Boleo

"Having had a spiritual awakening (Buddha means THE AWAKENED ONE)
as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message
to alcoholics, and to practice these principles
(Dharma means practicing the PRINCIPLES of Buddha)
in all our affairs."

- All Big Book quotes from the 1st Edition -

McGowdog

If Buddhism gets you there, then do it!

I've been to some fantastic Buddha meditations. I'm very open-minded with that stuff... but I keep it plugged into A.A. as 11th Step work.

Tommyh

I don`t think there is any buddism in step 12 of AA

Quse56

I am currently reading "One Breath at a Time; Buddhism and the 12 steps." I am getting a lot out of it. I think it helps those who have trouble with a man-like "God." Mind you, it is NOT a loophole for getting a Higher Power, praying, or turning over your will (I totally tried everything to avoid these things.) I do feel that there are parallels and this book is insightful, but really all it taught me is that AA can fit into ANY religion or spiritual practice. While it is not AA approved literature, it does not steer away from any AA prinicples. In fact, for me it enforces them. I am enjoying it. Along this vein is "Dharma Punx" a Memoir my Noah Levine that talks about his life in recovery and how he supplements his program with Buddhist teachings. It resonates with me and I dig it. Good luck!

tommyk

"Is there Buddhism in the 12th Step?"

If you want Buddhism to be there, then it is.

That's one of the facets of the program and the steps I can really relate with.

MycoolFitz

One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the messiah?"
"No", answered Buddha.
"Then are you a healer?"
"No", Buddha replied.
"Then are you a teacher?" the student persisted.
"No, I am not a teacher."
"Then what are you?" asked the student, exasperated.
"I am awake", Buddha replied

The Buddha's wonderful insight was to see the pain arising from suffering as a symptom of a greater underlying problem. The answer lay not in numbing the self with intoxicants, food, or overwork, or to assuage it emotionally through others, or by love or sex addictions, or even compulsive religiosity, but to reach beyond the symptom to the disease itself: a misperception of our place in the universe.
__________________________________________________ _____________
Buddha, AA why not?

keithj

"Is there Buddhism in the 12th Step?"

Of course.

miss communicat

[QUOTE=Boleo;2282399]"(Buddha means THE AWAKENED ONE)

QUOTE]

actually, Buddha does not "mean" awakened one. The person, guatama, was and is often referred to as awakened.

The word "buddha" itself or "buddhic" in general refers to one of "the 8 great paths to knowing God". in this instance the BuddhA path, in original language it is called the Jnana Path, and that word literally tranlates to "the path of knowldege".

One who dedicates one's life to a Buddha or Jnana or Knowledge "path" may be called a Buddhist or that person may not take that designation.

For the record, this path involves living, breathing, walking, serving and working as well as perfunctory sitting in pristine meditative silence, for the purpose of "knowing" truth, and clarifying the mind chatter. Thus seated in truth, one may rest one's mind in one's heart, leading to compassion.

The Buddha path and the Christ Path are similar and different but are both beautiful. And, if one experiences a spiritual awakening one is in step 12, ready to carry the experience outward.

tomvlll

Is there any Buddha in Christianity? Most likely. The world's great religions were not founded in a vacuum

If you read Lewis Browne's book " This Believing World" , he explains how religions " borrowed major ideas and philosophies ' off other religions all the time.

This book was a major influence on Wilson, himself a great borrower of ideas. In fact ALL AA principles were borrowed from somewhere else.

MycoolFitz

Since things neither exist nor don’t exist,
Are neither real nor unreal.
Are utterly beyond adopting or rejecting—
One might as well burst out laughing.—Longchenpa

digderidoo

I find Buddhism compliments the 12 steps perfectly, but that's just me.

Paul

Puddy

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that Dharma meant "purpose" and that fulfilling your dharma meant fulfilling your purpose in life. I don't know that much about it though.

Firehazard

I have always looked at that as a dogma free zone. A personal spiritual awakening means exactly that and to me it is more of a Gnostic happening than attached to any of the major religions. I don't know though once I get there maybe there will be some buddism in it.

preta

Actually Buddha is the rough translation for "awake"...jnana in a Buddhist context is a pali word for a state of meditative absorption. The 8 paths you speak of are a hindu yogic system, and isnt Buddhism at all.
That being said, I find the steps in general are perfectly suited to a practicing Buddhist, as long as you WORK them and not read about them. That goes for all Buddhist principles as well. In both Buddhism and the steps, you cant tease apart the philosophy from the practice. I tried both separately and crashed and burned...I have to practice Buddhism and the steps as a single unit. This is my experience. Great thread!!

navysteve

Great book but not for folks who don't appreciate logic as it applies to how religious ideas formed. Here is another I found fairly enlightened:

“12 Steps on Buddha’s Path: Bill, Buddha, and We,” by Laura S. | Wildmind Buddhist Meditation

lostbutterfly

If the major religions would look for similarities, and not their differences, they would find they have a lot in common!

McGowdog

Yes, I believe that to be true. I've heard they all have the same basic principles. But let me not seek the knowledge of those principles... but rather to experience them.

I'm in the chop wood/carry water phase of that right now.

tomvlll

Religions have always borrowed ideas from other other religions.

Ananda

thank you because of the nature of this thread i am posting here..hesitantly to be honest.

there is, in my very limited understading, a connection strongly between the 12 steps and buddhism. however i am finding it diffcult.

if i were a buddha..enlightened one... i would not..in fact within the teachings i follow..if i were enlightened, i probably wouldn't even follow the buddhist path but the cultural path of my nation which hapens to be christianity..if there is no diference as my teacher says..there is no reason to become a buddhist lol

i really like laura S.'s stuff much much more than keith griffin..who many people look too..but that is personal preferance..again..according to my understaning of buddism they are all the same...however i am a human born in the human condition..and it is hard for me.

I just drank after 2 years...and i did have 7 years once based on my budisum as well as my AA background.

is there budism in the 12 steps? of course ... all spirituality has a link..but..i have to say as someone struggling that it's hard sometimes to make the connection between a personal intervening god that so many rely on and the different approach of buddism.... they are the same..but i find it takes alot of translation to work through as a human with my own .... i dont know...who i am...and when i am in pain and really struggling.....AA is hard. I cant translate the language and stuff when i am sufering and its really really hard...

just trying to tell you where it is for some of us who believe in AA and the 12 steps but struggle...

for what it is worth there it is and i'm only 2 weeks sobr this time so i have4 to say my feelings are slam away...i've been honest and i'm not capable of being tricked into believing like someone else.. i see no reason buddhism and AA cant work but there are two sides of the street..i'll clean mine..would you please try to keep your side clean too

one of

Over 30 years ago, a friend of mine still in the Navy, (I was retired) brought me an AA medallion back from Japan where he had been going to meetings. He told me that one of the members said to him, "This is the first thing you Americans have exported to us that works the way you said it was going to. We simply change the word 'God' to 'The Good' and need make no other changes." Love and Blessings - one of