The Buddhist on Death Row

How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place

De: David Sheff

Narrado por: Michael Boatman

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Boy explores the transformation of Jarvis Jay Masters who has become one of America’s most inspiring Buddhist practitioners while locked in a cell on death row.

Jarvis Jay Masters’s early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack, alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft, armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guard—a conviction which landed him on death row, where he’s been since 1990.

At the time of his murder trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing exercises which he repeatedly refused. Until desperation moved him to ask her how to do “that meditation shit.” With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masters’s gradual but profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counseled high school kids by mail, and helped prisoners—and even guards—find meaning in their lives.

Along the way, Masters becomes drawn to the principles that Buddhism espouses—compassion, sacrifice, and living in the moment—and he gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide, including many of the faith’s most renowned practitioners. And while he is still in San Quentin and still on death row, he is a renowned Buddhist thinker who shows us how to ease our everyday suffering, relish the light that surrounds us, and endure the tragedies that befall us all.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Jarvis Jay Masters was an angry and anxious inmate on death row in San Quentin when an investigator urged him to try meditation as a way to find calm. Masters becomes a Buddhist and a peacemaker in the prison, and in those finds a sort of liberation. Narrator Michael Boatman's graceful, gentle tone and deliberate pacing are compelling as he masterfully guides us through Jarvis's emotional journey. Through his Buddhist teachers and constant, striving practice, Jarvis comes to terms with the violence that he has experienced and perpetrated, and copes with multiple emotional tests as he loses court appeal after court appeal, a teacher dies, and his marriage fails. Jarvis may be serious about his purpose in life, but his sense of humor and humility lighten the load, and Boatman is right there to capture the right mood for every word."

Beautiful

Wonderful journey we all experience. A must read for all humans interested in freedom in all.

This story is something everyone should hear.

Amazing. Has changed my thinking of my own life and how I see myself in it.

Raw, hopeful, and heartbreaking

I hope that this book is read by more and more people, not just to advocate for the freedoms and justice of Jarvis Jay Masters, but also to model the patience, humility, and kindness we all need more of. Grateful for the authors commitment and appreciation of this special man and his journey. The audio performer was exceptional and this book was easy to get lost in.

The Budhist teachings

I loved the transformation of the protagonist, but I wanted him to be released from prison in the end .

Chronic Illness Patient, This Gave Me So Much Hope

title says it all... do grateful I came across this 🙏 highly recommend to anyone going through or living in hell