Author: Gary Jackson

Buddhist Teachings to Overcome Addiction with Vimalasara

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. Brahm particularly emphasises the role of negative thinking in addictive behaviours. This can take many forms such as moaning at every little thing or constantly criticising and fault finding with others. To tackle strong addictions it will likely require many months and often over a year of regular meditation to truly overcome the addiction. 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.

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. My Zen practice, a koan tradition in the Pacific Zen School, began 10 years later. There was a time when I would say I had two practices, but today my practice is Twelve & Zen, a blend of the two; a symbiotic relationship in which I practice the Twelve Steps and Zen Buddhism fully, without obstacles. Zen and the Twelve Steps have given me a whole new reality, filled with purpose, joy, and gratitude.

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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. Our first perspective comes from Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu, a Buddhist monk who has done hundreds of videos on all topics as they relate to Mindfulness and Buddhism, including addiction. 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. There’s a phrase in the Big Book that says something to the effect that God is either everything or nothing.

Let’s firstly examine the role of Buddhist philosophy in helping understand and deal with addiction, compare and contrast the two perspectives in much more detail below. 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.

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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. The problem here is that the person is trying to avoid and run away from their addiction without understanding it.

Putting some distance between oneself and the addiction can help to see it more clearly and objectively. He recommends addicts try to give their habit up just for a short time to begin with, just to see what happens and how they cope with it. It needn’t be a permanent committment to never do it again as this will discourage people from even trying. Interestingly Brahm differs from Yuttadhammo in that he does actively encourage us to put some distance between oneself and the addiction, to “push the bottle away” so to speak.

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At the urging of some friends, I walked into a Zen Buddhist meditation hall some 22 years ago and stayed. 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. The Buddha’s first official teaching was given to ‘noble ones’, that is the five ascetics who trained alongside Gautama, seeking an end to the suffering of this existence and an end to future rebirths.

• It will improve self awareness and allow you to observe the mechanics of addiction as well as thought processes that drive it.
• In lovingkindness meditation, the practitioner recites a mantra of kindness towards him or herself, then directs attention outward towards a person that they love, someone they feel neutral towards, and someone they dislike.
• This type of meditation can help the practitioner feel more forgiving towards themselves, a very useful tool for those in recovery.
• There’s a phrase in the Big Book that says something to the effect that God is either everything or nothing.
• 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.
• Brahm particularly emphasises the role of negative thinking in addictive behaviours.

The Big Book would look very different if written today, since the almost universal monotheistic Christian emphasis on a creator god has lessened. Seventy-three per cent of adults in Ohio consider themselves Christians; in New York it’s 60 per cent; and there are Buddhists living throughout the US. In 2017, the Buddhist Recovery Summit was held in Washington State.

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And I’m aware of quite a few other Buddhists with similar experiences at the Twelve Step meetings I attend. Theravada, Zen, Tibetan, and Nichiren, my friends have all found ways to mutually practice their particular Buddhist traditions and the Twelve Steps. Frank always lived in sober-living houses, in a small room of his own with a door. This reminds me of The Gateless Gate, the title of one edition of the Mumonkan book of koans. Just as we have experienced gateless gates opening to us, other doors continued to open for Frank even with his doorknob missing; but elsewhere doorknobs abound! 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.

• Right Concentration is the practice of immersing oneself in a meditative practice, either through focusing on the breath, an object or a mantra.
• 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.
• Like Yuttadhammo, he also emphasises how mindfulness meditation can provide the self awareness needed to tackle addiction.
• In mindful breathing meditations, the practitioner focuses attention on his or her breath and gently lets go of thoughts.
• This keeps them stuck in their addiction and Brahn sees it as a self imposed prison of the mind, where the person could be free but on some level doesn’t want to be because they don’t feel good about themselves.
• Simply put, my higher power is everything (form), so I try to pay attention to everything that comes my way.
• The Buddhist Recovery Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is volunteer-run and relies solely on your donations.