Monks, there are these ve benets of walking up & down. ...

ne is t for long ourne s one is t for striving one has li le disease that which is eaten, drunk, chewed, tasted, goes through proper diges on the co posure a ained b walking up & down is long-las ng.

Aprill

NEWSLETTER
Buddhist Correspondence Course
can be a very dicult thing to do in this world. This is even more true when dealing with a prison environment. As a country boy, I was raised to take crap from no onenever start a ght, but never back down. In prison, we are taught to never let anyone disrespect you at all. If they do and you are behind the wall of a ma imum security prison, you be er stab them, burn them, etc. In these lower level camps I now nd myself in, you be er swing on the perpetrator. I can think of no philosophy that is less spiritual. Tradi onal mar al arts teach never to use learned gh ng techni ues unless we are directly defending ourselves or people who are incapable of protec ng them selves. Possessions are unimportant, but our bodies are detrimental to reaching true spiritual enlightenment. Prison teaches that any form of disrespect should be met with e treme violence instantly. Is this not the same worldview that led us all to prison when we were on the street ust because we live like animals in these li le cages does not mean we have to act like animals. et s look at the word that any convict will recogni e as the ul mate disrespec ul label: bitch. That word never comes out of your mouth unless you want to have problems. iterally it is a female dog. In prison, it is a man you can do anything to and he will do nothing back because he is a coward. What do you think the Buddha, or esus, or any true spiritual being would do if someone called them this Why do we feel that we need to respond so dierent ly Truth be told, I think men in prison don t care about that word. We are more afraid of what other prisoners will think. We as criminals are worried about what other criminals will think about our ac ons. Interes ng As members of a free society, why were we not worried about what normal free people thought about our behavior If we do not overcome this mentality, we will never live in the free world for long, and more importantly we will never nd freedom within our selves.
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1 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 7

Away from the Herd, Jeremy Jones Two Poems & One Calligraphy, Rev. Mujin Karuna Words of Encouragement, Brian Pu Zhen Alberer o e for a ar n ird, Z. L. King

Suering, Stefan Crisaban Si ng S ll, Chad Frank Cycle of Pain, Jeremy W. Winsor Why Do We Abuse Others?, James L. Halbirt (GenKan) ore Than Words, Brian Pu Zhen Alberer

Tears of the u er ies, Steven Hyman 7 odhi Tree, Arelio S. Lendo, II Path to Impeccability, Mike Miller The Understanding, Myron Stebbins Dalai ama, Josu M. Cruz Fuentes Twel e Hours, Steven Hyman Transmu ng Our Suering, James L. Halbirt (GenKan) e er, Jeremy Jones e er, Cur s Weida Poem, Gregory Howard 8 8 9 10 10 10 11 12 12

The BCCN is distributed at no charge to those taking the Buddhist Correspondence Course. This is your newsle er by you, about you, and for you. You are the major contributors, so send us your ues ons, problems, solu ons you ve found to di cul es in prac ce, thoughts you have on prac ce, artwork, poetry, etc. ue to limited space, some edi ng may be necessary. Let us know if we may use your full name or just your ini als. (If you uote from published books or ar cles that you have read, please be sure to include the author s name and the tle a er the uote.) Please mail all correspondence to:

Con nued from page 1)

I am not saying lie down and be a doormat. You can t do that in life, and you cer tainly cannot do that in prison. If someone tries to hurt you, defend yourself with discipline. Buddha teaches that the be er you can ght, the less harm you have to do. If someone tries to rob you, you have to defend your property because if you do not, you ll have people running in your cell all the me. Most thieves run from convicts who are simply willing to protect their property. I came to the conclusion many years ago that I do not care what any man who s ll lives the criminal life thinks of me. Why would I At one me in my life, I could kill men, women, and children. I did not care. Now I catch bees, spiders, etc., and let them out of the cell house before they get swa ed. I care what my friends and family think about me. I care what my creator thinks about me. And most importantly, I care what I think about myself, which is the only thing that will bring true spiritual results in my life. I have found that more men wanted to try me when I carried myself like a thug than they do when I carry myself as one striving to be a master. I have also dis covered that it is so much easier to leave prison mentally and spiritually when you walk away from the herd. A herd can uickly turn and lead you o of a cli. Live by your heart and not by other people s thoughts, and life will work itself out.

