Letters from Inside: John Bruno
Letters from Inside: John Bruno
Kelly Lee is a Zen Buddhist practitioner who works to integrate Zen principles into her daily routine. Through Zen, she has learned to be more mindful in everyday life, to be kinder to both herself and others, and to not get so caught up in external distractions. She has agreed to communicate with John Bruno and Roy Tester to learn from them and to provide them encouragement on their path of Buddhist practices.
John Bruno is a prisoner in the well-known Tucker Maximum Security Prison in Arkansas. John has spent much of his adult life in prison and is now serving a life sentence without parole for capital crimes. Doug Carnine, Founder and Board Chair of the Choosing Kindness Foundation/Kindr Foundation, has been exchanging letters with him since 2009. John was also a co-author of Dr. Carnine's book, "St. Badass: Personal Transcendence in Tucker Max Hell."
*Note: Letters are typed up exactly as written by John Bruno and Kelly Lee.
Kelly’s responses to John’s emails – received 3-26-25
John and Kelly discuss how violence perpetuates itself.
11 MARCH 2025
John:
This weather is something else this year. Trump's been making…well...making something. I don't even listen to the TV anymore. I'll glance at it and if something or someone grabs my attention then I stop to look at it. However, nothing affects us in prison unless it’s a new law to help an individual out of prison. Other than that, we keep on eating and sleeping the same. Unless there's a super major world war then we are nothing to the world. According to Constitutional law, people that have sentences like mine or equivalent to mine, they will line us up and shoot us. Theory is, they don't want people out there with the chance that we would go rogue. Even if they are to draft us into the military on the front lines, they can't take the chance that we may take over the squad and do more damage. Which a lot of prisoners would look at as a chance to get even with the people or person(s) that got them locked up. There are those that would fight for this country. I am one of them. My crime was considered personal. Nothing against America or its people living here. The problem with world wars is there will always be vigilantes. There will always be those clans that will take advantage of the people in times of weakness. Those are the ones you need to hurry up and put shackles on them before that causes to much damage. Praying for you always. God bless you all.
14 MARCH 2025
John:
Help me see the advantages in life? Open your eyes and see what beauty surrounds you every moment your alive. There are a lot of adventures you have as a dream or fantasies. What is mostly desired is what one should seek the most. If you do not you will always be wondering, "what would-of's", plan for the “what are”. Pain is natural to all people. We each so far have found limits but have not faced the ultimate challenge to test their minds. Some crack under a little pressure, some under a lot of pressure. We can't judge off our own perspectives but see others as l can see them in their best. Well, I'll let you go for now. You’re in my prayers daily.
Kelly:
Yes, he is certainly ‘doing something’… though what goes on in his mind is beyond comprehension. Along with other ‘world leaders’.
I recently watched a documentary about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. It was a difficult watch. By the end I felt overwhelmed with despair. I found myself understanding, at least in some small way, why people might feel compelled to revolt, to turn to violence. Is that sometimes the only way to fight back? The only way to feel like you’re actively trying to change things for the better?
And yet, looking at the history of humanity, violence only perpetuates itself. It becomes a cycle, one that feels inevitable, almost ingrained in human nature. But is it truly unavoidable? Are we, as a species, incapable of breaking free from it? Will there always be those consumed by the desire for control and power, willing to commit atrocities on massive scales to achieve it? These are the true criminals that seek to dismantle collective love and the path to awakening.
Sometimes, I wrestle with the question: How can all of this be Buddha nature? How does such suffering and cruelty fit within the Dharma? But these are precisely the moments that remind me why practice is so important. Life cannot exist without polarity so there must be ways to tip the scales, ways that don’t simply feed the cycle but shift it toward something greater.
John Bruno and Kelly Lee discuss The Inevitability of Death & Rewriting The Mind
March 5, 2025
John Bruno:
“Death does not invalidate life. What death does do, it defines life. In so doing, it creates its value.”
Kelly:
Death often feels distant, until it touches someone close. Its inevitability can feel like a burden or a blessing, depending on how we view it. Through Zen, I’ve been learning to accept and even embrace death-not out of despair, but in a way that allows me to see past the illusions of self and time. This acceptance brings peace and helps me live more fully, present in each moment. In the end, what matters is what we leave behind, whether it's compassion and joy, or pain and anger.
John Bruno:
“Down deep each of us finds a flaw within ourselves, even if we don’t admit it to anyone, even ourself. We lie to ourselves faster than another person will. Program your mind to the positives of life and though rough times will come, because that ‘is’ life, you will eventually notice that these bad things will start to disappear.”
Kelly:
‘God’ gave us spirit and soul, but the mind, which is shaped by our experiences and perceptions, is ours to guide. The ego often leads us to self-deception and doubt, but the mind is like a computer program that we can code. If we train ourselves to focus on the positive, we begin to see more of it. What we look for, we find and that shapes the reality we live in.
John Bruno and Kelly Lee Discuss Change, Faith, and Choice
December 2024
John Bruno:
“There really is no absolute because things are always changing. You could say change is absolute. If we talk of deity-the mind is forever creating new things so there is no absolute except…Love. And helping others is the manifestation of Love. All faiths teach worship of deities and some doctrine of salvation.”
Kelly:
Change is constant-moment to moment, always within and around us. Yet love and compassion remain a steady, guiding force through it all. I believe all faiths point to a universal truth, though the path to salvation differs based on karma, culture, and past lives. Personifying that journey helps us relate to it, but ultimately, we are all held by one Divine force that desires love, compassion, and liberation for us all.
John Bruno:
God ‘did not’ make man as nature sinful. However once he did, in order to ‘not be’ a tyrant God, he had to allow free choice. Men choose evil for themselves.
Kelly:
God, or the divine energy within us, created us as interconnected beings-one spirit shared among all living things. We rely on the same resources and are not separate from one another. While sin and toxicity exist, what we do with our consciousness is our choice. Evil may ripple through the web, but so can love, kindness, and compassion. We have the power to choose what we send into the world-and in that, we can always tip the scales.
John Bruno and Kelly Lee Discuss Rebuilding the Self & The Art of Receiving
November 2024
John Bruno:
"You see, the first house I built was one that was built recklessly and unobtrusively bland. Though I thought it was a grand mansion. I built it on the sand, when the rain came and the wind blew, it fell. Bringing with it a great destruction and misery. However this new temple I am building is of pure love, compassion, kindness, not envious, but humble in all things.”
My response: Sometimes the foundation we’re given to build on is already unstable, so our first house may be shaky from the start. Realizing this is part of the journey. As we come to understand and repair the foundation, we gain the tools to build upon that something stronger. Though it may sway at times, we’re now equipped to restore balance and build with mindfulness.
John Bruno:
“Though I, like many in life, threw numerous instruction manuals away, because I could ‘Do it myself without help.’ Instruction manuals are not just pamphlets or books. They are in everyday people, talk and action around us. They are built into nature that surrounds us. That is why it is said ‘Stop! & smell the roses sometimes.”
Kelly:
The ego is powerful, more than I often realize. It can be hard to open up to guidance, especially when I believe I can figure it out on my own. Sometimes I dismiss it entirely, thinking, 'Not now.' But like you said, teachings are always around us, in people, in nature, and in everyday moments. Help, if we need it, is always there. It's up to us to be open enough to receive it.
