Jarvis Jay Masters - Finding Freedom: How Death Row Broke and Opened My Heart

My dear friend, Jarvis Jay Masters, has been one of my greatest teachers.

This courageous man had a very painful early life. At the age of five, he entered the foster-care system, having first experienced hunger, neglect, and violence. He witnessed suffering and trauma at such an impressionable age, and, like too many who dont get the care and supportive environments they need in their young adulthood, he committed armed robbery and in his late teens ended up in San Quentin Prison.

While still serving his sentence in San Quentin, Jarvis was accused of conspiring to murder a prison guard. To this day, he maintains his innocence of that crime, and Ive joined in the Free Jarvis campaign because I believe him. In the many years Ive known Jarvis and visited him at San Quentin prison, I can see that hes undergone a profound personal transformationone that has been a result of his own willingness to examine his heart and mind. On death rowwhere there is so much despair, anger, and hopelessnessJarvis has emerged as a gentle man, one who has broken through the pain to find the tender humanity in his environment. In the Buddhist teachings, we call this compassion.

When you practice developing compassion as Jarvis has, you begin to see the world and your place in it from a much wider viewpoint. You learn to touch in and experience the truth that we are all fragile, vulnerable, and longing to be loved. Under the guidance of his first Buddhist teacher, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, Jarvis took the bodhisattva vow, which essentially means devoting your life to compassion. In taking the vow, Jarvis committed to not hurt or harm any beingsand to do what he could to end suffering wherever he could. In his writings, his meditation practice, and his very presence, Jarvis sets that example for others every day. He gets letters all the time, especially from young people who are struggling as he did, who have heard his story and therefore turned their lives around.

I am continually inspired by Jarvis because of his steadfastness and resilience. I know its not easy for him to sit with intense visible suffering on a daily basis knowing the situation might never change. And yet, Jarvis has found within himself the ability to be present to his experience, to accept, to open, to receive the lessons of his situation, and to keep his sense of humor. I often think to myself, if Jarvis can break through and find the light in this darkest of places, theres hope for all of us.

This is one of my favorite books, which I have often referred to in my teachings. I am delighted that it will have a wider publication now so that more people can read these wonderful heartfelt stories.