Gil fronsdals new book is a translation of and commentary on the chapter of the eights ahakavagga, the fourth chapter of the suttanipata, itself a miscellaneous collection of pali buddhist verses including. It is not really my impetus for reading the book, however. Top 10 buddhist books for children the self proclaimed. A moving account by susan moon of her journey back from depression, and how her buddhist practice both helped and hindered her. There was no internet in those days so if you wanted to get the answer to a question, you had to.
I have been doing research on buddhism recently and im tired of the authors opinions getting in the way of the actual teachings of buddha, i would like to read something virtually free of interpetations of his word. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. Buddhismtwelve step group guidelines kevin griffin. Sharon salzberg talks about the inevitable ups and downs of meditation practice, the cultivation of wisdom and compassion, and how to bring the benefits of meditation into our everyday lives. This page is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference. Santina fundamentals of buddhism fundamentals of buddhism. Came to believe that a power other than self could restore us to wholeness. I realized how much tibetan prayer flags can be seen. The book is a compilation of snippets and vignettes from the enormous body of dogens collected writings on poetry, dialogues, and great elucidations on meditation. In comparing a 12step approach with buddhism, we first need to recognise that. We admitted our addictive craving over alcohol, and recognized its consequences in our lives.
Weaving together the teachings and practices offered to us by the buddha with the teachings and practices of the 12step program is a brilliant move, that she has rendered with utmost integrity and wisdom. In reading about the explosion in boston i was moved by one runner who had just finished the race. Mindfulness is the fundamental tool offered for practice and is presented in the larger context of buddhist teachings that include the elements of morality and wisdom. A book of encouragement and inspiration for anyone on the spiritual path by one of americas most popular buddhist teachers. We cant escape it or avoid it, and we cant control it. Zen buddhism by patrick meninga at zen can loosely be defined as a merging of buddhism and taoism. The book is based on the 12 steps, intertwining recovery ideas with the buddhist teachings. Top 10 buddhist books for children and the benefits of buddhism for children buddhist books for children are a great way to introduce buddhas teachings. The author, who wrote a prior bestseller, buddhism for busy people.
Both the 12 steps and buddhism are practices that deal with addiction and craving as the cause of our suffering and prescribe proven methods of recovery. Laura k has done a great service through writing this bookthere is a huge potential audience out there that needs and deserves it. For beyond 50s personal growth talks, listen to an interview with darren littlejohn. A buddhists insight 12 steps of recovery aa agnostica. The first steps in living a life of mindfulness are outlined in this book. The tibetan book of living and dying helps to salivate your own fear of dying and helps you take the responsibility to prepare for your death. As i started to read this book, i noticeably felt more mindful, aware and calm. There are no physical yoga practices in this book, but you can integrate the meditations with your physical yoga practice. Ill talk about the buddhas first sermons, the enlightenment of the first disciples, the first lay students of the buddha and how lay practice figures into early buddhism, and the initial formation of the ordained sangha and how they.
The 12 steps in the book are reinterpreted as dealing with work on the following principles at each step. If you are one of the socalled people of the book, perhaps you could overestimate the importance of a book or bible even so, some words that i guess may be equally important in buddhism include buddhavacana, sangha, dhamma, not to mention lineage, and various. The following is regarding some sincere efforts to link mindfulness meditation methods and the westernstyle 12 step program. Eight step recovery using the buddhas teachings to. Your starter kit for inner peace and better health by david michie, snow lion, 2008 i enjoyed this light and well written book. And all done with this fine book after an nice step 12 chapter that once again unites buddhist thought and action with 12step recovery. Made a decision to go for refuge to this other power as we understood it. Books on buddhist principles help for livingbuddhist. The canonical twelve step literature, alcoholics anonymous the big book and twelve steps and twelve traditions the twelve and twelve although. Ive read a book or two about it and found it to be a perfect compliment to my recovery. But more simply, and more importantly, its a book about how to be. The first awareness of buddhism in the netherlands can be traced back to early books, with references to buddhism reappearing in 1651, 1843 and 1878, with the first book on buddhism being written in the dutch language in 1879. Two years and then some of nearly daily use, popping white crosses and other street junk to keep going, working three jobs to make grades and tuition and rent.
