{"id":460,"date":"2009-02-28T07:13:59","date_gmt":"2009-02-28T07:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onecity\/2009\/02\/the-dhamma-brothers-by-damaris-williams.html"},"modified":"2009-02-28T07:13:59","modified_gmt":"2009-02-28T07:13:59","slug":"the-dhamma-brothers-by-damaris-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2009\/02\/the-dhamma-brothers-by-damaris-williams.html","title":{"rendered":"The Dhamma Brothers, by Damaris Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"

A guest post by Damaris Williams.<\/strong>
\nOn February 6, IDP premiered its first Salon night, featuring a showing of the Dhamma Brothers film. I quickly asked Ethan if I could write something about it. I hadn\u2019t seen the movie, but I knew I could easily relate to those men in prison. I had grown up in the South Bronx during the crack epidemic of the 1980s and had experienced as well as witnessed enough violence and confusion to understand the pressures and limitations these men have faced.
\n
\nI also knew it would be tough to watch because people I love have been incarcerated and some still are. I have spent many nights wondering if they would take to meditation and the Buddha. If they would be willing to step out of their social and cultural boundaries to enter in a place that mainly consists of very different people.
\nSo sitting there next to Stillman, David, and the other good sangha folk I found myself unprepared for what I would experience. What I felt was a continuous sadness and an unbounded sense of gratitude that has lasted through today.
\nThe sadness comes from knowing how lost a soul can be, and the desperation that arises in an effort to relieve the suffering. From OB’s story to Rick\u2019s, each of those men told a story that reverberated into my heart, my past, and my family.
\nI can\u2019t tell you about the lives of people who have done great harm. That is something they must share with people who can understand. It\u2019s their choice to tell. I also can\u2019t tell you to forgive or understand. There have been many moments in my life when I simply could not forgive the ignorance, the stupidity, and simply put\u2026. the crime. That is until one day I found myself lost, and by a miracle\u2026 yes you heard right\u2026 a miracle, I was spared. I had IDP to go to.
\nSeeing those beautiful faces brought me back to my own choices. The enormous gratitude for the moments and people who brought me to a place where I could walk through the sangha doors. Gratitude for this mind which somehow, without really knowing, remained faithful to this heart despite any indication it just might be a lost cause.
\nThe effort to get here wasn\u2019t easy, and it takes a lot of work to remain.
\n(Please see my first blog for a sample \u2013http:\/\/onecity.wordpress.com\/2008\/09\/20\/from-here-to-there-from-damaris\/. But before you do; practice some Metta. I\u2019ve been told it has impact.)
\nSo I wonder, will those men hold out? Will they quietly work to find the dharma?
\nAnd my questions to you:
\nHow do you feel about prisoners learning the dharma?
\nDo you think you can you can let them in your sangha, your space?
\nCan you see the wisdom in the words of that uneducated, possibly illiterate man or woman?
\nBecause truthfully, I\u2019ve been with many different people and have learned wisdom is sometimes in the most unlikely people.
\nWhat I learned in my life and after watching the Dhamma Bros is that I need them here with me. Just like I need you.
\nThe Rising – Bruce Springsteen
\nCant see nothin in front of me
\nCant see nothin coming up behind
\nI make my way through this darkness
\nI cant feel nothing but this chain that binds me
\nLost track of how far Ive gone
\nHow far I’ve gone, how high I’ve climbed
\nOn my backs a sixty pound stone
\nOn my shoulder a half mile of line
\nCome on up for the rising
\nCome on up, lay your hands in mine
\nCome on up for the rising
\nCome on up for the rising tonight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A guest post by Damaris Williams. On February 6, IDP premiered its first Salon night, featuring a showing of the Dhamma Brothers film. I quickly asked Ethan if I could write something about it. I hadn\u2019t seen the movie, but I knew I could easily relate to those men in prison. I had grown up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":192,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-media"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dhamma Brothers, by Damaris Williams - One City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2009\/02\/the-dhamma-brothers-by-damaris-williams.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dhamma Brothers, by Damaris Williams - One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A guest post by Damaris Williams. On February 6, IDP premiered its first Salon night, featuring a showing of the Dhamma Brothers film. I quickly asked Ethan if I could write something about it. I hadn\u2019t seen the movie, but I knew I could easily relate to those men in prison. 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On February 6, IDP premiered its first Salon night, featuring a showing of the Dhamma Brothers film. I quickly asked Ethan if I could write something about it. I hadn\u2019t seen the movie, but I knew I could easily relate to those men in prison. 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