As
a practitioner of the dharma who had “fallen off the path”, the only good thing
about being incarcerated was in meeting to compassionate brothers and sisters
from IBS. My friends tried to put a “positive spin” on things and had told me. “You
should become a prison monk and turn your cell into a monastery.” Easy for them
to say! But these completely selfless people actually helped to make this a
reality for me.
The
brothers and sisters from IBS grounded us in the foundational and preliminary
practices first and then, slowly, over the years have introduced more advanced
methods. We always return, however, to the foundational work and this has
proved to be of most benefit to the new meditators as well as those of us with
a little more experience. After all, we would not be in prison if we had
remained firm in our foundation.
Many
of us have been privileged to take Refuge and Five Precepts vows before
Venerable Hueiguang. I can not express the gratitude we feel to have an
international recognized Buddhist and lineage holder come tot his remote place
to visit prisoners that most people would rather not think about. This is true
compassion – this is the work of a bodhisattva!!
The
second time that I met Venerable Master Hueiguang, my grandmother had just died
the day before and I felt that a whole piece of me was missing. He could feel
my sadness before I really even said anything. He reached out and wrapped me in
his robes and I felt as if I were being nurtured by the whole universe. I felt
so safe and love ad protected. He led a short funeral service for her (I guess
it was really for me) and I was able let her go with a sense of gratitude for
her life. This is true compassion – this is the work of a bodhisattva!!
When
I met Venerable Xian Zhong, I was transfixed. I felt as if I already knew him
and his smile was just so infectious. His glance was one of encouragement and
somehow an acknowledgement that I already had the qualities of Buddha nature
inside my heart and mind. He can say so much with no words at all and we all
love him for this. He makes each and every brother feel welcome and included.
And when he leads the Metta Meditation, one knows beyond a doubt that the
loving kindness that we are sending out is very, very real!!
When
Venerable Master Hueiguang taught our Sangha, Venerable Xian Zhong sat at his
feet – this was for well over an hour. He had such a look of utter devotion on
his face that my heart melted. This monk was the very embodiment of devotion
and it re-inspired me to deeper devotion as well. I was also inspired to hand
copy Lama Tsongkhapa’s text on the “foundation of all good qualities…”
It
is difficult to truly express all that our beloved brothers and sisters of IBS
have done for us because it has not been so much in the doing as in the being. Yes, they have given us
kindness, compassion, wisdom, teachings and everything that a good Buddhist
should give- but they have given us a family to be a part of…a Sangha to belong
to, to love and nurture and cultivate. How can one express one’s feelings for
one’s family? It just is….
