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Finding Freedom

How Death Row Broke and Opened My Heart

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About this listen

There are many forms of liberation - some that exist at the mercy of circumstance and others that can never be taken away. In this stirring and timely collection of stories, essays, poems, and letters, Jarvis Jay Masters explores the meaning of true freedom on his road to inner peace through Buddhist practice. He reveals his life as a young African American man surrounded by violence, his entanglement in the criminal justice system, and - following an encounter with Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche - an unfolding commitment to nonviolence and peacemaking. At turns joyful, heartbreaking, frightening, and soaring with profound insight, Masters’ story offers a vision of hope and the possibility of freedom in even the darkest of times.

©2020 Jarvis Jay Masters (P)2020 Shambhala Publications Buddhism True Crime Freedom

Critic reviews

"This is one of my favorite books, which I have often referred to in my teachings. I am delighted that it will have a wider publication now so that more people can read these wonderful heartfelt stories." (Pema Chödrön)

"It is a privilege and joy to read Jarvis Masters’s account of his spiritual struggle to find freedom at the edge of life. Everyone should read this book." (Robert A. F. Thurman)

“An inspiring, even exhilarating teaching on the life of a peacemaker in the midst of rage and despair, and in the shadow of the execution chamber.” (Bernie Glassman)

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What a great read , a lovely spiritual message.
i really hope Jarvis & anyone reading this can find true freedom 🙏

I really enjoyed this book

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I really enjoyed these honest and often quite funny tellings of Jarvis’s experiences on death row and his path to Buddhism. He is an extraordinary man to become so enlightened when so much in his life was and still is against him. I really look forward to reading more of his work. He is a very inspiring man.

I especially loved the narration by Dion Graham and could happily listen to his warm voice all day long.

Wonderful book

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Jarvis is an inspiring example of how the Buddhist path of non harming can transform anyone , anywhere. May this book continue to benefit beings and Jarvis find freedom outside San Quentin sometime soon.

Inspiring and gripping story

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