Lessons from Prison, Part 3: Dealing with Life's Changes
I recently received another remarkable letter from a man I call “Jonathan” who has been corresponding with me from prison for about a year and a half now. He is 49 years old, and has thus far served ten years in prison. He has thirteen more years to serve before release. His circumstances are extreme compared to what most of us have to deal with, but I think there is much we can learn from how he has chosen to use Buddhist teachings to deal with adversity. A month ago, Jonathan was abruptly notified that he was to be transferred from his Federal prison in California to a prison in Illinois. This was a major change in his life and a huge shock. With no warning or explanation he was ripped away from his place, his friends, and a meaningful prison job that he had. He wrote to me about it. “I was transferred at the beginning of March. It was very sudden and not at all welcomed. I had made a reasonably comfortable existence at the prison in Californ...
