Prison visits enlighten inmates
FOR people behind bars, orange clothes can be common, but catch a glimpse of Ashin Thawbana and you might be a little surprised.
Swathed in saffron robes, the Buddhist monk has been bringing peace and happiness to Darwin’s prison population since 2002, conducting meditation classes with prisoners.
“Prisoners had been asking me to come and to ease their suffering,” Venerable Thawbana said.
“They have done something wrong on the outside, that’s why they are in prison. I help them to see clearly the right way to live happily and peacefully in this life.”
Venerable Thawbana visits both the men’s and women’s prisons in Darwin whenever he can get a lift out there, which has become more difficult since the move from Berrimah.
He doesn’t meet exclusively with Buddhists, but with prisoners from all religions and ethnic backgrounds keen to take his classes.
And he has many success stories, with prisoners often coming to visit him at the Buddhist Centre at Leanyer once they are released so they can continue their meditation.
Venerable Thawbana said he once had a student at the prison who used 70,000 match sticks to create a model boat — a replica of the HMS Victory, the world’s oldest commissioned warship.
“It took him six hours a day for three-and-a-half months,” Venerable Thawbana said. “He was meditating the whole time he was building the boat.”
To find out more about Darwin’s Buddhist community, turn to page 18 in Frontier.