Originally Posted by
samseb5351 
Thanks Tamerua, can you tell me more about Your congregation. Do some of your beliefs fit well with the buddhist principles, which ones stand out for you. I personally am an Atheist but I am very keen to hear how others make sense of the world especially through a recovery lens.
Hi samseb I guess there are two things here, Unitarianism and Buddhism. The congregation itself is Unitarian, non denominational and there are many atheists who belong because of the sense of community. They have 7 principles and they are almost all related to being helpful to your fellow man and the community at large. The minister, born and raised Hindu, likes to put it simply, "we don't concern ourselves with the after life, we care about the here and now."
They are aligned with this small Buddhist congregation and I think it is because it shares many of the same principles, being helpful to others. My son's best friend's grandmother is from Thailand and she has taken us to Thai temple. I love the peace and the stillness.
Making yourself useful, letting go of anger, looking at yourself rather others when there is a problem are all concepts that I get and have helped me with recovery. I feel like I understand only a tiny tiny bit about Buddhism but instead of being overwhelmed at how much I don't know, I find it exciting that there is a lot to learn. That was a total ramble but there it is. Lol
Edited to add, I have a couple Buddhist apps for my phone, one is quotes, I read it daily, another is for meditation. Just throwing that out there... I like them.