I think what makes Buddhism so interesting to me is that it isn't a single thing. It varies from a basic philosophy to strong meditation and mindfulness to a religion full of gods and demons and what have you depending on which flavor your looking at. And then as you look at each flavor you will find it is made of all sorts of different flavors from preceding teachers. It is totally wrong to change Buddhism but the Buddha told everyone to change it and trust me everyone did. It is full of folk wisdom and deep paradoxes and more layers than an onion. Every one of them is true and every one of them is false both at the same time.
My Buddhism changes everyday. Some days it is a simple "be here now" philosophy. Some days it is delving into the idea that reality simply is and to use language to describe it is like trying to paint a master piece that has millions of colors with 3 crayons. It is always something different and always something the same. Some days it is very easy to grasp and simply be and other days it is so difficult and slips through my fingers like water. It is never boring.
Its basic teaching that i think anyone in recovery would understand is that pain is inevitable and suffering is optional. Of course the basic teaching tomorrow will be that life is change and everything is changing and nothing stays the same including us. Then the next day the basic teaching is that there are causes and conditions for everything and that nothing just happens on its own. And then the next day the basic teaching is ....
Your friend,