Tricycle | Awake in the World

Yesterday I was in Cambridge, Massachusetts to help videographer Denise Petrizzo with some of the filming of Larry Rosenberg's upcoming Tricycle Retreat. (I'm not much help with these kinds of things. I try to just stay out of the way.) Here's a picture I took of Larry in the meditation hall at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, looking refreshed after filming (sorry for the terrible cellphone-photo quality): More »

I recently came across a blog by Fleet Maull, an ordained dharma holder in the Zen Peacemaker Order that founded both the Prison Dharma Network and the National Prison Hospice Association, that I thought would be good to share here.  In it, Fleet describes his recent visit to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, and gives a rare glimpse into the lives of people who do great work in an extremely challenging situation.  I reproduced the blog here from the Peacemaker Institute Community website in its entirety, but gaining access to the Community site is quite simple (and free) so to anyone who would like to read further and learn more, I recommend joining. To read Fleet's interview from the Spring 2004 issue of Tricycle, click here. To purchase a copy of Fleet's book, Dharma in Hell: The Prison Writings of Fleet Maull, click here. The Farm: Celebrating the Prison Hospice Volunteers at Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary Front Gate at "The Farm," -- Angola I’d been driving through thick, tall forests that blanket either side of the two land state road with an almost haunted feeling when suddenly the front gate of the Louisiana State Penitentiary loomed into view. I drove up to the checkpoint where two, uninformed and armed guards were checking cars and people in and out. I rolled down my window and gave the female guard my name and I.D. I told her I was here to provide and in-service training for the hospice program. She had my name on a list and told me to drive through and pull over just ahead and to wait there for someone to come escort me in. I assumed it was my contact, Stacy Falgout, the hospice social worker, when a petite, 30 something woman in jeans and a tee shirt pulled along side me in an SUV. I said, “Stacy … ?”, and the woman said, “No, I’m Warden Cathy Fontenot. I’m going to be your tour guide this morning. Follow me.” She took off at quite a clip and I stepped on it to catch up. We drove several miles along a tree-lined road through pastures with herds of cattle and horses before arriving at some kind of prison complex. She had me park my car there and told me to hop in. She was going to show me all over “The Farm,” the subject of an award-winning documentary of the same name. Warden Burl Cain The Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) consists of six prison complexes, housing a total of 5,200 men, spread over 18,000 acres of prime Louisiana farmland bordered on one side by the Mississippi River. Warden Fontenot proudly said, “We can grow anything on this land.” Each prison has its own warden who calls the shots at that facility. Warden Fontenot oversees education, treatment and religious programs at all the prisons and manages PR and media contacts for the entire penitentiary. She reports to chief warden Burl Cain, a renowned warden who’s been at LSP for 16 years. Warden Cain is credited with dramatically reducing the violence (down 70%) at this infamous penitentiary, once widely considered the worst prison in the country. One of the six prison complexes at LSP Angola I recently came across a blog by Fleet Maull, an ordained dharma holder in the Zen Peacemaker Order that founded both the Prison Dharma Network and the National Prison Hospice Association, that I thought would be good to share here.  In it, Fleet describes his recent visit to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, and gives a rare glimpse into the lives of people who do great work in an extremely challenging situation.  I reproduced the blog here from the Peacemaker Institute Community website in its entirety, but gaining access to the Community site is quite simple (and free) so to anyone who would like to read further and learn more, I recommend joining. To read Fleet's interview from the Spring 2004 issue of Tricycle, click here. To purchase a copy of Fleet's book, Dharma in Hell: The Prison Writings of Fleet Maull, click here. The Farm: Celebrating the Prison Hospice Volunteers at Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary Front Gate at "The Farm," -- Angola I’d been driving through thick, tall forests that blanket either side of the two land state road with an almost haunted feeling when suddenly the front gate of the Louisiana State Penitentiary loomed into view. I drove up to the checkpoint where two, uninformed and armed guards were checking cars and people in and out. I rolled down my window and gave the female guard my name and I.D. I told her I was here to provide and in-service training for the hospice program. She had my name on a list and told me to drive through and pull over just ahead and to wait there for someone to come escort me in. I assumed it was my contact, Stacy Falgout, the hospice social worker, when a petite, 30 something woman in jeans and a tee shirt pulled along side me in an SUV. I said, “Stacy … ?”, and the woman said, “No, I’m Warden Cathy Fontenot. I’m going to be your tour guide this morning. Follow me.” She took off at quite a clip and I stepped on it to catch up. We drove several miles along a tree-lined road through pastures with herds of cattle and horses before arriving at some kind of prison complex. She had me park my car there and told me to hop in. She was going to show me all over “The Farm,” the subject of an award-winning documentary of the same name. Warden Burl Cain The Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) consists of six prison complexes, housing a total of 5,200 men, spread over 18,000 acres of prime Louisiana farmland bordered on one side by the Mississippi River. Warden Fontenot proudly said, “We can grow anything on this land.” Each prison has its own warden who calls the shots at that facility. Warden Fontenot oversees education, treatment and religious programs at all the prisons and manages PR and media contacts for the entire penitentiary. She reports to chief warden Burl Cain, a renowned warden who’s been at LSP for 16 years. Warden Cain is credited with dramatically reducing the violence (down 70%) at this infamous penitentiary, once widely considered the worst prison in the country. One of the six prison complexes at LSP Angola More »