ones that truly matter? If you thought you (or someone you love) would be in a bombing tomorrow — would you live your day differently? Would you act, think or speak differently? What would your priorities be? Would they suddenly change? And if so — why aren’t those your priorities all the time? What is stopping you?

Disasters & tragedies can bring clarity — insight on what matters most. But for some, disasters & tragedies can bring about more fear — which can lead to more ignorance. It’s always up to us. Always up to me, & you. We influence each other. Let’s be the ones that live for what matters most. When you decide what is most important for you, & you have the courage to live it — it inspires others to do the same. Let’s inspire each other. Let’s bring justice & peace to our own lives by how we live each day. Then, collectively, the world will eventually reflect that. Until then, we must start with ourselves.

[If you would like, you can click on images to enlarge them. That way, you can read the embedded quotes clearly.]

With New Eyes: The Photography of Chris Jordan & The Responsibility We All Share

Plastic grocery bags & ziplock pouches piling up. Numerous bottle caps of various sizes. Mesh fruit bags & bands. Vegetable rubber bands. Labels & stickers. Where do they go? Maybe we should take notice.

I read a great quote the other day: “What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness” (quote by Jean Jacques Rousseau)

How kind are we being when we take things for granted? How wise are we being when we destroy lives & disregard the environment?

I found Chris Jordan‘s work in January of 2012. I posted several of his photographs on my AimeeLovesYouXo Facebook page that week. Then, just over a year later, a friend sent me an email with a film that Chris Jordan completed about his MIDWAY project:

We can never be reminded enough. We can never be told enough, or shown enough. Every day, every moment, is opportunity to wake up to our own madness. The world will not wait for us to come around. Now is always the time.

In the world of form, change is inevitable. There is no escaping change. So instead of acting as though nothing is happening, or everything can stay the same — why not say “Ah! An opportunity to explore change! An opportunity to evolve. To begin again. To see with new eyes. To feel with a bigger more expansive heart! To exist with a greater awareness. What a gift this opportunity is. What a gift responsibility & a need for change is. Thank you for this gift.”

When we look at the state of the world, the state of mankind, with gratitude for the work that needs to be done, it’s a lot more empowering than guilt, shame or blame. (Plus, being in a state of gratitude just feels a whole lot better, & its way more productive.) We live in a very important time. I feel lucky to be alive as so much is rapidly changing. I feel fortunate to be able to look at my past actions & say to myself, “What was I thinking?” It means I have actually witnessed the evolution of myself. I have witnessed a transformation. An expansion of awareness. And if it is liberating & powerful for me, imagine if this is happening to everyone at the same time. How could it not be exciting? How could it not be an opportunity? How could it not be a gift?

Let’s take advantage of this opening to see, act, hear & feel with greater awareness. Let’s share with each other & help in any way we can. Let’s take responsibility individually with ourselves, as well as collectively with each other. We’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s up to us to make it happen. Day by day, moment by moment. Everything counts.

….And before I go, just remember: Plastic bags & other plastic packaging can take up to 1,000 years to breakdown, so even when an animal dies & decays after ingesting a bag, the plastic re-enters the environment, posing a continuing threat to wildlife. Packaging now accounts for 1/3 of all household waste. Please be kind. Please consider this. Always.

Do you want to be right or happy?

There is always room for blame. There is always a reason, an excuse, a point-of-view; why things are the way they are. Why people are they way they are. Why the world is the way it is. It’s easy to say “That’s not right. Someone or something is wrong.” But who’s job is it to correct it? To make it right. To set it straight?

The answer is never outside of ourselves. Life is always a mirror. When we see something we consider wrong; something a mess or amiss, there is always a reflection of something we personally need to clean-up or set straight. It could be a matter of ‘letting go’, or it could be a matter of taking personal responsibility for correcting in ourselves what we dislike most about others. It’s easy to say “I’m not like that” or “I didn’t do that.” But an individual life or personality is vast, there is always something within ourselves that we don’t want to see or acknowledge. Something we are doing or being that isn’t in alignment with our highest values. There is also deep-rooted misery within ourselves that we desperately need to discharge, release or defuse (if only for a moment), through pointing the finger or through seeing life as lopsided. It takes the responsibility off of us, & sets it somewhere else. This misery, or this thing we can’t put our finger on, is the very thing that gets triggered easily by others, or by life itself.

If you let go a little you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace; if you let go completely you will have complete peace.
- Ajahn Chah

When I see a ‘mature’ person. It touches me deeply. I feel the truth & the wisdom in who they are being. When I say mature, I am using the word as this quote does: Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others outweighing your concern for yourself (quote by John Macnaughton). But when I read that quote, I don’t think that it means to put yourself or your personal needs aside & to place everyone before you — but to see that there is no separation between you & anything in the world. Turning a blind eye, tuning out, being defensive, judging harshly, or being cruel — it only means that you are ultimately treating or viewing yourself that way. In the end, everything comes back to you. Each life happens through the eyes of the one living it. Therefore, we can either fully open up to life; trust it, get intimate with it — or we can shut down, close ourselves off & wonder why life is so difficult.

When there is a strong need to be right about ideas we have, or about the way life should be, or about the way people ought to behave, we set ourselves up for suffering. We actually begin to confuse ourselves, because we start to live life from the mind instead of the heart. We let fear & ego take a position of power, instead of simply allowing life to flow, & allow love to be the driving force in all that we do.

I often think of the quote: Do you prefer that you be right or happy? (quote from A Course in Miracles T-29.VII.1:9). I think of it when I see someone suffering over an idea they have about the way things should be, or when I find myself hanging on desperately to something as ephemeral as a thought. A thought that I know isn’t getting me what I ultimately want. And what can we all say we ultimately want? Everyone wants to be happy. Yet many of us are on a mind-game carousel that takes us nowhere, or better yet, to a place of pointless suffering & energy wasted. Many of us would like to get off this ride. If only we could see that we ourselves, no one else, has the power to stop it.

For me, self-inquiry helps to stop the mind-game carousel. To simply stop; to look nowhere for answers but within. To be honest with myself. To ask myself questions. To get to know myself on a deeper level. It doesn’t matter what others are doing or saying. But to witness with compassion what I am doing & saying, what I am thinking & feeling, & why. After that, my mind slows down. I become more spacious & patient, more open & tolerant — more understanding. I begin to see everyone as the same, & life itself as perfect, unfolding as it should. My breathing goes from shallow to full. My body releases its tension. My attitude lightens up. My face brightens up. My heart opens up. And my mind follows my heart, it too opens up. There is no longer a need to be right, not even a desire. To be happy is more than enough.