Buddhist Correspondence Course c/o Rev. Richard Baksa 2020 Route 301 Carmel, NY 10512

We welcome your comments on the newsle er and sugges ons for ways we might improve it to serve you be er.

G
INFORMATION AVAILABLE

HY

The Window and the Rain Rain knocking on the window, moon showing its face between the clouds. Wind so slight, it moves as the shadow of Death. ll life moves moment to moment, carrying the wind and the rain. Why are you s ll looking out of that window, standing there watching it all go by? Tree of Death Brisk cold wind touching the sweat of zazen Tree of death with its weeping moss, towering over my cushion, and the roster sounds with the temple bell, as sandalwood is all that can be seen.

First allow me to thank the BCCN for all that they do to help get our ideas, thoughts, opinions, and experiences expressed to other Sangha members no ma er the school or tradi on one may prac ce can only express the im portance of the harma by uo ng ohn aido oshi former bbo of en Mountain Monastery, Mt Tremper, NY, deceased October 2, 2009) He says that we are part of the rst genera on of Western Buddhists, and we carry a burden that will not be carried by fu ture genera ons and was not carried by the past genera ons of prac oners in apan, China, and Korea He goes on to say that that uni ue burden is that what we are doing with our prac ce, all o er the West, is not ust the reali a on of oursel es but is also the historical process of the transmission of the Bud dha harma from East to West What we do, how we prac ce our li es, how we manifest the Buddha dharma by what we do, tells the whole world about these incredible teachings of the Buddha He con nues further by saying that it is because of that responsibility the precepts are so rele ant and alua ble in our prac ce Their profundity is beyond concep on Their exibility enables them to ll any essel that con tains them They are dynamic and ali e They nourish and heal aido oshi asks us all to do one thing when it comes to taking precepts: Please do not take them lightly He says to take them into your heart and gi e them life in your life Whether you ha e recei ed the precepts formally or not, they are yours
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On 6/6/11 I took a shower And went to a table upstairs To dry my feet I glanced out the window for a grand view uddenly a young mar n bird was at the window Windows are located at the end of each wing Each window is protected by a row of steel bars I reached out to touch and catch the mar n My ngers and hands were within inches of the bird The mar n then ew away Mike was yelling, Mr. King, catch the bird Mike drove the bird to the back of the wing again As he con nued to yell, Mr. King, catch the bird Again I reached out for the bird The mar n touched my ngers As it ew past me e t the mar n ew down stairs As Mike con nued to chase it uddenly, Mike yelled, Mr. King, use your towel to catch the bird Immediately, I took my dark blue shirt And suddenly I was blessed to catch the mar n I was trying to be gentle

And not hurt the bird As I held the young mar n in my hands Its heart was bea ng so hard I was afraid the bird would suer A heart a ack and die I pa ed the bird on the head Two or three mes I walked to the front door With the bird in my hands Mike was yelling or the ocers To open the wing door As I arrived at the door I shook the door The ocer opened the door Promptly I took the bird outside Held my hands up in the air Opened my hands And the bird ew free e t, I thanked all three ocers For allowing me to help ave a birds life Also, I thanked Mike for helping me To save the birds life As I released the bird from my hands I e tended a mental kiss to it Actually I wanted to kiss the bird On top of its head two or three mes But I was afraid of what others Would say or think For two or three days I was the talk of the wing For the small role that I played In helping to save the life Of a young mar n bird

3)

Suering
Stefan Crisbasan (Dixon, IL)

