Episode 110
Photograph by Charmaine Oakley
Dharma in Hell: Fleet Maull
In this episode Elizabeth speaks with Fleet Maull, prison activist, Buddhist practitioner, and author of “Dharma in Hell” and “Radical Responsibility.” He has a fascinating story to tell about his 14 years of Buddhist practice in prison; starting the first prison hospice program; and the practice of bearing witness.
One of the strong messages Elizabeth got from this conversation with Fleet, was the need to take ownership of one’s life circumstances. Fleet uses the term “radical responsibility” to describe this, and talks about how agency comes from accepting our own karma. Fleet’s example shows us that it is possible to find agency even in an environment like prison, which, by all conventional definitions, is the antithesis of freedom.
Music from this episode includes Dancin’ Shoes by Chimé Mattis; cover art is by Charmaine Oakley.
“Whatever is happening to us now mirrors our past karma. If we know that, and know it truly, whenever suffering and difficulties befall us, we do not view them particularly as failures or catastrophes, or see suffering as a punishment in any way. Nor do we blame ourselves or indulge in self-hatred.
We see the pain we are going through as the completion of the effects, the fruition, of a past karma. Tibetans say that suffering is “a broom that sweeps away all our negative karma.” We can even be grateful that one karma is coming to an end. We know that “good fortune,” a fruit of good karma, may soon pass if we do not use it well, and that “misfortune,” the result of negative karma, may in fact be giving us a marvelous opportunity to evolve”.
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Fleet Maull
Vocabulary for this episode:
Varjayogini abhiseka: this is a transmission for the practice of a certain female deity in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition.
Trungpa Rinpoche: the name of Fleet’s teacher, a renowned Buddhist master (March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987)
Shamatha: Sanskrit term, often translated as “calm abiding.” It refers to meditation with a steady focus, a means to focus and calm the mind.
Kam: a region in Eastern Tibet