The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Boy explores the transformation of Jarvis Jay Masters who has become one of Americaâs most inspiring Buddhist practitioners while locked in a cell on death row.
Jarvis Jay Mastersâs early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack, alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft, armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guardâa conviction which landed him on death row, where heâs been since 1990.
At the time of his murder trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing exercises which he repeatedly refused. Until desperation moved him to ask her how to do âthat meditation shit.â With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Mastersâs gradual but profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counseled high school kids by mail, and helped prisonersâand even guardsâfind meaning in their lives.
Along the way, Masters becomes drawn to the principles that Buddhism espousesâcompassion, sacrifice, and living in the momentâand he gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide, including many of the faithâs most renowned practitioners. And while he is still in San Quentin and still on death row, he is a renowned Buddhist thinker who shows us how to ease our everyday suffering, relish the light that surrounds us, and endure the tragedies that befall us all.