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The pain you face each day is one of constant struggle. Day in and day out its all the same. The nosey neighbor, meddlesome passerby, even your pestering cellmate. The relentless, mind-numbing noise. Youre forced to deal ith hundreds of di ering personali es, both from the guards and inmates alike. Some are angry, some sad, but all not an ng to be here. You never kno

comes from constant struggle. You failed at life before, no you choose to in. You con nue to educate yourself, be ac ve in strenuous exercise, meditate and delve into the abyss that is your consciousness, all ith the purpose of le ng go of the past and be ering yourself for the future. You dont ant to hurt people anymore. Your gravest fear is once again becoming the monster

from one minute to the next hat youre going to encounter so you are forced to stay on edge. You cant help but feel trapped in an endless cycle of pain. The pain of the morning is something nobody ever ants to deal ith. You open your eyes to the realizaon that it asnt ust another bad dream. Yes, you are really here. Yes, your life has really succumbed to this. You are paying the conse uences for your ac ons, a lesson learned from childhood. Reality once again slaps you in the face. You have failed at your idea of life. You have disgraced your family, and have caused others a sort of haun ng pain hich leaves them co ering in the dark and aking up to their o n screaming voice. Its so easy to ust roll back over and try to hide from this reality in your dreams, but the day must be faced and you must someho pick yourself up and push through the cycle of pain. The pain of the a ernoon propels you for ard. ere you nd a burning desire to change. Not for yourself but for your vic ms, your family and friends. You are able to see that life is much more than ust you, that success

you used to be. You cant allo this to happen so you push yourself through the cycle of pain. The pain of the night is a combina on of the pain you faced throughout the day. Your body is sore, your mind almost numb. You cant help but think, o can I face another day? You read a book or atch some TV, the hole hile trying to escape the truth. But in every chapter, on every channel, you are constantly reminded of your past and are forced to once again face the cycle of pain that is no your life. You try to shut your eyes, hoping to escape the reality and pain of the day, but you cant. Sleep doesnt come that easy. You are haunted by your past. You see their faces and feel the hurt you caused. Their pain is no your pain. You are haunted because you hate hat you didyou despise ho you ere. There is no ay for you to undo it, and this hurts most of all. Eventually you fall asleep kno ing all you can do is carry on, become a be er person. Not ust for yourself, but for them. You hope tomorro ill be di erent, that the aking nightmare ill be over, but you already kno the cycle of pain must con nue.

Many of us were abused in our early lives, but hy do e have to abuse others? We have been abused and condioned by our earlier life. This fate tends to over helm us and truncate our ourney in life. Been there, done that. et me tell you hat the Buddha so o en said e are the cause of our o n su ering, but that there is a ay out of it, and he gave us the guidelines to do ust that. Yes, I agree, I caused my o n su ering by ho I dealt ith my life. I created my o n su ering by listening to the advice of a man I thought as a good authority. I have learned to forgive him. is advice as that a man does not have fear, does not cry. I believed this statement, and physically I conducted my life ith no fear, and any crying I may have done as in ard. When I as taken a ay from my home as a young boy, I felt the fear of abandonment and loss of love feelings, but I summarily suppressed them. In my adult life, these feelings surfaced at various mes and I had no understanding of hat as going on in my mind. They invested my mind ith over helming anxiety, the cousin of fear, and it caused me to enter a manic state of sleep depriva on. When mixed ith alcohol, over me it can become a deadly mixture. nyone ho has been in combat ill tell you that if you have no sleep for three days, you ill become psycho c. These feelings began ith the pending loss of a loved one, a hos le interect that I as losing due to divorce and separa on. I considered this love mine, and I didnt ant to lose hat I considered mine. It became evident that I as entrenched in a achment and dependency. or three months I as in this state, and I couldnt let go, so my violence caused an instant divorce and the extreme abuse of violence. I gave myself up and ent for help. My life as saved and a vicm as saved. ere I am imprisoned, the vic m of my o n ignorance and stupidity. or years I beat myself up for my violence un l the study of Buddhism and my conversion set me on a proper course of maturity and isdom. My studies and the guidelines that I follo have helped me understand my mind and the causes of my su ering. Many of us have experienced betrayal, abandonment, and abuse from either our parents or authori es. ll of this becomes our emo onal companion. It has a ay of destroying our innocent natures, and they become like hid-

