Prison contemplative programs
Encyclopedia
Prison contemplative programs are classes or practices (which includes meditation
, yoga, contemplative prayer or similar) that are offered at correctional institutions for inmates and prison staff. There are measured or anecdotally reported benefits from studies of these programs such a stress relief for inmates and staff. These programs are gaining in acceptance in North America and Europe but are not mainstream.
These programs may be part of prison religious offerings
and ministry or may be wholly secular. Of those sponsored by religious organizations some are presented in non-sectarian or in non-religious formats. They have had increasing interest
in North American and European prisons since the early 1970s. Contemplative practices in prison however date back at least to Pennsylvania prison reforms in the late 18th century and may have analogs in older correctional history.
In North America, they have been sponsored by Eastern religious traditions, Christian groups, new spiritual movements such as the Scientology
-related Criminon
prison program, as well as interfaith groups.
This approach was critiqued in-between the late 19th and early 20th century, specifically with research showing the isolation it incorporated was causing more harm than benefit. Modern contemplative programs are voluntary and generally in groups instead of in isolation.
and SYDA Foundation
began programs to offer meditation or yoga instruction to inmates. In subsequent years more religious groups began meditation programs, such as the Prison Dharma Network
in 1989.
In India these programs became more well known after a highly publicized set of prison reform
s in 1993. Kiran Bedi
assumed the role of Inspector General of Prisons which included overseeing Tihar Prisons
. She introduced yoga and large scale meditation programs at that prison and these programs were filmed and released as the documentary Doing Time, Doing Vipassana. Because of her reforms there she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award
in 1994. Four more religious groups have established meditation programs at the prison, and intensive retreats inside the prison are offered each year.
One issue with these programs is finding suitable places for meditation, since prisons might not have appropriate places that are quiet or away from activity. In spite of these challenges, in 2004 the Ratna Peace Initiative was founded by Margot and Cliff Neuman in Boulder, CO to support their meditation work in state and federal prisons in Colorado and 47 other states. Ratna Peace Initiative is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering peace of mind to prison inmates and veterans with PTSD through training and social education in meditation and other mindfulness practices.
Programs have extended outside of prisons to include prisoner re-integration into society and efforts to teach to at risk youth. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Prison Smart Los Angeles Youth Project teaches meditation to gangs.
programs specifically found reduced aggression, reduced rule infractions, and reduced recidivism
up to six years after release. Anecdotally, in a 1984 Guatemalan prison program that was studied, guards reported less violence and drug use when inmates and guards both took meditation programs.
In a study published in 2004 authors Komanduri Srinivasa Murty, Angela M. Owens, and Ashwin Vyas conclude the benefits of meditation programs in prisons include:
They further contend that those programs reduced alcohol and substance abuse.
Not all prisons allow contemplative programs. Some inmates or organizations have used religious freedom provisions as a way to secure programs in prisons. In the United States prisoners are allowed to hold any religious beliefs, but the courts have decided that prisons have some latitude in deciding which religious practices occur. Prisons are allowed to consider inmate safety, security, and operations of the prison when considering a religious program. But court actions recognizing Zen Buddhism as an "acceptable religion" secured meditation programs in New York prisons. Author Christopher Queen feels that funding in the United States for prison contemplative programs was hampered in 1997 by the repeal of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
of 1993.
in India with over a thousand inmates. The results of the program, organized by the Burmese Buddhist group led by S. N. Goenka
, were considered very positive. That program and film brought greater attention to prison contemplative programs.
The Dhamma Brothers
released in 2007 documented a smaller scale, optional meditation program implemented at Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama
. That film depicts controversy as the meditation program is perceived by residents as missionary and anti-Christian.
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, yoga, contemplative prayer or similar) that are offered at correctional institutions for inmates and prison staff. There are measured or anecdotally reported benefits from studies of these programs such a stress relief for inmates and staff. These programs are gaining in acceptance in North America and Europe but are not mainstream.
These programs may be part of prison religious offerings
Prison religion
Prison religion includes the religious beliefs and practices of prison inmates, usually stemming from or including concepts surrounding their imprisonment and accompanying lifestyle...
and ministry or may be wholly secular. Of those sponsored by religious organizations some are presented in non-sectarian or in non-religious formats. They have had increasing interest
in North American and European prisons since the early 1970s. Contemplative practices in prison however date back at least to Pennsylvania prison reforms in the late 18th century and may have analogs in older correctional history.
In North America, they have been sponsored by Eastern religious traditions, Christian groups, new spiritual movements such as the Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
-related Criminon
Criminon
Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public...
prison program, as well as interfaith groups.
History
Early Pennsylvania prisons, based on Quaker ideas, used meditation upon one's crimes as a core component of rehabilitation. When combined with isolation this became known as the Pennsylvania System. James Mease in the early 19th century described this approach involving isolation and meditation and the logic behind it:[Repentance of crime is produced by:] (1) a tiresome state of mind from idle seclusion; (2) self-condemnation arising from deep, long-continued and poignant reflections upon a guilty life. All our endeavors, therefore, ought to be directed to the production of that state of mind, which will cause a convict to concentrate his thoughts upon his forlorn condition, to abstract himself from the world, and to think of nothing except that suffering and the privations he endures, the result of his crimes. Such a state of mind is totally incompatible with the least mechanical operation, but is only to be brought about, if ever, by complete mental and bodily insulation.
This approach was critiqued in-between the late 19th and early 20th century, specifically with research showing the isolation it incorporated was causing more harm than benefit. Modern contemplative programs are voluntary and generally in groups instead of in isolation.
