The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place

by David Sheff

The CO said that his job became meaningful when Masters helped him realize he could help people who desperately needed it; he no longer saw it as herding cattle but as an opportunity to treat the suffering with compassion.

His attitude transformed because “Masters showed me that most of the cons just were dealt a raw hand. They’re just people, some more fucked-up than others, some no more fucked-up than people on the outside. They all had miserable lives—and they all have souls.”

I learned that people can change and how but also that transformation comes in fits and starts.

The journey forward isn’t linear but cyclical, and it’s hard.

When you fully connect with your past… that’s when it begins to lose its ability to harm you—to control

But there’s always a break in the stories we tell ourselves. It’s just the way our minds work. There’s a pause. At that point it’s like waking up from a dream, and you remember what you’re doing. That’s the opportunity. You can learn to recognize the pause. You think, I’m in the story again. That’s when you have the opportunity to leave the story and go back to your breath.

Buddhism and all it entails. She explained that karma boils down to one relevant fact and one vital question. The fact: “This is where I am today.” The question: “How will I use it?”

Hope and fear are two sides of the same coin. Both are traps. But remember how both rob you of the present moment. Your

“The real question,” Pema said, “is if it’s possible to feel both things at the same time. Buddhism teaches us that we can. Ambivalence is truer than certainty. Allow yourself to feel both. Don’t fight it. If you do, you’re fighting yourself.”