den shado s, evidenced in our addic on to love, drugs, and so forth. We tend to adapt coping strategies that range from avoidance, manipula ve behaviors, control over others, to inordinate searches for connec ons and reassurance. lso e develop compensa ng behaviors ranging from self-sabotage to narcissis c domina on of others to pa erns of dependency. It is much too much to blame others for hat e cause to ourselves and others, but that is hat most prisoners do, or have done. Who among us can say that e are free from and immune to these threats?

Many of us have become fear-driven and have acted out of hat e failed to understand. We have found it hard to nd healthy connec on to the ins nctual truth and development that deserves to be at the heart of our being. If e havent no ced our provisional selves, our counterfeit iden es are essen ally anxiety-management systems that are deeply based in our psyche. We seldom kno of their presence, or hat delegated authority they carry, and the extent to hich they govern our lives. Only hen e focus ith clarity and e ort on nding the isdom ithin are e able to pay a en on to our symptoms, our pa erns, our painful encounters ith ourselves. Only then may e begin to discern the alien-implanted ideas to hich our history has long been in service. ll of our nega ves and behaviors are lessons to be learned and transcended. Only hen e look at our personal history do e see the pa erns, the autonomy granted to these shado systems of complexes that create recurrent su ering and painful outcomes from our involvement ith others. Thus, e need to construct a hierarchy of values that can give us a mature approach and a viable base of mindfulness and loving-kindness. We have to start ith forgiveness.
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6)

The Other is not the enemy. Life is not your enemy. It crowds us into diminished corridors of vast mansions of lost possibilies. s of every dilemma every choice every rela onship every conse uence and responsibility Does this choice diminish me or enlarge me? We are not really separate from anything in the universe. Why do we separate and become divisive to each other? So here we are and many of us are in a prison of our minds within a prison with many lessons to learn. Dont we tend to hold on to the past especially our hur ng past? We tend to hold grudges slights injuries past wounds and allow them to dominate the present. We really only have the present. We tend to refuse to step into our larger selves or to loo inward and accept responsibility for what we nd. When we do some of us will nd our innate wisdom will ourish. When we forgive ourselves and others we have come home to our human nature. So we must learn to admit that part of us may be needy frightened in midated and dependent. Only our boldness will deliver us from our fears and if the ris is not ta en the meaning of life will be violated. That is a given. Some of us have been abused and delivered it to others. Today I honor all vic ms of abuse and violence not only my own. It is up to us for the abuse and violence to end with us. Otherwise somewhere in the line of cyclic existence it will happen to us the law of cause and eect.

These words they run together as my mind chases them from the pages ega e emo ons ead me deeper into this game unning down the co umns reading e ery de ni on ine y ine Anger, Hate, Ignorance, arent these words a the same? At ast I reach words ike Wisdom, which is not hard to de ne ompassion cap ates me, teaching me to see others as myse f Through Insight intercep on and gi ing indness to those who are in need, I found these to e more than words that one can simp y read These words feed and strengthen the sou They are the words that change the wor d These are more than words ecause they are exact y what ones heart needs They are the words we shou d a know

To say I o e you Poetry percei ed The dawning ision The ri iant sun The ower awakens To fu oom With fragrance and eauty In purity and truth You are genuine As you are The tender Tears f the u eries

Lost and lonely confused on the Path This obtuse soul needs enlightenments bath Realizing a decision needs to be made He gazes to the right and sees suering fade. His feet lead him down a path to be free On this journey he sees a Bodhi tree Under that tree he sees a vision of truth Its the Four Noble Truths in the falling fruit

Mike Miller (Centralia, IL)

He has an urge to just walk away Or could it be aras tempta on to lead him astray He visions a prince si ng deep in medita on The burden is li ed and he makes an instant connec on. All the harmony, peace, and self-understanding His en re life has just been so demanding. verything he has ever known has been the three a ic ons. Hes been nothing more than a plague on earths planta ons. Change is inevitable, life is impermanent Four Noble Truths, the igh old Path, that is substan ate Understanding, unity, and virtue we can walk together Through media on and study we can stay virtuous forever.