Modern programs
In the 1970s organizations such as the Prison-Ashram ProjectPrison-Ashram Project
"The focus of the Prison-Ashram Project is to help prisoners and prison staff throughout the world turn inward and use their harsh environments to develop wisdom and compassion."...
and SYDA Foundation
Siddha Yoga
Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path based on the Hindu spiritual traditions of Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism. The Siddha Yoga path was founded by Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa . The present spiritual head of the Siddha Yoga path is Gurumayi Chidvilasananda...
began programs to offer meditation or yoga instruction to inmates. In subsequent years more religious groups began meditation programs, such as the Prison Dharma Network
Prison Dharma Network
The Prison Dharma Network is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 with the mission of supporting prisoners and prison volunteers in transformation through meditation and contemplative spirituality in prisons...
in 1989.
In India these programs became more well known after a highly publicized set of prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
s in 1993. Kiran Bedi
Kiran Bedi
Kiran Bedi is an Indian social activist and a retired Indian Police Service officer. Bedi joined the police service in 1972 and became the first woman officer in the IPS. Bedi held the post of Director General at the Bureau of Police Research and Development before she voluntarily retired from...
assumed the role of Inspector General of Prisons which included overseeing Tihar Prisons
Tihar Jail
Tihar Prisons , also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram , is the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. It is located at Tihar village, approximately 7 km from Chanakya Puri, to the west of New Delhi, India. The surrounding area is called Hari Nagar.The prison is maintained as a...
. She introduced yoga and large scale meditation programs at that prison and these programs were filmed and released as the documentary Doing Time, Doing Vipassana. Because of her reforms there she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...
in 1994. Four more religious groups have established meditation programs at the prison, and intensive retreats inside the prison are offered each year.
One issue with these programs is finding suitable places for meditation, since prisons might not have appropriate places that are quiet or away from activity. In spite of these challenges, in 2004 the Ratna Peace Initiative was founded by Margot and Cliff Neuman in Boulder, CO to support their meditation work in state and federal prisons in Colorado and 47 other states. Ratna Peace Initiative is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering peace of mind to prison inmates and veterans with PTSD through training and social education in meditation and other mindfulness practices.
Programs have extended outside of prisons to include prisoner re-integration into society and efforts to teach to at risk youth. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Prison Smart Los Angeles Youth Project teaches meditation to gangs.
Benefits
Generally, modern meditation programs are described as helping inmates deal with the stress of confinement. Studies of Transcendental MeditationTranscendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
programs specifically found reduced aggression, reduced rule infractions, and reduced recidivism
Recidivism
Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior...
up to six years after release. Anecdotally, in a 1984 Guatemalan prison program that was studied, guards reported less violence and drug use when inmates and guards both took meditation programs.
In a study published in 2004 authors Komanduri Srinivasa Murty, Angela M. Owens, and Ashwin Vyas conclude the benefits of meditation programs in prisons include:
- reduced drug use, recidivism, violence, anger, and self-destructive and risk-taking behavior
- enhanced employability and balanced life-style
- increased self-awareness, self-confidence, and hopefulness.
They further contend that those programs reduced alcohol and substance abuse.
Controversies
Prison contemplative programs attract controversy when they are seen as religious missionary work. Some Buddhist groups do use contemplative practice programs as a way to promote Buddhism to prisoners. Prisons have sometimes asked religious groups to explicitly offer non-religious programs.Not all prisons allow contemplative programs. Some inmates or organizations have used religious freedom provisions as a way to secure programs in prisons. In the United States prisoners are allowed to hold any religious beliefs, but the courts have decided that prisons have some latitude in deciding which religious practices occur. Prisons are allowed to consider inmate safety, security, and operations of the prison when considering a religious program. But court actions recognizing Zen Buddhism as an "acceptable religion" secured meditation programs in New York prisons. Author Christopher Queen feels that funding in the United States for prison contemplative programs was hampered in 1997 by the repeal of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 , codified at through , is a 1993 United States federal law aimed at preventing laws that substantially burden a person's free exercise of their religion. The bill was introduced by Howard McKeon of California and...
of 1993.
Documentaries
Two documentaries depicting prison meditation programs have received significant review. Doing Time, Doing Vipassana released in 1997 documented a large scale meditation program at Tihar PrisonsTihar Jail
Tihar Prisons , also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram , is the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. It is located at Tihar village, approximately 7 km from Chanakya Puri, to the west of New Delhi, India. The surrounding area is called Hari Nagar.The prison is maintained as a...
in India with over a thousand inmates. The results of the program, organized by the Burmese Buddhist group led by S. N. Goenka
S. N. Goenka
Satya Narayan Goenka is a leading lay teacher of Vipassanā meditation and a student of U Ba Khin. He has trained more than 800 assistant teachers and each year more than 100,000 people attend Goenka sponsored Vipassana courses....
, were considered very positive. That program and film brought greater attention to prison contemplative programs.
The Dhamma Brothers
The Dhamma Brothers
The Dhamma Brothers is a documentary film released in 2007 about a prison meditation program at Donaldson Correctional Facility near Bessemer, Alabama. The film concentrates on four inmates, all convicted of murder. It also includes interviews of guards, prison officials, and local residents. It...
released in 2007 documented a smaller scale, optional meditation program implemented at Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama
Bessemer, Alabama
Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S...
. That film depicts controversy as the meditation program is perceived by residents as missionary and anti-Christian.