Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook Quotes

“Both Buddhism and the Twelve Steps present our spiritual journey as a process, a movement from pain and confusion to happiness and wisdom. The process they describe is not, I think, unique to either of them, but reflects each tradition's attempt to solve the human riddle of suffering. As such, I think that they each tap into something deeper than the forms, language, cultural trappings, and historical context from which they spring. I believe that they each express something archetypal, a path deeply embedded in human consciousness that has been explored by seekers since humans awakened to their own mortality.”
― Kevin Griffin, Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook: A Workbook for Individuals and Groups

“As long as we live in our illusions, both about ourselves and about the world, we have no chance of growing or changing. In the recovery world, this illusion is called "denial," the unwillingness to acknowledge our problem; in Buddhism it's called "wrong view," a distorted understanding of reality and ourselves. And so, the starting point for these twin paths is revealing ourselves-to ourselves and to others. We must look deeply and honestly at our thinking and our actions and admit our failings and our suffering. Until we take this first, often painful, step, we have no chance at recovery or happiness. Once we make these admissions, though, we discover that this self-revealing is actually the most freeing thing we can do.”
― Kevin Griffin, Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook: A Workbook for Individuals and Groups