On March 18th, 2011, UBC’s Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program hosted an informal workshop on the work of Buddhist practitioners and professionals connected to the Canadian correctional system. The workshop was a chance for participants to share their experiences, ask questions, and discuss important issues.
The demand for Buddhist professionals in corrections, both as chaplains and volunteers, has grown steadily since the Vietnam War, 1960s changes to Canadian immigration policy, and a growing population of Buddhists across all the cultures that make up Canadian society. Workshop participants themselves play a variety of different roles in this system: from volunteer meditation teaching, addictions counseling, to full-time prison chaplaincy. They work in minimum to maximum security facilities in the Lower Mainland, as well as in pre-trial detention and centres for youth at risk. We heard from three generations of Buddhist prison chaplains, Ven. Anila Ann McNeil (“Sister Ann,” former prison chaplain), Bridget MacKenzie (currently serving as the Buddhist representative to the Interfaith Committee for Corrections Canada), and Charmaine Mak (currently serving Buddhist prison chaplain). As well, we learned from the experiences and challenges of the Ven. Sik Yin Kit, or “Sister Jessie,” who volunteers as a meditation teacher in Fraser Valley correctional facilities. That evening, Ven. Sik spoke on her prison dhamma work at UBC’s I.K. Barber Learning Centre.
Discussion at the workshop ranged widely, from the ways current expansion and policy changes in the prison system will affect the work of Buddhist chaplains and teachers, to the shortage of chaplains and interfaith chapels, to the development of a “12-step Buddhism” and materials for assisting Buddhist inmates confront addiction. In addition to challenges, participants also talked about positive initiatives they see in corrections and the admirable work of other religious and secular organizations.
In the difficult environment of the prison, all agreed that Buddhist practices and virtues must not merely be “preached” but lived. A chaplain or a teacher embodies and exemplifies compassion, remaining open to mutual transformation of both themselves and those they minister to in the course of their prison work.
by Jessica L. Main.
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For more information on how a person becomes a prison chaplain, see the Corrections Service of Canada chaplaincy guidelines. Corrections is advised by a number of independent bodies, including the Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy. And there are local Buddhist organizations active in prison outreach work, such as Awake in Action (part of the Prison Dharma Network).