Prison Dharma

About 50 copies of each issue of the Mindfulness Bell go out to people who are incarcerated. Their heartwarming letters remind us why we do this work.

Another year has passed and once again the Mindfulness Bell has offered to extend my subscription for the new year. I am truly grateful for the offer.

Yes, I would very much appreciate the opportunity to receive the Dharma via the Mindfulness Bell for an additional year.

We have a very small Sangha here at Gulf C.I. and we are able to gather once each week on the recreation yard. Each issue of the Mindfulness Bell we receive is passed around and becomes the topic of many discussions and fuel for our practice.

I send many thanks and our best wishes to everyone who in any way helps to bring the Dharma to others, and especially to those who share via the Mindfulness Bell.

Humbly yours,

Patrick L. S.
Gulf Correctional Institution
Wewahitchka, Florida

Hands in the lotus posture and bow to all at the Mindfulness Bell staff.

I am in receipt of the complimentary card gift subscription that you send me. It’s difficult to find the right words to express all that I feel by your generosity. The only thing that I do know is that I am very very grateful for your kindness and by giving me the privilege of receiving the beautiful insights that the magazine brings. You all are doing a wonderful thing by your donation of the Mindfulness Bell to us incarcerated seeking the truth of the teaching of the Buddha.

You will never know how much you all have helped me. Thanks!

Yours in the Dharma,

Fabio V.
Union Correctional Institution
Raiford, Florida

I very much enjoyed the articles in the Mindfulness Bell. I loved reading about Thay’s home in Vietnam and the practice people are doing both there and around the world and it strengthens my mindfulness practice. I have very much enjoyed and loved the poetry in the middle of the Bell. Also I would like to thank you for giving a complimentary gift subscription and was wondering if you could send me another year’s worth. It is very much read and I loved every issue.

Good karma,

Guy W.
Skyview Prison Unit
Rusk, Texas

I pray this letter finds all of you happy and well!

I am writing to express how truly thankful I am to receive the Mindfulness Bell. I do not know who my benefactor is — I certainly am in no position to afford your publication — but be assured that it gets quite a lot of use here! There are 330 men in this building and I share and talk with quite a few men here the different articles and poetry. Please let my benefactors know that they are in my thoughts and prayers!

I pray for all of you and to your continued success! Be happy and at peace!

Edward T.
Chuckwalla Valley State Prison
Blythe, California

Viet Nam or Vietnam?

Occasionally we get feedback that we should be more respectful of Vietnamese culture and write words, especially place names, the way the Vietnamese do. (Unfortunately, we don’t have the capability to print all the accents.) With so many contributions in this issue pertaining to the Sangha’s Vietnamese trip, I sought advice. Who better to ask than Sister Annabel, who is expert in Sanskrit and has translated Thay’s books from Vietnamese into English? Sister Annabel responds: When we write Ha Noi or Viet Nam without the appropriate accents it already ceases to be Vietnamese. Unless you are going to write using accents, I suggest that you write Hanoi, Vietnam, Saigon.

Sister Annabel, Chan Duc