Bill Karelis teaches meditation and conducts intensive programs and retreats in the United States and around the world. He is founder of the Shambhala Prison Community, which propagates education in criminal justice systems. It is from this work that the author took his metaphor for the condition we all face: being imprisoned by our mind:
"Here in the cell of my mind,
Deep beneath the earth,
It is cold, dark, comfortless.
Everything precious has been lost,
Even having certainty in my direction.
If ever I escape this prison,
I vow to remember it,
To return, and bring those trapped
To safety, sanity, and freedom."
Karelis believes it is healthy to recognize this bondage and to set aside our busyness, slow down, and practice taking our time on a moment-to-moment basis. He shows us that meditation not only tutors us in "the Three Wheels of Discipline" but also cultivates gentleness in our hearts. Karelis is very high on the spiritual practice of patience. All of these elements are part of what he calls "Living Life Fully." He concludes with the following, which fits nicely with the reading at the start of this review about the prison of the mind:
"May this broken heart be a vessel
To receive the pain of others,
And give joy back to them.
Let it be the key to kindness;
Let milk pour forth upon the world.
I wish never to be separate from
The fundamental liberation of the broken heart."
