What the Buddha Can Offer Addicts

Buddhism has a lot to say about addiction. In fact, you could even say that all of the Buddha’s teachings are directed at telling us how to walk away from our attachments to things which are causing us pain. I view Buddhism as a philosophy. I don’t believe that people need to become Buddhist in order to benefit from this way of looking at life. It seems reasonable to me that people should be able to take what they want from the teachings and leave the rest. I try to use those tools in life which work for me and approach things with an open mind. I am not a religious Buddhist. I am interested in the Buddha because his method works for me – they have helped me to walk away from an addiction and live a rewarding life.


The Buddha Understood Addiction

The Buddha talked a lot about cravings and how it was this that made life difficult. He believed that if we could escape these cravings then we would be free. The foundation of the Buddha’s path is the Four Noble Truths; there is suffering, suffering is caused by attachment to things which are causing us pain, there is a way to escape this attachment, and the way to escape is the follow a path laid out by the Buddha. This often recited formula is presented in many forms, but the words are not so much what is important. The real important thing is our ability to put the Buddha’s ideas into action.


I also have respect for the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. I am not a member of this organization, but I believe that there is much of the Buddhist’s path which can be found in the twelve steps. There are in fact many Buddhists who do manage to mix the two systems easily. My only concern with the fellowship is the belief of some of their members that AA/NA is the only way – this has not been my experience. People escape addiction using a variety of means. I made use of Buddhism and meditation but for others it can involve a completely different path. I respect anyone who manages to escape addiction – all methods are valid.


The Path Provide by the Buddha for Addicts

Following a Buddhist path can make staying sober or drug-free easier. My problems have always started when I decided to do things my own way. The Buddha divided his path into eight sections; right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.


The first two parts of the path, right view and right intention, are to do with wisdom. We need to understand ourselves and our addiction and not be fooled by the nonsense that sometimes enters our thinking. We need to stop believing in ‘my thoughts’ and ‘my wants’ and accept that this thing that we accept as ‘I’ does not really exist. From wisdom comes good intentions – the determination to escape our suffering.


The next three parts of the path are to do with ethical conduct. If we do ‘bad’ things then we can’t expect for our minds to be free of turmoil. The point isn’t really that these actions are bad in themselves but more that we feel they are bad. Poor ethical conduct is poison to the addict because the bad feeling produced can later be used as an excuse to drink or use. The Buddha divided ethical conduct into right speech, right action, and right livelihood.


The final part of the Buddha’s path is connected with meditation. We need to develop our minds if we wish to be able to defend ourselves against our thinking and cravings. Concentration helps us develop mindfulness and allows us to see where our mind is leading us astray. When we can see what the mind is up to it becomes surprisingly easy to win against our addictions.


Buddhism has a lot to offer anyone looking to escape addiction. There is no need to become a Buddhist in order to gain the benefits of this approach – just take the things from the teachings which work for you and make use of them. I’m sure the Buddha would approve because any move away from addiction is a move in the right direction. There is no need to feel that using these techniques is somehow being disloyal to your current religion or lack of religion – just keep an open mind and you will be fine.