Kevin Griffin - A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

Praise for A Burning Desire

In this wise, compassionate, and courageous Big Book, Kevin Griffin has
swung wide the doors between the church basement and the meditation hall.
His gentle voice speaks, with clarity and love, to new generations of addicts
seeking freedom and awakening.A Burning Desirepromises to be the
seminal text for the recovery community of the 21st century!

William Alexander, story teller and author of Cool Water:
Alcoholism, Mindfulness, and Ordinary Recovery

A truly helpful bridge between the power of 12-Step
work and the power of the Dharma.

Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart

A Burning Desireis a much needed addition to the growing field of
Buddhism and recovery. Kevin is a master at building bridges between the 12
Steps and Buddhism. I highly recommend this book to anyone in recovery!

Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx and Against the Stream

There are many parallels between 12-Step programs and Buddhist
approaches to addiction recovery. Kevin Griffin gives a personal and
powerful account of how these concepts have helped him. I highly
recommend it as a landmark book in the path of recovery.

G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D., University of Washington,
author of Relapse Prevention and Assessment of Addictive Behaviors

Kevin Griffins original burning desire was for alcohol, but it is now to
share his hard won wisdom with the world. This book is a gift to us all.
Roger Walsh M.D., Ph.D., University of California Medical School,
author of Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices

Kevin Griffins new bookA Burning Desire: Dharma God &
the Path of Recoveryis a beautiful interweaving of two vital paths
of healing, ancient Buddhist teachings and the modern 12-Step tradition.
He unfolds the concepts of God and a Higher Power, so central to the
12-Step tradition, so that they become not just accessible, but deeply
meaningful to those who may have found the image of a grandfather
God difficult or confusing. Its a book to be read and re-read, to be owned
and loaned, and to be given as a welcome gift to anyone in recovery.

Jan Chozen Bays, abbott, Great Vow Zen Monastery;
author of Mindful Eating and Jizo Bodhisattva

ALSO BY KEVIN GRIFF IN

ONE BREATH AT A TIME:
Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

Copyright 2010 by Kevin Griffin

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Design: Riann Bender

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Griffin, Kevin Edward.

A burning desire : dharma, God and the path of recovery / Kevin Griffin. 1st ed.
p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4019-2321-1 (tradepaper : alk. paper) 1. Twelve-step programs
Religious aspectsBuddhism. 2. Self-help techniquesReligious aspectsBuddhism. 3. Spiritual lifeBuddhism. I. Title.

BQ4570.T85G73 2009

294.3'4442dc22

2009028626

ISBN: 978-1-4019-2321-1

13 12 11 10 4 3 2 1

1st edition, January 2010

Printed in the United States of America

For Dave, Jerry, Pat, and Michael,
the wolves who raised me

Before we close the meeting, does anyone
have a burning desire to share?
Twelve Step meeting format

I believe, however, that this fervent thirst for wholeness, as well as the
discomfort with it, is the underlying impulse behind addictions.
The Thirst for Wholeness, Christina Grof

Is alcohol, then, a way of searching for God,
the ultimate source of wholeness and life?
Thirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience, James B. Nelson

C ONTENTS

As I was working on this book, I began to wonder if I was crazy taking on such a topic. What do I know about God? Im not a theologian, and the religion that I subscribe to is considered by most people to be non-theistic. Besides, I tend to shy away from dogma and the trappings of ritual and devotion. In my circles, coastal, well-educated, politically progressive, God is pretty much a non-starter. Isnt that something for the fundamentalists and red-staters?

But Im a recovering alcoholic and addict. For over 20 years Ive been working the Twelve Steps, which have all kinds of references to God and Higher Power. Ive had to deal with the incongruities of being a Buddhist practitioner who turned his will and his life over to the care of God for a long time. When I began writing and teaching about Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, it was largely because Id seen so many people struggle with the God issue and I was hoping that I could ease that struggle a bit.

The Twelve Step tradition suggests we find a God of our own conception, a Higher Power we can understand for ourselves. In this way, we avoid affiliating with any religion or restricting peoples spiritual options. This is one of the important ways that the Steps stay as welcoming as possible.

Im not, in this book, suggesting that you adopt a God of my understanding. I honor and respect those who have a fulfilling sense of connection with the concept of God. Rather I am trying to help those people who struggle to find a reasonable, intellectually acceptable definition of God. Not everyone needs to understand God intellectually in order to feel comfortable in their Step work, but for those who do, I believe that the lens of Buddhism can give a vision of a Higher Power that makes sense.

I admit that I have another reason for talking about God from a Buddhist perspective. I want to address the neo-atheists and suggest that in throwing out the bathwater of magical, blind-faith-based religious beliefs, they may have also thrown out the baby of authentic spirituality, a spirituality that is in complete harmony with a rational, scientific viewpoint.

What I want to discourageboth in my readers and in myselfis the notion that my viewpoint is