Bo Lozoff (January 10, 1947 – November 29, 2012) was an American writer and

interfaith Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

humanitarian. He co-founded several

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s, including the interfaith Human Kindness Foundation and its subsidiary

Prison-Ashram Project The Prison-Ashram Project, now administered by Human Kindness Foundation, was started in 1973 by Bo and Sita Lozoff, in cooperation with Ram Dass, to encourage convicts to use meditation and other spiritual teachings, turning their prison time int ...

, Carolina Biodiesel, and Kindness House. Many of Lozoff's nonprofit activities aim to improve the lives of

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

s and the previously incarcerated.

Nonprofit work

Lozoff, with his wife Sita Lozoff, founded the Human Kindness Foundation. He started the

in 1973. The Prison-Ashram Project, operated by Human Kindness Foundation, sends free interfaith books,

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

s, and correspondence to prisoners around the world. Bo Lozoff retired from Human Kindness Foundation in 2011; Sita Lozoff and a small staff continue the work of Human Kindness Foundation. Lozoff also founded an environmental non-profit, Carolina Biodiesel, for the dual purposes of promoting

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

and creating jobs for

ex-con A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

s. Carolina Biodiesel received a large bequest from

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...

, who named Lozoff along with

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

, as one of his personal heroes. Carolina Biodiesel is still operating in Durham.

Writings

Lozoff is the author of ''We're All Doing Time'' and ''It's a Meaningful Life: It Just Takes Practice'', both with forewords written by the Dalai Lama. He has also written two books for children, ''The Wonderful Life of a Fly Who Couldn't Fly'', and "A Little Boy in the Land of Rhyme."

Allegations of abuse

In 2008, several ex-parolees and volunteers said in interviews with a reporter that Lozoff had been sexually and emotionally abusive at Kindness House. Lozoff did not deny many of the alleged incidents, and although he maintained his actions were not abusive, he stated that his radical beliefs and lifestyle made him a "terrible choice by God" as a leader of the community. Kindness House closed in 2006 as a result of the allegations.

Death

Lozoff died in a motorcycle accident in

Puna, Hawaii Puna is one of the 9 districts of Hawaii County on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island; County of Hawaii). It is located on the windward side (east side) of the island and shares borders with South Hilo district in the north and Kaū district ...

, on November 29, 2012.

References

External links

Paula Gordon, Life Practice"Life in Community" an interview with ascent magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lozoff, Bo 2012 deaths Prison writings American male writers 1947 births