Loosely, the goal was to offer a practice guide framed around the triple gem – the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha – using language that more closely aligned with
Matthew Hahn
May 18, 2025
Loosely, the goal was to offer a practice guide framed around the triple gem – the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha – using language that more closely aligned with
Pain, in its myriad forms, is often the entry point for practice. Tragedy and heartbreak, discontent and unease, something among these inspires us toward something different. The Buddhist path offers
Defensiveness often arises when identity is challenged – when information about ourselves and the world runs counter to the way we view them, hold them, and maybe even cling to
Matthew draws on experiences firefighting and in incarcerated Buddhist communities to explore what it means to feel safe in a sangha, despite external circumstances.
There are individual skills related to mindfulness that can be strengthened by performing different drills. Bite-sized, skill-focused mindfulness drills.
How can the Buddhadharma be used as the framework for addiction recovery? And how does such a Dharmic approach differ from 12-step models?
Sometimes, a mind arises that tells us, “There has to be something more than this”, which can serve as inspiration to practice the Dharma. In the Zen tradition, this is
Perhaps there is a sense that the suffering just keeps tumbling toward you as the prison system perpetually churns out wounded people. I get that. The carceral wheel of samsara
If the present is the inheritance of the past, and the future is the inheritance of the present, doesn’t this mean that the future is the inheritance of the past?
I was facing many centuries in prison under California’s three strikes law. My suffering was inescapable. It was time to do something different.
Though not practiced as often as other subjects, mindfulness of death (maranasati) is an important part of the Buddha’s teachings.
Whether we found the practice because of singular traumatic events or an ever-present sense of existential dread, a sense of urgency is what likely inspired us to practice in the
The Buddha also teaches us that we can find refuge in a dangerous world. What does it mean to find safety despite the inevitability of danger? What are the conditions
Prison Mindfulness Summit: useful approaches to volunteering in prison, pitfalls that facilitators might encounter in incarcerated settings, and what makes for safe prison sanghas.
One way we can train our hearts is by practicing metta, which is often translated as lovingkindness. The word also carries with it ideas of benevolence, friendliness, and care for
When the Buddha taught the four foundations of mindfulness, part of the way he instructed students to be mindful of the body was through the lens of the four elements: earth,
The story of Matthew’s arrest and near-miss with life in prison has been the subject of numerous podcasts, but in this session, we’ll be talking to him about how the
Vesak is a traditional Buddhist holiday and festival, usually celebrated in late spring or early summer. The holiday celebrates, in total, the birth, life, awakening, and death of the Buddha.
If my prison story isn’t in service to something transformative, I am not interested in sharing it. Mine is a path of transformation and of love.
Matthew Hahn has been many things in his lifetime. A career criminal and drug addict, a selfless man of courage, a convict, a devout Buddhist, a recovered drug addict, and
As the teenagers passed in front of my truck, I rolled the windows down and turned up the “Ill Communication”. Don’t act like you’ve never done this before.