- June 26, 2023
- Posted by: ISSLServ
- Category: Sober living
The problem here is that the person is trying to avoid and run away from their addiction without understanding it. Yuttadhammo argues it is much better to understand an addiction; once we do then letting go of it becomes natural and easy as we see there is nothing inherently good about it. In general terms, he does not advocate avoiding or pushing away addictive behaviours or substances in an obvious sense like some perspectives do, particularly Western ones. His has produced a couple of videos on the topic of addiction, two of which we have embedded below.
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It was apparent that many people attending had been AA members for years and credited AA with their own recovery; the point being, we do not have to choose between Buddhist groups and AA. I was re-reading “Koans for Troubled Times” by Joan Sutherland in Buddhadharma Magazine’s Spring 2008 issue when it dawned on me that Mazu Daoyi (709–788) and Shitou Xiqian (700–790), two famous Chan teachers of old, set an example for us today. Recoverydharma.org by Recovery Dharma Global is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Sometimes they organize geographically, such as around a city or region.
So in this sense mindfulness will not so much get rid of addiction directly, but more indirectly by helping us live with the addiction and the cravings and desire that come when we try to give up, and see that these desires mean nothing. Here it is a case of using mindful awareness to also see wanting and cravings for what they really are – as just sensations that come and go like anything else. They are not part of “us” and do not belong to us from the Buddhist perspective; they are just collections of sensations that arise and cease like any other sensations. Yuttadhammo argues that if we don’t immediately push it away but instead allow ourselves to smoke, but just do so mindfully, then we will in time not want to smoke. We will start to notice all the unpleasant things about smoking, like the bad taste, the smell on our clothes, the burning in the throat, and we will automatically see there is nothing pleasant about smoking. We start to see it for what it really is and become less attached to it.
His take on the subject is particularly refreshing if you find yourself constantly fretting and getting upset about your addiction itself as well as other things that happen in life. This judgement and suppression adds another layer of suffering to what is already there and can make things worse. While the study of Buddhist philosophy can add a great deal to what is mary jane drug enhance recovery, many who have written about its usefulness in recovery also recommend using it in conjunction with a 12-step program.
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As many people can attest, feelings of guilt and shame often only serve to exacerbate addictive behaviors. Buddhism’s foundations do not rest on a god but instead on a spiritual teacher. It offers philosophical wisdom that can be useful to those in recovery from drugs, alcohol or behavioral addictions. As many AA devotees know, spirituality plays a large part in the group’s philosophy on recovery. Despite the group’s welcome stance towards participants of any faith, AA has decidedly Christian origins and is built around the concept of a god or higher power. There are several points of contact between Buddhism and the 12 Steps.
The article also argues that Buddhist recovery manuals differ from classical Buddhism by emphasizing meditation at the beginning of the path, rather than placing it after training in giving and ethical discipline. The great thing about mindfulness is that it allows each individual person to draw out their own uniqueness and spontaneity and find their own original ways of responding to events and triggers. There is no formula as everyone is different and addictions form differently and so both teachers are right about addiction; they just approach it from different angles. When we do this, we begin to see how our addiction is formed and acted out in terms of patterns in the mind. All emotions flow in a certain sequence and thus we can use awareness to see if addictive tendencies flow from certain events or triggers, or certain moods.
- Additionally, the first two steps overlap the first noble truth, and the fourth and fifth steps are related to the third through the fifth of the eightfold path.
- The addictive nature of nicotine means it can be really hard for people to give up smoking.
- You can respond to to it in a mindful way that works for you.
Buddhism and the Twelve Steps
For example, step 11—prayer and meditation—closely correlates with Right Concentration. Right Concentration is the practice of immersing oneself in a meditative practice, either through focusing on the breath, an object or a mantra. The principle of karma—that all our actions affect others and the world—corresponds with step 4, we made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
Consistent and determined practice of mindfulness will most definitely allow one to see the patterns and flows of their mind better, and therefore understand their addiction and where it comes from. Of all the major traditions or religions it is perhaps the one which focuses the most on mindfulness and inner reflection and observation as a source of understanding, though most of them do to some extent. Buddhism’s focus on mindfulness and awareness is actually tailor made for understanding and handling addiction. Nevertheless, even Buddhist thinkers themselves will have different takes on certain subjects and addiction is no different. There are many different perspectives on addiction from both liberty caps identification the secular and religious worldviews, and each of them has a different take on the subject.
We need to take a lesson from Shitou and Ma and realize that we practice in different recovery programs but we aren’t in competition with each other. We may have different techniques, but we have a common goal. There’s a phrase in the Big Book that says something to the effect that God is either everything or nothing. Simply put, my higher power is enabling vs helping everything (form), so I try to pay attention to everything that comes my way. On other days and moments my higher power is nothing (emptiness). Ah yes, the Heart Sutra, “form is exactly emptiness, emptiness exactly form .
Today, with a daily meditation practice and numerous seven-day retreats over the years, my practice has evolved into what I call Twelve & Zen, in which the Twelve Steps and Zen koans are central to my daily life. Moreover, if we know what the triggers are, we can often avoid them in the first place once we have awareness of them. For addiction that can involve being in a certain place, around certain people, certain sounds, smells and so on. Mindfulness can allow us to open up and respond to things in original ways we would not have thought of before, stuck in a narrow mindset. Instead of unthinkingly acting on an addictive trigger in the same way we have done before hundreds or thousands of times, we instead see the trigger and sequence of events before and after and have the choice to respond in a different way. Mindfulness can also help open up our mind and see more options to respond to things in different ways.
