Buddhist Non-theistic 12 Steps:

[Neeranam]

http://www.geocities.com/b12steps/index.html

Any non believers out there wanting to stop drinking?

1. We admitted our addictive craving over alcohol, and recognised its consequences in our lives.

2. Came to believe that a power other than self could restore us to wholeness.

3. Made a decision to go for refuge to this other power as we understood it.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to ourselves and another human being the exact moral nature of our past.

6. Became entirely ready to work at transforming ourselves.

7. With the assistance of others and our own firm resolve, we transformed unskilful aspects of ourselves and cultivated positive ones.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed.

9. Made direct amends to such people where possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. In addition, made a conscientious effort to forgive all those who harmed us.

10. Continue to maintain awareness of our actions and motives, and when we acted unskilfuly promptly admitted it.

11. Engaged through the practise of meditation to improve our conscious contact with our true selves, and seeking that beyond self. Also used prayer as a means to cultivate postive attitudes and states of mind.

12. Having gained spiritual insight as a result of these steps, we practise these principles in all areas of our lives, and make this message available to others in need of recovery.

[jaideeguy]

Agree with everything but #'s 2 and 3

2. Came to believe that a power other than self could restore us to wholeness.

3. Made a decision to go for refuge to this other power as we understood it.

Seems that one has to surrender to a higher power and what if you don't believe in a higher power, but believe IT is within yourself?? and you are the higher power??

[camerata]

From the Buddhist perspective, I don't have a problem with #2. In Mahayana Buddhism, a buddha or bodhisattva could be the higher power. In Theravada Buddhism, karma could be the higher power. You can't exactly take refuge in karma, but if you take refuge in the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), you are accepting that your good actions now will result in good results in the future due to the law of karma. In Buddhism, karma is considered to be like the physical laws of nature that existed since the beginning of the universe.

For atheists, I'd look at it like this: However, it works, kicking an addiction is essentially a mental process. But we can't control all our mental processes. So, the higher power in this case is the subconscious mind, which we can't exactly control but can "activate" to go in the right direction.

[phaethon]

"3. Made a decision to go for refuge to this other power as we understood it."

Meaning Leo drinkers should seek refuge in drinking Singha?

(I'm allowed to take the piss outside the Buddhist's-Buddies-Self-Congratulatory-We'll-Have-No Criticism-Here Forum, right?)

[Chris Lawrence]

What about GOD, good orderly direction; some people can't get the concept of a higher power. You need to explain or show how that power can change them.

A friend of mine had a dog as his higher power until it was run over(friend was 18 mths clean)! His belief only developed from there. He is about 22 years clean.

Jaideeguy, I only say this because some need to hold onto different things. I am not for changing the steps as they work fine, but if someone is saved by using another interpretation, then I am all for it.

Its easy to bite on some of these left field approaches, but in the end so what. What ever works, and if that don't work there is always a spare sit in a meeting.

I was researching how a new wonder drug was working detoxing and getting addicts off heroin. The counselors had on their desk a AA and NA text. They were also referring to meetings. This was after mum and dad paid between $6500 and $9000 for their treatment which had to be supervised by mum and dad. I met a father there tears in his eyes and looking, all I could say was yes his son will be fine (his son was doing a rapid detox). People could still use dope and speed? The doctor running the place appeared overwhelmed, showed me the books and was making the money. My only point here is that once finished treatment ongoing care with counselors was still expensive. People who couldn't pay were referred onto meetings. And I thought they were lucky, as they didn't have to pay for a service that was free anyway.

[Wrong Turn]

What about GOD, good orderly direction; some people can't get the concept of a higher power. You need to explain or show how that power can change them.

Which god, Chris? There are many.

I personally don't believe in one god, or a group of gods.

[wayfarer108]

Seems like a lot of trouble to shoehorn Buddhism into 12-step theology, a treatment methodology which by most empirical accounts is of little use, and possibly counter-productive.

The Guardian :

Ed Halliwell guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 April 2009 12.00 BST

But 12-step groups aren't quite the mind shampoo their champions claim. A recent Cochrane Library review found that Alcoholics Anonymous is no more effective for problem drinking than other interventions such as cognitive behavioural or motivational enhancement therapies, while some studies have indicated that it may have no effect, or even be more harmful than no treatment at all. And while meetings are often packed with vociferous true believers telling their tales of survival against the odds, these are a self-selecting sample – a vanishingly small percentage of attendees stick around for very long (around 5% after 12 months). Twelve-step orthodoxy has it that the rest are either "out there" (in active addiction) or dead, but statistics suggest most people who recover do so by themselves, without the help of a support group.

[jts-khorat]

Ed Halliwell guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 April 2009 12.00 BST

Twelve-step orthodoxy has it that the rest are either "out there" (in active addiction) or dead, but statistics suggest most people who recover do so by themselves, without the help of a support group.

Any addiciton can only be broken by yourself, and yourself alone.

Support groups can give as the name says: support and somebody listening. Sometimes to know that you are not the only one in the world with this particular problem or addiction and that others want to break the habit as well is a very good motivator -- but worth nothing if the will to stop is not already in you.

[jumnien]

Santikaro, translator of Ajahn Buddhadasa's works, has some great dhamma talks on Buddhism and the 12 Steps. They available on his liberationpark website; just google it. The twelve steps work! They are not necessarily entwined with or limited to an Islamic or Jewish concept of monotheism. Whatever floats one's boat will float it in 12 step meetings!

[Livinginexile]

What about GOD, good orderly direction; some people can't get the concept of a higher power. You need to explain or show how that power can change them.

Which god, Chris? There are many.

I personally don't believe in one god, or a group of gods.

A God of your own understanding.

[garro]

There is a lot of wisdom in the twelve steps. It is only to be expected that these pieces of wisdom would be easily applicable to Buddhists. Despite what another poster has written, AA has produced some fantastic results. I am not a twelve-stepper, but my recovery from addiction does involve much, if not all, of the twelve steps. If something works, it works and anybody who would pooh-pooh another person's method of recovery from a devastating condition like addiction is a close-minded fool.