Vipassana meditation is a type of Buddhist meditation that means insight into the nature of reality. It is frequently called Insight meditation.

There is a record of success in prisons that teach Vipassana. In 1993, Vipassana was taught in a 10-day course in Tihar Jail, near New Deli. It involved both officials and inmates. Many of the prisoners were lifers with violent pasts. This program was said to have dramatically changed the behavior of inmates and jailers alike. It was actually found that inmates who completed the 10-day course were less violent and had a lower recidivism rate than other inmates. The project was documented in the television documentary, “Doing Time, Doing Vipassana.” (Unfortunately, this video is no longer available on YouTube).

So successful was this program that it was adopted by correctional facilities in the United States and other countries as well. The 10-day program entails ten hours a day of meditation, beginning at 4:30 a.m. Very little food. No TV, no books, no mail, no exercise, no smokes, no meat, and no sleeping during meditation.

The Northern Rehabilitation Facility (NRF) in Seattle was the first US prison to offer the Vipassana course to its inmates. Officials say the course can transform even the most habitual criminal. "It's an extremely powerful journey in self-discovery and self-awareness," said Dave Murphy, the jail's programs manager.

In 2002, the Donaldson Correctional Facility, located outside of Birmingham , Alabama , became the first maximum security prison in North America to hold an extendedVipassana retreat. A film, called Dhamma Brothers, was made about this experience.