Bodhi Tree Arelio Lendo (Susanville, CA)

The Understanding
Myron Stebbins (French Camp, CA)

i e that a sh ng star radian e is s right an tra e thr gh the dar est da s ith i ina ng ight E en at night I shine righter than e re And I ne er disappear I j st g t the ther side the r d and shine s e re The passi n that i nd O th se that are i e ind And I thin thr gh a G d- ns i s ind Thats s ething i e ine M a i it t dene Is i e that gra it pared t e As I rea ree these inds Spea thr gh the an ient a s s s and signs is n t intert ined ith that hats great And r deep ithin s I st extra t that hi h is great S e a des n ate B t I sa its the experien e e h se t reate Man sa its a it ntradi ng and et this is tr e B tt n i t ith the ntradi n Is i e t spea that hi h is tr e S e sa I a it pri i e et en ightened in hat I d Thats h a stra t expressi ns is n nderst d a h sen e I a s p ssess the a i it t see past the per e t degree And e a ha e the t s t pen r third e e and tr see I nder h d assi e? As ne the gi ed r insane Menta n sed et n ps h tr pi s I s e hat ntained S e es I sit and p nder i theres a p e s re s se in rain I ish I as ta e i e an ani a in the z B t I ee re i e a east in the idst this z S pre e n edge and isd is easi tained Fina rea izing the eaning the Great One has a e See I a ne the gi ed s per ns i s has risen Ne er n e ing a as I a a a r this pris n itera I sa I need t e ree itera as ree as the irds that see Un eash niq e insight as I rea ize hat it is I d Then the ar st ithin e an na shine thr gh A etaph ri a phrase i e One ith a a se a is ne And ing r ard t the end t it has n tr eg n Un eash rea it and that hi h is ree expressi n I g ess its e t ann n e I ha e na earned ess n And thats the nderstanding. The C n i ted P et M r n Ste ins n i tedp et@g ai . n i tedp et@

e- ai :

e 9

The Dalai Lama Josu M. Cruz Fuentes (Okeechobee, FL)

Awaken the morning with a smile Embrace it as a friend Go walk with the angels Open your eyes See the sunlight Hear a song Have a good laugh Nourish the soul, observe Hope for the day No fear, be worthy At night relax and reect What have I learned? Can I change? Say thank you Go to sleep.

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In the October-December 2011, Volume 7, Issue 1, of our wonderful newsle er, r. Elsten wrote an ar cle en tled, Open the ook, rac ce, rac ce, rac ce . This ar cle covered two very important aspects teachers and students, and the necessity of prac ce, which has inspired me to write this ar cle. Fourteen years ago, I became something, which requires a lot of humility. I became a student. For the rst me in my life, I had given myself over to someone else. I put aside my current view and opened my mind (and later my heart) to a new reality. Actually, I became a student in two elds that complemented one another. I started learning and prac cing uddhism and Taekwondo Do (ITF). At Indiana State rison, we had an extremely strong Sangha. Over the years, we had ten to twenty regular members, but our outside volunteers were incredible and never in short supply. We were allowed to have all-day retreats quite o en. eing won m en they liked to bow and to sit. en is a teaching of prac ce. They do not hand over a book and say, Read this and youll be a uddhist . No, rather they are the idiot dad who throws the kid into the water shou ng, Sink or swim, son . No o ense to any idiot fathers or sons with them who might be reading this. So, as a student, when I was humble I would ust prac ce and insights would arise on their own. However, if I let ego rule me, I found myself thinking uddhists were a bunch of coo coos. Also at Indiana State rison, I met one of the greatest Taekwondo Do ung Fu prac oners ghters spiritual advisors. He learned in a maximum security prison and his teaching style showed that fact. y lessons came by way of unpadded shins, knees, elbows, and sts. I got beat up nearly every day. Lessons also came in the form of intense physical training. y bruises bruises had bruises. In the beginning, there was no me for ego or humility. Too red to think or feel, I ust trudged on. I prac ced, pracced, prac ced as r. Elsten wrote. As I began ge ng things down or I would enter into a new style, my ego tried to place me above where I was. A er ge ng easily defeated by my teacher again, I would nd humility. This proved to be a false humility. Had it been genuine, the ego would have remained dormant.

