Dharma Behind Bars: 35 Years of Buddhist Prison Outreach
Vita Pires, Executive Director of Prison Mindfulness Institute, interviews Gary Allen on MPP’s work of bringing meditation and Buddhism into prisons.
Episode Highlights:
Gary Allen shares his decades-long experience bringing Buddhist teachings to incarcerated individuals.
- Correspondence-Based Dharma – The power of personal letters and structured courses in reaching prisoners.
- Anger & Patience – Why teachings from Shantideva on patience and anger are essential in prison.
- Challenges of Prison Work – From administrative hurdles to the evolving perception of Buddhism behind bars.
- Long-Term Impact – How Dharma transforms lives in prison, creating lasting change even beyond release.
A Conversation about Mind with Gary Allen and Joseph DeNicholas:
A podcast in three parts
Gary Allen
Joseph DeNicholas
Gary, Executive Co-Director of Mindfulness Peace Project, and Joe, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, discuss ways of understanding what the mind is, how it becomes confused through habitual egocentrism, and how we might go about unraveling this confusion.
1. Mind Defined
2. Mind as a Source of Suffering
3. Meditation as an Antidote to Suffering