A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

by Kevin Griffin

A Burning Desire is a gift for those who struggle with the Twelve Step program’s focus on the need to surrender to a Higher Power. Taking a radical departure from traditional views of God, Western or Eastern, author Kevin Griffin neither accepts Christian beliefs in a Supreme Being nor Buddhist non-theism, but rather forges a refreshing, sensible, and accessible Middle Way. Griffin shows how the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, can be understood as a Higher Power. Karma, mindfulness, impermanence, and the Eightfold Path itself are revealed as powerful forces that can be accessed through meditation and inquiry. Drawing from his own experiences with substance abuse, rehabilitation, and recovery, Griffin looks at the various ways that meditation and spiritual practices helped deepen his experience of sobriety. His personal story of addiction is not only raw, honest and engrossing, but guides readers to an inquiry of their own spirituality. In doing so, he poses profound questions, · How can I understand God from a Buddhist perspective? · How can I “turn my will and my life over” as a Buddhist? · How can this idea of God “remove my shortcomings”? · How do I learn this God’s “will”?

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Addiction, Meditation

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Kevin Griffin is the author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, the breakthrough book that established him as a leader in the mindful recovery movement. Since its publication, Kevin has toured extensively, giving workshops and lectures at places as diverse as Harlem, the Colorado Rockies, and Hawaii. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, he teaches “Dharma and Recovery” at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In addition, Kevin is co-founder and board member of the Buddhist Recovery Network (www.buddhistrecovery.org), an international organization that serves people in the recovery community through training, treatment, and research. He continues to offer workshops, lectures, and retreats around the country.

Reviews

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burning Desire is well written, clear, unique and philosophically sound. It's not just a good recovery book, it's a good Buddhist book, it's a good agnostic book, it's a good book for people struggling with related issues. In a world where the word "God" so often triggers defensiveness and creates a divide, Kevin's words build a bridge that makes 12 step programs accessible to people with non-traditional backgrounds and spiritual practices. He's doing the work of building community and he does it with humility while sharing personal experience. I'm lucky enough to know him as a friend and can say without hesitation that he's as sensible and generous in real life. This is a teacher who practices what he preaches.

[Steve Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this is a ripper! I have been delving into this particular line of inquiry for a while and have belted through 4 books already. All had something to offer but this one is a definitive work. Kevin Griffin's earleir work "One Breath At a Time" was a major stimulus for me to start on this path that has become so central to my life, not that at that time I really had any choice but to fall though the bottom of my rock bottom. That book showed me how to relate to 12 step programmes in a way that helped me overcome the stumbling blocks that had continued to hold me in the bondage of self and ultimately led me to despair and to give in to the self annihiliation of chronic addiction. That book was seminal to my recovery this time around, in this volume Griffin's ideas have gained depth and marturity and are all the more valuable for that. In 12 step programmes there exists an ever present hoary problem of the Higher Power. It is rarely discussed in a programme that has largely been co opted by a heavy Christian bias that was not, according to early documents, the intention of the founders. This book looks at that issue from a Buddhist perpsective...that would be from the perspective of what is rather than the way we would have things, he does this brilliantly. It is a way into the transformative process that underlies 12 step programs for anyone who has a problem with the "GOD" thing. The necessity for a power greater than self is clearly demonstrated and it is also made clear that the anthropomorphic guy in the sky deal so prevalent among AA members is just not it...though some people may find their way through this door it is not such a comfortable fit for most people. In my own experience I had to find a way to get around the pronouncements common in AA that I had to find God or die! In fact that process of trying to personalise God as so much of the programme and associated literature indicates as necessary has the seeds of defeat held within. The whole thrust is to get "My Higher Power" ( and a person isl left in little doubt at meetings what that should look like) nut inthat process the Higher Power is of"My" making, just another extension of the same ego, the same self that holds me in chains. The same chains which must be broken if we are to know serenity and peace.

