Download what is refuge recovery?

W W W . R EFUGERE COV ER Y . OR G
W HAT
“It is not a lack of morality
or any deep character flaw
that creates addiction; it is
almost always just a lot of
pain and a lack of tolerance
or compassion for this pain
that get us stuck in the repetitive and habitual patterns of drinking, drugging,
overeating, or whatever
actions our addictions take.
In some cases the underlying
causes are not as clear, but
the suffering that addiction
creates is always obvious
and undeniable.”
-Noah Levine, Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction
R EFUGE R ECOVERY
IS
R EFUGE R ECOVERY ?
A refuge is a safe place, a place
of protection. A place that we go
to in times of need, it’s a shelter.
We are always taking refuge in
something. Drugs, alcohol, food,
sex, money and people were a
refuge for many of us. Before we
became addicted, they provided
feelings of comfort and safety.
But at some point we crossed the
line into addiction. And the substances or behaviors that were
once a refuge became a dark and
lonely repetitive cycle of wandering lost through an empty
life.
Active addiction is a hell realm;
it is like being a hungry ghost,
wandering through life in constant craving and the suffering of
addiction. This process, this
Buddhist inspired approach to
overcoming addiction offers a
refuge from the suffering of addiction. Traditionally Buddhists
commit to the path of awakening, by taking refuge in three
things, Awakening, Truth and
Community (Buddha, Dharma,
Sangha). If the teachings and
practices offered here resonate
with you as true and useful, we
invite you to take refuge in this
process of awakening, truth and
community. Practicing these
principles and developing these
skills will lead to safe place, a
place that is free from addiction,
to a full recovery.
Refuge Recovery is a practice, a
process, set of tools and a path to
healing the suffering caused by
addiction. The main inspiration
and guiding philosophy for the
Refuge Recovery program are
the teachings of (Sid)dhartha
Gautama, a man who lived in
India twenty-five hundred years
ago and is often referred to as
the Buddha. Sid was a radical
psychologist and a spiritual the
co-dependent. Sid came to understand and experience a way of
living that ended all forms of
suffering. He did this through a
practice and process that includes meditation, wise actions
and compassion. He recovered
from the suffering that craving
causes and then spent the rest of
his life teaching others to live in
a way that would end addictions
and lead to a life of well-being
and freedom. Sid became known
T HE A PPROACH
You are entering a way of life that
may be familiar to some and foreign
to others. This Buddhist recovery
program is a systematic approach to
training our minds to see clearly and
respond to our lives with understanding and non-harming. In the
beginning some of it may seem confusing or counter-instinctual, and
some of it is. But you will find that
with time, familiarity and experience, it will all make perfect sense
and will gradually become a more
and more natural way of being.
There are four major components
that will need to be developed, sustained and maintained.
1. Process- There is a process
to recovery that needs to be
understood; the four truths.
2. Practice- There is a practice
to be cultivated; mindfulness and
heart practice meditation.
3. Principle- Understanding
and applying the principle of
cause and effect; changing the
behaviors that cause suffering.
4. Power- Each individual has
to do the work themselves. No
one can recover for you.
as the Buddha, his teachings became known as Buddhism. This
program has adapted the core
teachings of the Buddha as applicable to overcoming addiction.
THIS IS THE PATH OF
AWAKENING, THE PATH
OF RECOVERING FROM
THE ADDICTIONS AND
DELUSIONS THAT HAVE
CREATED SO MUCH
SUFFERING IN OUR
LIVES AND IN THIS
WORLD. ALL LIVING
BEINGS HAVE THE
ABILITY TO LIVE LIFE
ALONG THESE LINES,
THERE IS NO-ONE THAT
LACKS ABILITY ONLY
THOSE WHO LACK THE
WILLINGNESS TO TAKE
ON SUCH AN RADICAL
TASK OF
TRANSFORMATION.
ADDICTS WHO DO NOT
RECOVER ARE NOT
BROKEN OR LOST, THEY
JUST HAVE NOT YET
FOUND THE
WILLINGNESS TO TAKE
THE PATH OF WISDOM
AND COMPASSION. WE
BELIEVE IN THE HUMAN
CAPACITY FOR
CHANGE. WE
UNDERSTAND IT FROM
DIRECT EXPERIENCE. IF
WE CAN YOU CAN.
