Please note that I am not a doctor, medical professional, or mental health specialist. This is from my own experience.
Addiction. Craving. Believing these things will help us feel better, even just for a little while.
Desperation. Simply thinking about our weapon of choice can send us back to the place that helps us forget.
I’ve been here multiple times. I’m not perfect. I still experience cravings. I fallen thousands of times.
Buddha teaches us that craving is the source of suffering. Addiction is wanting more, more, more. It is never enough and yet we keep returning. We want relief. We don’t want to hurt.
Not only does addiction provide hits of dopamine, the feel good hormone, but it helps the world disappear. All that’s left is numbness.
We all know the answer to this question, will it ever be enough?
No, it won’t.
The thought of stopping and quitting our vices can be daunting. It feels impossible. I have existed this long while using to help me exist for this long. Terror can set in, Can’t I use here and there? Socially?
I’ll only have one. In reality, is it ever just one?
Good intentions fill the air while demons whisper in the dark. For me, the thought of taking away my vices was terrifying. I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to survive without them. It isn’t easy.
The Noble Eightfold path can assist us right when we need by following the Precepts. This sounds so simple and I know it isn’t. I still struggle and it has been years. The urge, desire, and want will not automatically go away and maybe for some, it never will. For example, I have been smoke free (among other things) for just over a year. I still crave cigarettes. I still think that I can have just one. I still believe by smoking I will be able to have a moment of peace within myself.
Deep down, somewhere inside of me, I know this isn’t true. I know the only way to have peace inside comes by Practicing.
Practice requires dropping everything, yet not dropping anything. Who are you without addiction? As the koan asks, what is your original face?
There is sometimes a feeling that practice is separate from life. They are two different things. We will practice when things are going well in our lives, not when things are difficult. But here’s the thing, that’s the best time to practice- when the world is falling apart.
The Buddha said not to believe blindly and to try things out for yourself. Our craving doesn’t vanish into thin air, but by practising the Precepts, we can see the true nature of our craving and what to do about it.
Practising with intention, self compassion, and following the Precepts as best you can. This is what matters.
Gasshō,
On
Addiction. Craving. Believing these things will help us feel better, even just for a little while.
Desperation. Simply thinking about our weapon of choice can send us back to the place that helps us forget.
I’ve been here multiple times. I’m not perfect. I still experience cravings. I fallen thousands of times.
Buddha teaches us that craving is the source of suffering. Addiction is wanting more, more, more. It is never enough and yet we keep returning. We want relief. We don’t want to hurt.
Not only does addiction provide hits of dopamine, the feel good hormone, but it helps the world disappear. All that’s left is numbness.
We all know the answer to this question, will it ever be enough?
No, it won’t.
The thought of stopping and quitting our vices can be daunting. It feels impossible. I have existed this long while using to help me exist for this long. Terror can set in, Can’t I use here and there? Socially?
I’ll only have one. In reality, is it ever just one?
Good intentions fill the air while demons whisper in the dark. For me, the thought of taking away my vices was terrifying. I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to survive without them. It isn’t easy.
The Noble Eightfold path can assist us right when we need by following the Precepts. This sounds so simple and I know it isn’t. I still struggle and it has been years. The urge, desire, and want will not automatically go away and maybe for some, it never will. For example, I have been smoke free (among other things) for just over a year. I still crave cigarettes. I still think that I can have just one. I still believe by smoking I will be able to have a moment of peace within myself.
Deep down, somewhere inside of me, I know this isn’t true. I know the only way to have peace inside comes by Practicing.
Practice requires dropping everything, yet not dropping anything. Who are you without addiction? As the koan asks, what is your original face?
There is sometimes a feeling that practice is separate from life. They are two different things. We will practice when things are going well in our lives, not when things are difficult. But here’s the thing, that’s the best time to practice- when the world is falling apart.
The Buddha said not to believe blindly and to try things out for yourself. Our craving doesn’t vanish into thin air, but by practising the Precepts, we can see the true nature of our craving and what to do about it.
Practising with intention, self compassion, and following the Precepts as best you can. This is what matters.
Gasshō,
On
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