The teachings of the Buddha, particularly the four Noble Truths, no self, impermanence and dependant origination have provided me with the daily tools in a form I can get hold of day by day minute by minute. The great failing of the AA programme for me was that despite my best effforts that included attendance at thousands of meetings over a 10 year period and doing everything that was suggested, it failed to provide those tools in a form that I could relate to. I know from listening at meetings and talking to others I am not the only one to have had that problem. This book can go a long way towards opening the door to that "new dimension" we are promised in the Big Book.

[Steve Malley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Kevin's second book and an incredible, solid reflection on 12-step work and Buddhism. I have dog-eared more pages in this book than any I have in any book I have read since the Dalai Lama's "Art of Happiness." His observations about alcoholic recovery and how he relates it to Buddhism rival Bill Wilson's 12 and 12 and other great works of spirituality and recovery. This is a must-read book for 12-steppers and anyone interested in an intimate look at a search for a higher power and how practical Buddhism can be applied in life.

[Kevin English · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin has a great voice and this is an excellent resource for people wondering what a “Higher Power” means to somebody who practices Buddhism (hint: it means many things).

I have been to a few of Kevin’s talks and I always learn something that I can apply to my own spirituality. The book is also well researched and well cited.

One of the things I really like about this book is it provides original “prayers” that can help align intentions with action. Here’s one example as it relates to lovingkindness that I found particularly helpful:

"I open my heart to love. I vow to cultivate generosity and unconditional lovingkindness for all beings. I will seek to abandon hatred and meet anger with compassion.”

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will appeal to a relatively narrow audience, but it is one of which I'm a part, and I found it tremendously insightful and helpful, one I believe I will revisit after this first reading.

[Michael Olear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading it a 2nd time as there was so much depth to appreciate and comprehend.

[James D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good follow up

There is a way to combine methods, and this book clarifies that. Simplified practices later out in a comprehensive manner.

[Shawn Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceedingly practical recommendations for the Buddhist, atheist, agnostic or otherwise non-deist addict negotiating the 12 steps of recovery which are heavily influenced by the notion of an "Abrahamic" God.

If you are fully compatible with the God of the original 12 steps (that of Christianity, Islam, Judaism) then this book is not likely going to interest you much. But if you're an agnostic or Buddhist addict and wrestle with reciting the steps that mention God, this book will quite likely resonate deeply. In particular, I'm relishing the idea of the "Higher Power of Karma."

'If we can see that "coming to believe" is an ongoing process, one that may continue to the end of our lives, then we may not struggle so much or worry about whether we are believing the "right" thing or that our beliefs are "true." Ultimately, I think we should be most concerned, not about the accuracy of our beliefs, but about their efficacy. Oftentimes I can't know if they are true, but I can usually tell if they are helping me or not. And that's what I want to know. Are my beliefs leading to the end of suffering?'

[Dave Senderoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't shower books with stars, so while I like this book, and got a lot out if it, I don't feel the need to rate it as a five. However, I do recommend this book, and I certainly wish it was available to me earlier in my recovery. I struggled with the idea of a higher power. As an agnostic, having hit the third step quite hard, I left the program, returning to recovery 18 months later. This book would have helped me get through the third step the first time.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will highly recommend this to persons trying to achieve recovery in a 12-step program, especially if they are struggling with the christian-centric idea of god and the higher power, and absolutely if they identify as Buddhist. This book is not revelatory, but certainly helpful and provides many interesting ideas of how to appraoch recovery using Buddhist principles, which have given me a healthy balance and other perspective compared to those traditionally provided in AA communities.

[Thomas Schulte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Big Book for Buddhists

I really enjoyed this book It covered a topic that I haven't seen colored elsewhere in as good a detail The author is white A good writer plus she has experience in recovery I highly recommend this book

[Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for anyone who has an interest in Buddhist philosophy and 12 Step work. Kevin writes very clearly and from a wealth of experience.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the description of "higher power" to be fascinating. I think it will be very helpful to use with individuals in therapy who are reticent to join AA because of an issue with the use of "God."

[Bjm Index]

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[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://windhorsepublications.com/not_...

[Leigh Farquhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Answered a lot o questions for me A must read for anyone following a 12 step programme

[Stephen]

3/31/21 - Reading as part of a book study group. Early reaction - it is helping me get comfortable with the whole Higher Power idea.