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.
Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place, David Sheff, Simon & Schuster, Hardcover, 272 pp, $27.00
David Sheff is the author of multiple books including the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Beautiful Boy, which was recently turned into a movie starring Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Rolling Stone, Wired, Fortune, and elsewhere. His piece for The New York Times, "My Addicted Son," received an award from the American Psychological Association for Outstanding Contribution to Advancing the Understanding of Addictions.
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CONTENTS: The Buddhist on Death Row
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Author's Note
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xi
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Introduction
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xiii
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PART ONE
The First Nobel Truth: Suffering
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1.
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Born Useless
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3
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2.
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Breathing, Sitting
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17
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3.
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Scars
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27
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PART TWO
The Second Noble Truth: The Cause of Suffering
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4.
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Condemned
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45
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5.
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Awakening
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53
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6.
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Taking Refuge
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65
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7.
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The Only Way Out
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79.
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8.
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Karma
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93
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9.
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Kill the Buddha
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107
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PART THREE
The Third Noble Truth: The End of Suffering
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10.
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Connection
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119
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11.
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Forgiveness
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127
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12.
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Another Way
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137
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13.
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Warrior
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151
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14.
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Compassion
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165
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15.
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Walking on the Grass
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177
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16.
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Presence
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185
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17.
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The Sound of Life
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195
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PART FOUR
The Fourth Noble Truth: The Path
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18.
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Hope
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209
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19.
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Letting Go
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221
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20.
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Enlightenment
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231
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Epilogue: Living with an Open Heart
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239
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Postscript
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245
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Acknowledgments
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247
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