Be Quiet and Listen
Buddhist Chaplain Diane Wilde shares Buddhist teachings with prisoners
By Terry Kaufman
 Within the walls of the maximum security prison at Folsom, an amazing transformation is taking place. Under the guidance of a diminutive East Sacramento resident, a group of hardened criminals is learning to let go of the noises of the outside world and to enter
a world of meditation, contemplation and meaningful action. These men have chosen to join a “sangha” – a community inspired by the values of Buddhism – in order to get beyond their suffering and find meaning in their lives.
Their guide on this journey is Diane Wilde, who discovered Buddhism some two decades ago and now spends up to 20 hours a week planning services and retreats and sharing the teachings and practices with Folsom inmates. In her spare time, Wilde runs Wolfe Design Marketing, which she and her late husband Larry Wolfe started in 1983. The product of a culturally diverse East Coast community, Wilde had struggled her whole life to understand how there could be suffering in the world; she found solace in the teachings of the Buddha.
“I asked myself, ‘Why are good, decent people who are doing the right things suffering so much?’” recalls Wilde. “Then I stumbled upon Buddhism, and it was very pragmatic, very logical. I saw that we are all going through a process, that none of us is being singled out for punishment. It made sense to me, it made the suffering easier to deal with.”
Wilde began attending Sacramento Insight Meditation, a local sangha, and going on silent retreats where she learned to tap into her own inner resources. “All of us have innate wisdom and compassion,” says Wilde, “but the stories that we tell cause us suffering. We need to be quiet and listen. Then we can develop a compassionate attitude toward ourselves and others.”
After several years as a mentor to at-risk kids, Wilde was invited to participate in the Folsom Prison Sangha. She saw it as a natural next step. In 2003, her first year in the program, she worked at Old Folsom, the facility made famous by Johnny Cash. A handful of inmates there were interested in learning about Buddhism. Today, Wilde, who is now a certified Buddhist chaplain, visits both Old Folsom and the maximum security institution at New Folsom, where 75 to 100 inmates practice Buddhism. A waiting list attests to the power of this life choice. Because Buddhism is not accorded chaplaincy status by California Department of Corrections, Wilde and her fellow volunteers must practice under the auspices of the prison’s Catholic chaplaincy.
“The men who do this must commit to follow Buddhism,” says Wilde. “That means practicing ethical behavior and showing wisdom and understanding for all people, no matter their faith.” She tells of the day-long silent retreat that took place in February of last year. A Buddhist teacher was brought in to lead a day of meditation, mindful movement, and even mindful eating of a vegetarian meal. For the men, the experience was profound. “I got the chance to look at myself a lot more,” wrote one participant. “What it means to be human in the world. How everything around me comes and passes away.” A second retreat is now being planned.
Why do the inmates, many of them violent offenders, seek out Buddhism? “A lot of people see Buddhism as exotic,” says Wilde. “It piques their interest. For men in prison, it’s no different. Many of them are bored and looking for something to do. They find out that it’s a lot of sitting in silence, so those who don’t like it won’t stay. But if they’re truly looking for a way to alleviate the suffering in their life, they’ll stay.”
One of the first steps, she says, is for the men to recognize the suffering they’ve caused and to acknowledge that they cannot blame others. Then they can start learning to respect themselves and to see their lives as sacred. “Meditation allows them to drop the stories. It is both profound and frightening, because we protect ourselves with our stories, and it is painful when you realize that you have choices. I’ve seen the change in these men; it will stay with them when they get out. The majority of them are leaving prison, so we need to give meaning to their lives, to stop the revolving prison door.”
Recently, the Folsom sangha celebrated a “refuge” ceremony for two inmates who were preparing to graduate from the prison system and reenter the outside world. “The other inmates were asking them how they had found peace,” recalls Wilde. “These were men who had come from circumstances I can’t even imagine, but they come out of this experience with true compassion.”
Why does Wilde devote her time and energy to a population that has been written off by the rest of the world? “These men are my friends I trust them,” she says of the inmates, whom she refers to as “accidental monks.” “It’s kind of selfish in a way, because I get so much out of it. This is what I want to do until I can’t do it any more.”
The Sacramento Insight Meditation sangha meets at the Friends Meeting House in East Sacramento and can be reached through sactoinsight.org.
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