This is the story of the journey of a remarkable person - a person I have never met, but one who I was privileged to teach meditation to while he was in jail. For the sake of privacy I shall not reveal his real name, calling him Tom instead.

This extraordinary time in my life began when my sister, Ann, asked if I would like to correspond with the son of bushwalking friends of hers. She explained that Tom was a drug addict and was serving the first year of a two-year prison sentence. He had become interested in Buddhism after reading books borrowed from the prison library. My sister felt that my awareness of eastern spiritual traditions through my own spiritual practice and meditation techniques as a student of my meditation teacher  Sri Chinmoy  would help develop Tom’s spiritual interests.

And so began Tom’s and my fortnightly exchange of letters. In my first letter I told Tom that I would be very happy to teach him how to meditate even though I was not strictly a Buddhist - all I asked of him in return was his sincerity and honesty.

Tom went on to tell me that he had a long history of drug addiction after he left school, and had been jailed after his arrest for ‘breaking and entering’. He mentioned he had even broken into his own parents’ home twice, stealing thousands of dollars of electrical goods to help finance his vice-like addiction to drugs. Over many years he had been referred to a number of drug rehabilitation clinics around the world, but their treatments only brought temporary relief. He was still using at the time of his arrest.

To Tom’s great credit he hadn't touched the drugs that were freely available in prison. He was determined to overcome his addiction, spending many hours in the prison gymnasium pushing his body to overcome his drug habit and to build his physical strength. Life in prison can be extremely tough, and if it wasn’t for the protection given by a senior life-term prisoner Tom’s life on the ‘inside’ would have been a lot more difficult. It is common for new prisoners to be sexually harassed by longer term inmates. So the other prisoners knew to leave him alone, affording him the time to pursue his meditative practice. I was immediately taken by Tom’s vulnerability, honesty, courage and determination. He was sick of the torment of his drug addiction and the regimentation and boredom of prison life, but was now finding relief and a newly discovered freedom in his meditations. Tom practiced his daily meditations diligently in his cell, rising at 4 o'clock each morning, then praying and meditating in the evening before going to bed.

After overcoming numerous difficulties associated with prison security, I was able to get to Tom two best selling books of Sri Chinmoy's to help broaden his spiritual readings - Wings of Joy and Sri Chinmoy's Heart-Garden. 'Wings of Joy' is a compilation of talks given by Sri Chinmoy. It was published particularly to suit western seekers. We went through each spiritual topic and meditation exercise, page by page. 'Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden' is a collection of over 300 of Sri Chinmoy’s shorter aphorism poems. This we shared for daily inspiration.

We started with basic meditation and visualisation exercises, an exercise with each letter. He responded with questions, I replied with answers and the next exercise. Then over the months we moved onto deeper philosophical understandings of traditional eastern meditative teachings. We also looked at karma and for Tom, who had never considered the results of his actions before, this was a very powerful awakening. Up until that point Tom had never had to think about the consequences of his actions - he had been blinded by a craving and would stop at nothing until that craving was satisfied.

He began to understand the hurt he had inflicted on his robbery victims and his family and friends who loved him very much, but who now felt betrayed and unsure of where to turn for help. His long history of drug abuse had caused great sorrow to many people. But at least now Tom was aware of this and he so desperately wanted to regain their trust. His parents began to notice the change in their son during their weekly visits to see him in jail. Tom also began to notice and feel the powerful benefits of meditation. His whole outlook became more positive and he was happier.

Tom mentioned that he was becoming anxious about his upcoming parole application. He would be required to sit for an interview with the six members of the parole panel, something that he was very nervous about. I reassured him that his meditative practice would give him a quiet and confident attitude for the interview. He wanted to be out, but was aware that the slightest breach in his behaviour could jeopardise his application. His meditative practice became even more important to him then, helping in keeping him calm, focused and positive. With Tom's approval I had written a letter of support to the parole panel based purely on the difference I had seen in him since he had started to mediate.

To Tom’s great relief and delight his application was approved, the final decision held over until after the interview. The panel noted how positive and responsible Tom had become. They felt confident enough in his understandings of his past addiction and actions and his positive outlook for the future with the support of his family, friends and his meditation practice, to grant him an early release. This decision was certainly the exception. I was told (but did not tell Tom) that it is normal for the review panel to deny the first parole application.

Tom and I had arranged to meet on a couple of occasions after his release, but for some reason it never happened. I then lost contact with him. My sister told me later that after his release he continued his spiritual search at the Chenrezig Buddhist Teaching Institute in Queensland, Australia. There he was befriended by a Buddhist nun who taught him the dharma. Many months later he left the centre, moving to a small country town nearby to live. By all accounts he was still not using drugs. From there I had heard nothing until a phone call from my sister about two years later telling me that Tom had died suddenly. Evidently, he had fallen down a flight of stairs at a party, striking his head.

Tom went to bed with a headache shortly after falling but never regained consciousness, dying in his sleep from a brain haemorrhage. His parents, who were overseas at the time, were contacted by their distraught daughter. After returning immediately to Australia to organise the funeral, Tom's parents phoned me to ask if I would play the flute at his Buddhist memorial service. I was moved to be asked, and thanked them for the opportunity to offer to Tom through my connection with him, my support for his soul's journey through the flute's haunting sounds. Strangely enough at the church service I 'saw' Tom for the first time; his photograph on the service program.

It is very humbling to know how our lives can have such an impact on others, even though in this case with someone I hadn't personally met. I am blessed to have been able to serve Tom's spiritual aspirations, to have assisted him to find peace and understanding in his life, through the openess and faith he placed in a stranger  and his own meditative disciplines and willingness as a student to practice the teachings of the Buddha.

About a year after Tom's service I attended an open day at Chenrezig. Amongst the hundreds of supporters there, I met a Buddhist nun who knew Tom very well - in fact she was the one who picked Tom up as he was walking up the steep dirt road towards Chenrezig shortly after his prison release. She took delight in sharing with me that that day was particularly hot and she stopped her car to give Tom  a lift, something he was very happy to accept. She told me that she was immediately taken by his gentleness, and she shared many other wonderful stories about Tom's stay...how he touched the hearts of all at the monastery, his willingness to help wherever it was needed and the many friends he had made.

I met Tom's parents again many months after the funeral and they were overwhelmed with joy to hear, for the first time, of Tom's stay at Chenrezig - the people who loved and respected him, his new-found freedom, his friendships and his service life within the Buddhist community. With tears in their eyes they thanked me for sharing this story of their son's life and told me that they were now attending Buddhist dharma teaching sessions at the local Buddhist Centre.

I sensed this was their way of better understanding what it was that had finally brought peace and contentment to their only son before his death. An important way for them to connect through Spirit with the innate goodness of their son - something they were unable to do because of the torments of his drug-addiction. I am blessed to have been able to serve Tom's parents in this way, conveying the stories of his happy times at Chenrezig, helping them to finally be at peace, to bring closure in an inspiring and positive way to their son's life.