The Dhamma Brothers is an interesting award winning documentary film about the impressive impact of a 10 day Vipassana meditation program on prisoners in for murder at a maximum security prison. I would recommend it.
Here are links to a synopis and trailer. We ran across the film on Netflix Instant.
Some of the takeaways for me were:
- Meditation can make a big positive long-term impact even on hardened criminals.
- Feelings are really body sensations. Once we realize they are there we can choose not to react to them.
- During meditation expect to become aware of repressed thoughts and feelings. This is part of the emotional healing process.
Here are some findings from the program:
“Academic research findings support behavioral observations that show the positive influence of the Vipassana program. Preliminary findings from pre- and post-tests and 1 year follow up measures administered to both Vipassana and matched control participants include the following findings for the Vipassana participants;
- Increase in mindfulness & emotional intelligence
- Improved physiological & psychological well-being
- Decrease in anger and distress
- A 20% reduction in institutional infractions & segregation time”
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