W W W . R EFUGERE COV ER Y . OR G
T HE F OUR T RUTHS
R EFUGE R ECOVERY
OF
R EFUGE R ECOVERY
The Four Truths of Refuge Recovery come from a Buddhist perspective that says “All beings have the power and potential to free themselves from
suffering.” We feel confident in the Buddha’s teachings to relieve suffering of all kinds, including the suffering of addiction.
3. Recovery is possible. Freedom from the suffering
caused by addiction is attainable, if we are ready and willing to
take responsibility for our actions and to follow the Eight-Fold
Path.
1. Addiction creates suffering. We come to understand, Action: Take refuge in the community, practice and potential of
acknowledge, admit and accept all of the ways that our addictions or your own recovery. Study and apply the principles of the Eightaddictive behaviors have caused suffering in our lives.
Fold Path and eventually you will come to a verified faith in the
path of recovery/awakening through the actions you take on the
Action: Write an in-depth and detailed inventory of the suffering you path.
have experienced in association with your addictions.
4. The EightFold Path to recovery. This is an abstinence based path and philosophy, we believe that the recovery
2. The cause of addiction is repetitive craving.
We come to understand that all forms of addiction have their roots in process begins when abstinence begins. The Eight factors or folds
of the path are to be developed, experienced and penetrated. This
the natural human tendency to crave for life to be more pleasurable
is not a linear path, it does not have to be taken in order, rather
and less painful than it actually is. The addict is not at fault for the
root causes and conditions that lead to addiction only for the habitual all of the factors will need to be developed and applied simultaneously. This is a guide to having a life that is free from addiction.
reactive patterns that perpetuated it.
The Eightfold Path of recovery will
Action: Investigate, analyze and share the inventory with your men- have to be maintained through out
tor or teacher and come to understand the nature of your addiction/ one’s life.
suffering.
T HE E IGHTFOLD P ATH
1.Understanding - We understand that recovery begins
when we renounce and abstain from all substances or addictive
behaviors regardless of specific substances we have become addicted to. Forgiveness, non-harming actions, service and generosity are a necessary part of the recovery process. We can’t do it
alone. Community support and wise guidance are an integral
part of the path to recovery.
2. Intention - We intend to meet all pain with compassion
and all pleasure with non-attached appreciation, to forgive and
ask for forgiveness toward all people we have harmed or been
harmed by, including ourselves, to be generous and kind to all
living beings, to be honest, humble, to live with integrity and to
practice non-harming.
3.Communication/Community - We take refuge in the
community as a place to practice wise communication and to
support others on their path. We practice being honest, wise and
careful with our communications, asking for help from the community, allowing others to guide us through the process. We
practice openness, honesty and humility about the difficulties and
successes we experience.
4.Action/Engagement - We abstain from all substances and
behaviors that could lead to suffering. We practice forgiveness
toward all people we have harmed or been harmed by, including
ourselves, through both meditative training and direct amends.
Compassion, non-attached appreciation, generosity, kindness,
honesty, integrity and service are our guiding principles.
5. Livelihood/Service - We try
to be of service to others when ever
possible, using our time and energy and resources to help create
positive change. We try to secure a source of income/livelihood
that causes no harm.
6. Effort/Energy - We commit to the daily disciplined
practices of meditation, yoga, exercise, wise actions, kindness,
forgiveness, generosity, compassion, appreciation and moment
to moment mindfulness of feelings, emotions, thoughts and
sensations. Developing the skillful means of knowing how to
apply the appropriate meditation or action to the given circumstance.
7. Mindfulness/Meditations - We develop wisdom
through practicing formal mindfulness meditation. This leads to
seeing clearly and healing the root causes and conditions that
lead to the suffering of addiction. We practice present-time
awareness in all aspects of our life. We take refuge in the present.
8.Concentration/Meditations - We develop the capacity to focus the mind on a single object, such as the breath or
a phrase, training the mind through the practices of lovingkindness, compassion and forgiveness to focus on the positive
qualities we seek to uncover, and we utilize concentration at
times of temptation or craving in order to abstain from acting
unwisely.