Seven years ago, I became something that requires a lot of humility. I became a teacher. As uddhists we have the obliga on and hopefully the desire to help others. This is even more so in prison. On the streets, we could direct them to the nearest master. Where can we direct them in here? We become students to be er our own lives. We become teachers to help others develop theirs. I was surprised to discover how much ego can arise from teaching if it isnt mindful. The rst me I had a class of Taekwondo, students line up in from on me. I thought I was ruce Lee (I know, a di erent style bear with me). I did this. I am no longer a student, I am a teacher. These were my thoughts. When I rst started teaching uddhism, I quickly found that I was wearing a mask of superiority. Chris ans call it a holier -than-thou a tude. I threw away that ignorant way of thinking. For years a er that, I would get angry at guys who said they wanted to learn something, yet wouldnt do things they needed to do to get there. This too is an ego s cal a tude I do not know when someone is ready for spiritual insights. Just as r. Elsten had to open the book on his own we all have our own books to open. We also have our own pages to read and our own pages to write. In closing, I would like to share one of my ta oos with you. On my right trapezius I have two an i characters and on my le trapezius I have two an i characters. The rst reads, Gakusei and the second one, Sensei. In English, it translates as Student, Teacher. I got this to remind myself that we are never above one or below the other. We are always both and they are each equally important. Life is a schoolhouse of lessons where we are called to teach and to forever learn.

Jeremy Jones (Tenshin Hyon Sek) Bunker Hill, IN

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Buddy Ray Lewis (BCCN Volume 7, Issue 4) wanted to know how to get through the loss of a loved one along with the feelings that follow such a loss including suicidal thoughts. The simple one word answer is: PRACTICE! Its easy to develop mindfulness and to sit on the cushion when things are going well. It is when things are bleak and uncertain when we should rely on our prac ce the most. hen confronted with the loss of a loved one, it is natural to have thoughts such as, How can I go on, I should have been there, etc. As we develop our prac ce we reali e that such thoughts are loaded with a achment and ego. People die, things change, that is the nature of life. The pain will ease, I promise you. One thing that I do is, on the memorial day of the passing of my loved one, I place their photo on my altar next to the Buddha. I then devote that days medita on services to that person. I try to remember fond memories of that person, and I try to look through my photo album on that day looking for their picture. I read something some me ago that puts death into a healthy perspec ve for me. A monk was asked how he felt about the passing of his good friend and Abbo of his monastery. He said, Leaves turn brown and fall from the tree. Death is a natural part of our life. Once we remove our a achment to life, we can brie y grieve and honor our loved one, then move forward reali ing that our lives were enriched by our experience with that person. I hope that helps you, Buddy, now is the me to develop a strong prac ce. Things will get be er!

F om Fl ck

Room

th A V w

I drop a coin into a cloudy pool of water And I cannot see it. I drop a coin into a clear pool of water And see both sides of it. o ow h, A

l l , IN

he needs your sub issions to eep the newsle er ibrant and stron . e li it each student to two ite s per newsle er in order to i e e eryone an opportunity to see their art poetry and wri n in print. If you ha e an idea that you would li e share with other students but are uncertain about your wri n s ills please contact your entor. He or she can help you rene your ideas and assist you with wri n

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