Jarvis Masters [a prison inmate currently
sentenced to death row who took vows as a Buddhist from behind bars] unintentionally helped some other inmates connect with the
absolute, vast quality of their own minds. There is a teaching that says
that behind all hardening and tightening and rigidity of the heart,
there's always fear. But if you touch fear, behind fear there is a soft
spot. And if you touch that soft spot, you find the vast blue sky. Jarvis, in this story of
trying to avert harm, conveyed this fundamental openness to the other
inmates. One
day there was a seagull out on the yard in San Quentin. It had been
raining and the seagull was there paddling around in a puddle. One of
the inmates picked up something in the yard and was about to throw it at
the bird. Jarvis didn't even think about it-he automatically put out
his hand to stop the man. Of course this escalated the man's aggression
and he started yelling. Who the hell did Jarvis think he was? And why
did Jarvis care so much about some blankety-blank bird? Everyone
started circling around, just waiting for the fight. The other inmate
was screaming at Jarvis, "Why'd you do that?" And out of Jarvis's mouth
came the words, "I did that because that bird's got my wings."
Pema Chödrön, Practicing Peace in Times of War