Buddhism
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: MD
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Concur.. his clarity on that point was one of the things that attracted me in the 1st place.
My daily practice is brief daily meditation at my little altar, there are candles and incense- those things being a cultural tradition from Japan where my sect was founded. My daughter likes to fiddle w/ them so she's in charge of that lol. There is also a brief reading.. one for each day similar to alanon's courage book. We have weekly study/discussion meetings etc.. I can't make many of those these days because of the evening kid schedule. There is also an evening meditation which I don't often do. For me the familiar morning practice helps get me into better mindfulness.. gives me a moment to collect my thoughts about the day, a place to express thanks for what I have etc. The study mtgs are more detailed, suggesting greater clarity about the role of karma and how it is handled, what "buddhahood" means as an individual here and now not just an abstract concept, etc we have our doctrine too, I tend to take what I like and leave the rest- that being another parallel w/ the 12-Step.
My daily practice is brief daily meditation at my little altar, there are candles and incense- those things being a cultural tradition from Japan where my sect was founded. My daughter likes to fiddle w/ them so she's in charge of that lol. There is also a brief reading.. one for each day similar to alanon's courage book. We have weekly study/discussion meetings etc.. I can't make many of those these days because of the evening kid schedule. There is also an evening meditation which I don't often do. For me the familiar morning practice helps get me into better mindfulness.. gives me a moment to collect my thoughts about the day, a place to express thanks for what I have etc. The study mtgs are more detailed, suggesting greater clarity about the role of karma and how it is handled, what "buddhahood" means as an individual here and now not just an abstract concept, etc we have our doctrine too, I tend to take what I like and leave the rest- that being another parallel w/ the 12-Step.
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Wollongong NSW
Posts: 241
I was trying to think of the buddhist principle that means the most to me, the most pragmatic in my recovery. For me its equanimity, a platform to look at everything equally. An attempt to take away hard line descriptions and emotional overtones at what comes in front of me. For me there is a kind of feeling of equality to what rises and falls, not battles or hierarchies or this is all good and this is all bad. Here is another quote from Pema Chodron that describes this.
"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy"
"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy"
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,778
Originally Posted by samseb5351 
I was trying to think of the buddhist principle that means the most to me, the most pragmatic in my recovery. For me its equanimity, a platform to look at everything equally. An attempt to take away hard line descriptions and emotional overtones at what comes in front of me. For me there is a kind of feeling of equality to what rises and falls, not battles or hierarchies or this is all good and this is all bad. Here is another quote from Pema Chodron that describes this.
"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy"
"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy"
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 3,359
For me I struggle with separating "I" from "me" and not attaching to people, places and things. I let my emotions cloud my ability to observe. This creates a need to have black and white answers versus the gray in which to exist in.
I like the above quote too
I like the above quote too
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 11,424
Have you all looked at any of the writings by Charlotte Joko Beck?
Her two books are Nothing Special and Everyday Zen I believe.
I really like her books although I would describe her approach to Zen as rather astere--
"If nothing is special, everything is special"
I recall reading one of her short pieces about "No Hope" which talked
about giving up hope and just accepting what is.
At the time I read it I thought it was pretty bleak, but honestly, years later,
I think I have begun to do exactly that and it is actually comforting and peaceful.
I very much enjoyed everyone's postings on this thread--quality thinking and sharing
which is why I keep coming back to SR and learning more and more.
Her two books are Nothing Special and Everyday Zen I believe.
I really like her books although I would describe her approach to Zen as rather astere--
"If nothing is special, everything is special"
I recall reading one of her short pieces about "No Hope" which talked
about giving up hope and just accepting what is.
At the time I read it I thought it was pretty bleak, but honestly, years later,
I think I have begun to do exactly that and it is actually comforting and peaceful.
I very much enjoyed everyone's postings on this thread--quality thinking and sharing
which is why I keep coming back to SR and learning more and more.
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: MD
Posts: 658
The idea of giving up hope is interesting.. I'd generally propose that in addition to giving up hope one might also give up despair. To me it speaks of trying to avoid judgement and expectation. Its a catchy title though.. perhaps moreso than talking about giving up despair which sounds sort of like a cheesy self-help book lol...
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: CA
Posts: 176
I occasionally write down quotes or passages that speak to me, but unfortunately, I don't always write where I got them. I recently read one I wrote down a while ago that I'm pretty sure comes from Pema Chodron, but I'm not 100% sure. In any case, it seems to get to the heart of my particular brand of addiction. On dealing with the negative things that inevitably happen to all of us:
"Most of us do not take these situations as teachings. We automatically hate them. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape -- all addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can't stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain."
Yep, that was alcohol for me. Here are a couple of others related to my recovery that I did take the time to attribute an author:
"There are two kinds of suffering: the suffering that leads to more suffering and the suffering that leads to the end of suffering. If you are not willing to face the second kind of suffering, you will surely continue to experience the first." – Ajahn Chah
Not Buddhist but helpful all the same by Viktor Frankl: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
"Most of us do not take these situations as teachings. We automatically hate them. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape -- all addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can't stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain."
Yep, that was alcohol for me. Here are a couple of others related to my recovery that I did take the time to attribute an author:
"There are two kinds of suffering: the suffering that leads to more suffering and the suffering that leads to the end of suffering. If you are not willing to face the second kind of suffering, you will surely continue to experience the first." – Ajahn Chah
Not Buddhist but helpful all the same by Viktor Frankl: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Self recovered Self discovered
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
Originally Posted by NightsWatch
Not Buddhist but helpful all the same by Viktor Frankl: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
I learned that mindful self-awareness is what creates that space between stimulus and response. Mindful self-awareness is what gave me that power to choose my response. Mindful self-awareness allowed me growth, and freedom from alcohol.
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Join Date: Jul 2013
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Freshstart - I have found De Mello quite helpful o this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAHsfHu0U70
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Wollongong NSW
Posts: 241
Originally Posted by freshstart57
. I learned that mindful self-awareness is what creates that space between stimulus and response. Mindful self-awareness is what gave me that power to choose my response. Mindful self-awareness allowed me growth, and freedom from alcohol.
Yes I agree
So often in my addiction I had no realization of any gaps between an urge and action. It all seemed the same thing. Once I reached a point of crystallization of discontent with my gambling and started mindful recovery slowly I started to see many choices in those gaps, looking directly at all those urges and fears and hopes with a kind "interested mind" there were may more options than indulging, running or attacking in fact those 3 actions only seem to give Urges agency and identity when in fact they were just thoughts and emotions without any power.
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 125
Originally Posted by samseb5351
A couple of times I have read people mentioning Buddhism or Buddhist principles as influencing their recovery, for me it defiantly has and I think it was Soberlicious who brought it up in a thread not long ago. I would love to hear peoples experience with buddhism and mindfulness practice. Who have influenced you? Do you see these the same way I do as very much secular and not religious?
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Join Date: Aug 2013
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I had a really rough day on Tuesday, and since then the first thing I do when I wake up is to set my intention for the day, which is to be peaceful, happy and productive. It's helped a lot, and I am going to make this a (hopefully) lifelong habit. When I have an intention for meditation I find it easier to let go, be it compassion and peace for others, myself, or whatever.
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