Buddhist On Death Row EXPORT

About this book

Jarvis Jay Masters's early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, Masters grew up in a house 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 State Prison. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guard and convicted- 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. He gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide, including many of the faith's most respected 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 …

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About the author

David Sheff

David Sheff is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Beautiful Boy. Sheff's other books include Game Over, China Dawn, and All We Are Saying. His many articles and interviews have appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Wired, Fortune, and elsewhere. His ongoing research and reporting on the science of addiction earned him a place on Time Magazine's list of the World's Most Influential People. Sheff and his family live in Inverness, California.