[Buddha-l] solitary confinement

[Gad Horowitz]

Decades and decades of experience with prisons shows that they are more part
of the problem than part of the solution.  Crime and prison arise in
dependence on one another.  Prison, no matter what the lip service paid to
"correction" i s on the whole not at all conducive to change for the better
of the human beings caged therein like rats.  Vengeance and self
righteousness is the name of the game.  Just suggest for a moment the
possibility of movement towards abolition and all those who have not sinned
start frothing at the mouth about serial killers and pedophiles.  The fact
that many many prisoners are no more violent than you all is hardly
mentioned.
My question is:  When Debs says:  While there is a criminal element I am of
it;While there is a soul in prison I am not free--is he not manifesting a
better understanding of emptiness and codependent arising than many of you
fine Buddhists?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dh. Suvarnaprabha" <suvanna at sfbuddhistcenter.org>
To: <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 11:36 AM
Subject: [Buddha-l] solitary confinement


> >...solitary......that's cruel (if common rather than unusual) punishment.
> It does not have a chance of any shade of reformation.
>
> I think being solitary does have some potential for reformation if they at
> least could have some quality reading material!
> http://users.aristotle.net/~anna/news/nytart.html
> Cheers, Suvarnnaprabha (who teaches med. at the county jail and has been
> lurking around here for a while...)
>
> :   :   :
> Suvarnaprabha (AKA Suvanna)
> Director, San Francisco Buddhist Center
> Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
> Web: http://www.sfbuddhistcenter.org
>
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