What is Recovery Dharma?

Links to the chapter of the book on which the rest of this page is based.

Introduction:

• Preface: Book   

• What is Recovery Dharma? Book 

• Introduction: Audio 

Refuge in Community

• Loving Kindness

• Generosity, Service

• Concentration

Lists

• Recovery Dharma Glossary

• Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

• Ten Pāramitās: Perfections or Wise Practices

• Four Heart Practices: Kindness, Compassion, Equanimity, Appreciative Joy

• Five Hindrances: Craving, Resentment, Sloth, Worry, Doubt

Mindfulness of Foot Steps

As you walk through your week, pay attention to your feet hitting the ground. 

Mantra: Loving Kindness

Repeat a supportive phrase 

• May I be happy, healthy, safe, and live with ease.

Sitting Practice

Take time to sit in meditation

• RD  Body: Script | Recording

• RD Loving Kindness: Script | Recording

If you need inspiration with this part of the practice, return to the Inquiry heading on the Title Page of the Practice Guide

Remembering

• Bring to mind someone who has been kind or helpful to you in the past.  

• See if you can recall a specific time when they showed their kindness.  

• Where were you? What did they do, or say?  

• How do you feel in your body when you think of this kindness? 

Explore to see if they showed any of these other qualities as well in that situation.

• Reliable

• Consistency

• Honesty

• Patience

• Inviting

• Joyful

• Generous

• Empthy

MI - What do I Value in a Friend?

Choose one or two of these questions to start.  Try writing about them or talk with a wise friend or mentor about your thoughts.

Desires for this practice

• What are you looking for from this program?

• What do you hope our practice will accomplish?

Vision of Life

• How would you like your life to be in a year’s time? 

Imagine the specifics

• What do you want from your job?

• What do you want for your physical health?

• What do you want for your physical health?

•  What do you want from your relationships with others?

DBT - Distress Tolerance

• S.T.O.P. Skill 

We Attend Recovery Meetings

• Find more meetings to attend

• Sart to participate in meetings by sharing your experience or reading during the meeting.

• Practice talking to others before and after the meeting. 

• Find ways to practice kindness and generosity with yourself and with others in the Sangha.

• Recovery Dharma Global - Find A Meeting

We cultivate Friendships

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• Find out if the meeting has an online discussion group on Facebook, Slack, Whatsapp, or Discord.  Ask how to join. 

• If others use the brochure to write down a list of their contacts, accept it and reach out between meetings - even if it is just a text - consider it an act of generosity to reach out to others.

Create and maintain safe, supportive meetings and organizational structures.

Have a plan to welcome visitors and new members with a sense of Loving Kindness
Ideas include:

• Have greeter volunteer/s be a resource before and after the meeting.

• Include logistics in the opening

• Directly invite newer members to read and share.

• Include wisdom from codependency recovery communities to help recognize when volunteering has shifted from energizing to depleting.

Insight

• Talk: Seek Those Who Fan Your Flames, Shell Fisher, IMC Washington

• Talk: Refuge as Practice - Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia  - IMS Forest Refuge 

• Talk: What is Spiritual Friendship?  - James Baraz - Spirit Rock MC 

• Talk: Moving from Judgment to Curiosity  - Pamela Weiss 

• Talk: Ripening the Heart with Friendship

• Talk: Offering our Hearts - Shell Fisher 

•  Talk: Metta, Friendship, Connectedness, Interdependence  - Arya B. Baumann 

• Talk:  Introduction to Metta, Lovingkindness -  Sharon Salzberg 

• Talk: Spiritual Friendship - Brian Lesage 

• Talk: The Path of Friendship  - Greg Scharf 

• Talk: Taking Refuges and Precepts - ill Shepherd - Auckland IMC

• Talk: Full Contact Compassion - Vinney Ferraro - IMS Retreat Center

• Meditation: Walking Meditation - La Sarmiento - IMC Washington

• Talk: Refuge in Sangha and & Spiritual Friends - James Baraz - IMC Berkeley 

• Talk: Refuge in Sangha -Mark Nunberg -  Common Ground Meditation Center 

• Talk: Generosity - Vinny Ferraro 

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• Talk: When You are Struggling and You Need a Friend - Matthew Hepburn - Insight Meditation Society  58:50

• Talk: Community: A Part of the Whole - IMC Washing - 43:31 -

• Talk: Transmission of the Teaching Through Community - IMC Redwood City - 44:45

• Talk: Taking Refuges and Precepts - Aukland IMC - 31:56 

Retreats

• The links to these specific retreats will be repeated throughout the Practice Resources section of this site.  You can focus your listening on these talks as you work through the Recovery Dharma Program.

• Insight Meditation Retreat 2022
  Mindfulness Meditation and Heart Practices
  James Baraz, Tempel Smith, JD Doyle
  Spirit Rock Meditation Center 

Thai Forest / Theravada

• 2:36 - Recognizing Goodness - Abhayagiri

• 4:53 - It's Not Random - Abhayagiri

• 5:16 - Start With Peace - Metta

• 11:07 - Refuge - Metta

• 12:38 - A Refuge from Illness, Aging and Death - Metta

• 35:05 - Our Real Home - Abhayagiri

• Topic Page - Spiritual Strengths and Factors of Awakening - Abhayagiri

• 15;089 - Admirable Friendship - Metta Forest Monastery

• 35:28 - Make Time for Connection with Others Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery

Secular | Academic

• Talk: What are the Three Refuges?  - Doug Smith - Secular Buddhist Association

• Talk: Kindness is Central to Practice! - Doug Smith - Secular Buddhist Association 

• Quiz - Connection To Humanity - UC Berkeley

• 16:37 - No Local Meditation Group? Six S olutions - SBA

• 29:21 - Loving Kindness Meditation: First of the Brahmaviharas - SBA

Recordings from people who are members of communities that are currently underrepresented in Western Buddhist communities will be pulled from the list above and highlighted here.