Sending loving-kindness to all sentient beings --Dharma talk in prison

Sending loving-kindness to all sentient beings – Dharma talk in prison

Ashin Issariya’s (aka King Zero’s) Dharma talk in the Mae Sot prison.
For the third time Ashin Issariya was invited to give a Dharma talk for the inmates in Mae Sot’s prison.

In this prison almost all inmates are Burmese. Traditionally Burmese people are devoted Buddhists. For them it is very important to be able to listen to a monk and regularly give Dhana to a monk, such as food and robes, in order to make good merit.
Monks collectively known as the Sangha, are the venerated members of Burmese society. There is a monastery in every village in Burma and monks act as the spiritual leaders of that community. They give religious guidance and perform important duties at weddings and funerals. For the migrants and refugees in Thailand they still have this important role.
A Burmese migrant/refugee could land in prison for many different reasons. The people from Burma come from a disastrous education system to Thailand without knowledge of any laws. So they might break laws without even being aware of it. In addition most Burmese can not understand the Thai language and thus don’t know what is talked about. If they are asked by authorities to sign something, they just sign it without knowing what they agree with. There are others who knowingly break the law of course.
Compared to Burmese standards the Thai prisons are quite modern. In Burma inmates suffer from torture, deliberately poor prison conditions combined with purposeful medical negligence.
In his Dharma speech Ashin Issariya talked about the Three Gems: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and how to practice metta (loving-kindness).
How to recite the Three Gems?
Most Burmese people feel very sad to not be able to give Dhana to a monk when they see him. Especially in the situation in a prison they can not give anything to the monks. So Ashin Issariya taught them how to receive merit by reciting Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

“If you eat rice, you can recite Buddha, Dharma and Sangha before eating and in this way donate this rice to the Three Gems.

How to practice loving-kindness?

“How to practice loving-kindness (metta)? Loving-kindness is to do good deeds and to donate, that is what the Buddha has taught. So how can you practice loving-kindness in a prison?
You should start the loving-kindness in your own mind. For example, you sit down and concentrate like this: may my mind be peaceful, may my mind be happy. The Buddha has taught: If you send loving-kindness to your own mind, this loving-kindness is real and your mind will become very peaceful.
With this peaceful mind you can send loving-kindness to others. You can start by sending loving-kindness to your mother and father, to your loved ones, to your teacher, to your friends, send loving-kindness to strangers, enemies, and finally towards all sentient beings.

Ashin Issariya will go back to the prison and will ask permission to talk to the inmates individually. He said he feels very happy to be able to talk to them because he knows how important it is for the people. The Thai authorities regularly invite Thai monks to give Dharma talks in prison, but as the Burmese inmates can not understand the language it doesn’t help them.
Some inmates have written to Ashin Issariya that they would like to read but the books are also all in Thai language. So Ashin Issariya brought them books in Burmese language and has arranged for more books to be sent to the inmates soon.

Interview with Ashin Issariya aka King Zero by Alexandra Rösch
http://www.thebestfriend.org/2011/02/01/dharma-talk-in-prison/#more-7461
http://picasaweb.google.com/king.issariya/Peace#