the toolbox

(meditation hall at Taipei airport)

this blog post will be an ever-evolving list of chants, photos, sayings, essays, and whatnot that can be inspiring forms of practice to commit to when trying to break some addictive pattern.

addictions are like weeds. Its easiest to stop them from spreading if you can get it at the root, but the root can be tough to get.  However, if we basically start clearing some space in the soil and planting something more productive there, that can at least help snuff out the space for weeds to grow.

I think various regular practices are kind of like this.  Even if we're not talking full-on enlightenment, planting positive seeds regularly and repeatedly definitely helps in any situation....

 

(Buddha, in Kamakura, Japan)

 
(Amitabha Buddha at Foguang Shan)

 

Books on Buddhism and Addiction Recovery: 

- Ordinary Recovery: Mindfulness, Addiction, and the Path of Lifelong Sobriety by William Alexander

- The Mindful Path to Addiction Recovery: A Practical Guide to Regaining Control over Your Life by Lawrence Peltz

-  Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to BreakingFree of Habits by Martine Batchelor

-  One Breathat a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps by Kevin Griffin

-  Taking theLeap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron

-  Enough!: ABuddhist Approach To Finding Release From Addictive Patterns by Chonyi Taylor

-  OrdinaryRecovery: Mindfulness, Addiction, and the Path of Lifelong Sobriety by William Alexander

-  12Steps on Buddha's Path: Bill, Buddha, and We by Laura

 



Chants
- I think the chants by Imee Ooi are all incredibly beautiful. It's hard not to feel at ease when listening to that.
here's her version of a metta (loving-kindness) chant.  The language is Pali, but the video has English subs:


(reflection on pond in Thailand)

- I also like her version of the Chinese Heart Sutra:
- here  is a nice chant from Wat Metta that combines Pali and English chanting, wishing well to oneself and all other beings
- here is a chant on friendships: the ones the avoid and the ones to cherish:

(UN Day of Vesak Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, when Thich Nhat Hanh made his return)

Free meditation books and more:

(Yosemite)

(mandala from google images)

(Celtic tree from google images)

(Near Angel's Landing at Zion National Park)

(Yosemite)

(Yosemite)

(Yosemite)

(World Peace meditation at Dhammakaya meditation stadium)

12 steps "God" language and Buddhism

I addressed this before a little in a previous entry, but in numerous classes we've had a lot of discussion about the AA 12 steps "God" language and how to relate it - and how not to relate it - to Buddhism.

Some people just said they read around it, or ignore it.  Others tried to work with it in different ways.  Some people in class brought up that this can coincide with the views of Amitabha or Mahavairocana more easily with some branches of Buddhism.  Although these are not "God" per se, they could definitely be considered "higher powers." 

The Pure Land Branch of Buddhism certainly qualifies, as they basically preach submitting yourself to power other than yourself. 

Mahavairocana is called a Buddha, but he is anthropomorphized as a symbol of the essence of existence. In Shingon Buddhism, for example, they teach Mahavairocana is a part of all of us and we are all a part of him.  He is often also associated with light and the inherent light that exists in and connects all beings.

One student in class pointed out one of the main issues at play here is agency. Are you leaving the task to something wholly other than yourself? Most Buddhists would deny that, but at least through the vies of dependent origination and non-self, we could at least say we leave it to our not-self nature :-p