You learn ways to deal with your emotions and thoughts. The teachings and personal experiences of sogyal are simple to understand and interpret and incorporate into. Meditation teacher and author griffin discovered that his buddhist practice deepened as a result of the 12step. Buddha and the 12 steps by kevin griffin healyourlife. Some of the language of the traditional 12 steps has been revised in order to correspond more consistently with a buddhist understanding of 12step concepts, like higher power, turning over, and surrendering our will. In a wise, honest and personal way, kevin griffin has written a book that will be truly helpful to buddhist practitioners and the twelve step community alike. Our book, eight step recovery will be available from january 2014 in the uk and april 2014 in north america. Finding happiness in an uncertain world, is clearly a longterm meditator with experience in tibetan buddhist traditions. The story of buddhism begins with the personal journey of a man, siddhartha guatama who sought to find freedom from the bondage of human suffering. I found this interesting article 8 pages on the lions roar web site. A buddhist path to recovering from addiction by noah levine is very helpful. The law of karma refers to the relationship between actions and their results, to the idea that taking skillful or wise action will bring about positive results. My own journey has led me to the 12 steps and like darren, the god concept worked until it didnt work anymore. A great book for the beginner to read mindfulness for beginners.
His journey led him to discover nirvana or an enlightened state. Each of the 12 steps has a short description of buddhist beliefs. When i was first getting interested in buddhism, i read a couple of books. Three of the more popular ones include kevin griffins work, one breath at a time. Liminal thinking is a book about how to be mentally healthy, how to be present, and how to be a positive force in the world. Darren littlejohn is a recovering addict and a practitioner of zen and tibetan buddhism, as well as a former mental health specialist. Using the 12step program if youre a buddhist thubten chodron. At the same time, it gently helps you prepare yourself for the death and dying of a loved one. Each of the 12 steps has a short description of buddhist beliefs, doctrines, and. We explore how the buddhas teachings the four noble truths and the eightfold path can heal the pain and suffering that addiction and compulsive behaviors have. I realized this soon after i began being interested in buddhism and especially in buddhist meditation practice in zuerich in 2005. The first part of the book deals with the life of the buddha, thc second with the dhamma, the pali term for his doctrine.
The 12 step fellowships are not affiliated with any particular religious faith. The first section of this book is literally a meditation in action. Bill wilson, the founder of aa began the same quest from a different life experience. The buddhadhamma is a moral and philosophical system which expounds a unique path of enlightenment, and is not a subject to be studied from a mere academic standpoint. Starting to teach a child about buddhism at a young age can be very beneficial. Posted on october 4, 2009 by pandit october 4, 2009. This book is really two or more books incompletely sutured together. Check out the following 12 steps as tools to begin the journey to freedom from any addiction. We are glad to bring you our selection of the 10 best buddhist books of 20. The universal 12 steps for freethinkers soberrecovery. I want to tell you about coming apart and struggling through depression by susan moon. Fitzpatrick freethought holds that individuals should not accept ideas proposed as truth without recourse to knowledge and reason. The turn of the century saw more popular books on buddhism published in dutch. I wish that some of my aa friends couldwould take the nonharming thing to heart.
The 12 steps originally from alcoholics anonymous are a powerful set of tools to create recovery from any addiction. To join this space and use the 21 day meditation for recovery. That was followed in 2009 by darren littlejohns wellknown work, the 12step buddhist. Author darren littlejohn has been there and back, and presents. Kevin griffins book, as does therese jacobsstewarts, uses the 12 steps as chapterheaders, intertwining their personal stories with their 12step work and discoveries, wound around a central cord of buddhist practice, thought, and meditation. He earned a ba in psych in 1991 and worked in chemical dependency and acute psychiatric care facilities during college. Needless to say this book provides a more realistic portrayal of addiction and buddhist practice. Probably an even more common reason for wanting to go through the steps with one breath though is the opportunity to connect our twelve step work with a buddhist understanding. This is the first episode of two on the buddhas 45year teaching career and the establishment of the buddhist community. More than just a memoir and more than just a buddhist treatise, this book is a spiritual guide of recovery and the 12 steps. One solution would be to have the book separated into two distinct portions. Because of my interest the buddhafigure was not longer filtered out from my perception.
Enhance recovery from any addiction, by darren littlejohn, is a guide for addicts of any type on how to incorporate buddhist philosophy and practices into a traditional 12step program. Reclaiming the present momentand your life by jon kabatzinn. It is a very powerful and meaningful introduction and, when read in conjunction with the new meditation handbook and introduction to buddhism, makes you feel that you know what buddhism is and want to do more about it. The author is himself a recovering addict alcohol and narcotics, with two tenyear spans of sobriety to his credit, and experienced a relapse in between. Formats in which the twelve steps and twelve traditions can be read. Mindfulness is not easy, but for those who stick with it, the results are often dramatic. He is the author of this book that can enhance recovery from any addiction. This is book is short and easy to read, but it is rich with profound, yet simple reminders for us to come back to the present moment.
999 1466 1502 691 694 1609 902 1175 1272 1039 1510 751 478 587 1393 580 799 1509 1363 1167 1350 1190 872 858 1043 1203 1021 1236 982 492 988 848 76 414 1295 555