Thanks for the Dharma Dispatch

By Connor

Close up on a bright yellow sunflower.

A person serving a life sentence sends gratitude to Sravasti Abbey for sending out the Dharma Dispatch, a quarterly prison Dharma newsletter.

Venerable Thubten Jigme,

Greetings! May this find you all well. I am writing to thank you and Sravasti Abbey for the publication of Dharma Dispatch. I am and have been serving a life sentence since I was 16 years old. I am 29 now, will be 30 in August.

I’ve pretty much grown up in prison and know this place better than I do the world out there. I’ve been through some struggles and have endured more than a few hardships. I do pretty well on my own.

However, there have been a few times now where I’ve come close to ending my life or doing something so drastic that it would be the end of any opportunity I’ll ever have at release. It seems like when I am at my lowest and dark place, Dharma Dispatch arrives with some Dharma that I need to hear and need to practice, some wisdom that shows me a better way, principles to a better path.

Thank you for that and the benefit you’ve brought to my life and practice.

In the Dharma,

Connor

Incarcerated people

Many incarcerated people from all over the United States correspond with Venerable Thubten Chodron and monastics from Sravasti Abbey. They offer great insights into how they are applying the Dharma and striving to be of benefit to themselves and others in even the most difficult of situations.

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