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The monk's story is below (posted by someone I don't know on Facebook). "Any Karma Yogis out there?
Let me share a story about a friend I met a few years back. Many years back while travelling Thailand I come to hear about the treatment of people in their prison systems, and after hearing the details and learning that could go visit a foreigner in prison by going on line and finding them through any embassy , it can be your own country or another. I then came to meet my friend Adrian Van Ommering , a Dutch/ Canadian given life in prison for drug smuggling, when we first met he shared with me that he suffered from boredom. He didn’t have a lot of support of any kind. When anyone goes to that prison , nothing is given to you , no even a blanket you have to purchase everything from the local convenient prison store. Adrian was sharing a cell with 24 other inmates which shared the same squat toilet, and for two years Adrian had shackles welded on his ankles which made that task very humbling he has a bruise on his ankles 6 months after they took the shackles off. Its been 7 years since we met and in this time , Adrian has changed so much with the influence of Buddhism and Yoga he now shares with me that he is busy in side the jail . He also has been greatly gifted being a citizen from countries that have an agreement with Thailand that he only has to serve ten years of the life sentence then he is sent back to his country which is about to happen before the year is ended.
A good friend and influence of him is another man he met in side by the name of Chet who happens to be a Tibetan monk in the wrong place at the wrong time. On route to apply for a Australian visa he was holding a duplicate passport which was noticed when they found drugs in the hotel area where he was , because he had a duplicate passport , couldn’t speak any Thai and at that time English he was seen as a suspect and given life sentence. He had no support as his father passed over, his mother is in a nunnery somewhere in Nepal . I was fortunate to meet him through Adrian , and the more I learn about him , the more I want to help him . At the moment I am supporting him by sharing his story and inviting any one to go visit him as well he paints the most beautiful Thankga painting ( Buddhist deities ) and I sell them on a donation basis for him to assist him in survive in the jail , it was just this year he purchased a pillow.
He is living compassion, and just a sweet man, as he has been in robes since he was 17 yrs old, and now he is in his 40’s. So if anyone wants to create some good karma by writing a letter, sending a package or better yet visiting him in person here is his address, contact me directly if you want to visit him and I will send you more detail on the specifics of doing so . sequoialoves@yahoo.ca
Bangkwang Prison, Chet Bahadur Ghalan
Building number 6
117 Nonthaburi Road
Nonthaburi, 11000. Thailand"
This is what my friend said about it:
"Feel free to send him letters - just remember that they're for him and his freedom, so anything too political or critical of any laws should be avoided.
If you want to visit him, it's so easy - nice ferry ride - there's a sweet infrastructure for people visiting prisoners and they walk you through every step of the way.
He is serving life in prison without any support and has a beautiful and grateful energy. He is a kind soul who would love visitors and support in any way. There are a couple of Aussies and Brits in there too who would appreciate the support as well.
I really recommend visiting prisoners now. It takes a morning off travel and is REALLY appreciated. These fellas and ladies don't get to speak english much and really could do with support. Their sentences are LONG! You can also call your embassy in each country to get the names of any citizens in prison."
