Zen and Addiction Recovery

When people first become sober, their lives can lack meaning. This is a dangerous situation because if life does not have any real purpose, the individual may not believe there is any point in staying sober. People can use this lack of meaning in life to justify a relapse.

When people are addicted, alcohol and drugs are their primary concerns. The purpose of life is to find, consume, and get over the effects of these chemicals. When the individual becomes sober, they must find a new meaning. Zen could provide this.

Zen – Religion or Philosophy?

There can be some debate about describing Zen as a religion or a philosophy. However, there is no supreme god in Buddhism, and the Buddha invited people to investigate his teachings for themselves. There is far less emphasis on accepting things based on faith than other religions. It is up to the individual practitioner to decide whether to adopt Zen as a religion or philosophy.

More about Zen

Zen is a school of Buddhism that originated in China (where it is called Chan) and later spread to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.

An Indian monk, Bodhidharma, brought Buddhism to China around the sixth century CE. Zen emphasizes the importance of meditation as a means to achieve enlightenment. The original teachings can be traced back to Sakyamuni Buddha, believed to have lived between 563 BCE and 483 BCE.

The aim of Zen Buddhism is for humans to see the reality of their situation. The most basic of the Buddha’s teachings are the Four Noble Truths, and these are:

  1. There is suffering, and this can be physical or emotional. (People often misquote the Buddha as saying that life is suffering, but he only pointed out that there is suffering)
  2. The causes of suffering are craving and ignorance. People are ignorant of their true nature and believe that happiness can be found by pleasing their senses
  3. It is possible to escape the suffering of life
  4. The eightfold path provides a path that will help people escape from suffering.

The Eightfold Path is made up of the following:

  1. Right thoughts
  2. Right understanding
  3. Right effort
  4. Right speech
  5. Right action
  6. Right livelihood
  7. Right concentration
  8. Right mindfulness

The Zen view of addiction

From a Zen perspective, we may view addiction as an extreme form of attachment. Alcoholics and addicts try to fill up a space missing from their lives and dampen their pain. Addicts often refer to the missing space an individual wishes to escape as a hole in their soul.

According to Zen Buddhism, this feeling of something missing arises because individuals wrongly view themselves utterly separate from the rest of existence. In other words, people become addicted to alcohol or drugs because of a mistaken idea about what they are. If the individual can see the reality of their situation, there will be no need for any substance abuse—this is the aim of Zen. This aligns with the psychological view of denial, part of addiction.

How Zen can help in addiction recovery

Practising Zen can help people stay away from alcohol and drugs permanently. This is because it allows the individual to see the true nature of their situation and that substance abuse will not be able to fix it.

Practices such as meditation can lead people on a path away from addiction and towards an end to their suffering. The practitioner begins to enjoy clarity in their mental processes, and numbing their brain with chemicals no longer seems attractive.

Types of Zen practice for people in recovery

Several Zen practices can be of value to people in recovery, including:

  • Zazen can be translated as ‘seated meditation’. This is the heart of Zen practice, and the practitioner aims to develop insight into the nature of reality.
  • Koan: you can practice this while sitting or walking. It involves considering a set of contradictory ideas, as this forces the brain to think differently.
  • Chanting is a practice that allows the practitioner to unify their body and mind. This technique can increase levels of concentration and help the individual gain a better understanding of reality.

How to practice Zazen

Zazen is usually considered the heart of Zen practice. It is best to learn this type of meditation under the guidance of an experienced teacher. The approach to Zazen usually involves:

Wearing must comfortable clothing.

  • Finding a stable, comfortable position that allows the breath to flow freely. Most practitioners will sit on the floor and use a pillow (Zafu), but it is possible to do Zazen while seated in a chair.
  • The spine needs to be straight when doing this type of meditation because this allows the diaphragm to move more freely.
  • When practising Zazen, it is usual for people to breathe through their noses. The tongue touches the roof of the mouth, which reduces salivation.
  • It is not usual to close the eyes fully in this type of meditation. Instead, the practitioner focuses on the ground a couple of feet before them.
  • The session begins by repeatedly counting the breaths up to ten, which means counting the inhalations and the exhalations.
  • Whenever the practitioner notices their mind has wandered, they must bring it back by counting their breath.
  • Once people feel comfortable counting each inhalation and exhalation without distraction, they can switch to counting each breath cycle.

Advanced practitioners will eventually be able to stop counting and observe the breath.

Things to consider when practising Zazen

If you hope to benefit from the practice of Zazen, there are a few things worth considering:

  • It is necessary to meditate regularly to get the most from this practice
  • It can be more beneficial to do Zazen as part of a group
  • The problem with practising this meditation alone is that it is easy to go off track. The goal of a Zazen instructor is to keep the practitioner on the right path
  • Beginners can start by meditating for ten minutes daily and then build up to longer sitting times
  • Sitting in Zazen and expecting something special to happen quickly defeats the practice
  • Such traditional pursuits enhance recovery.

If you or a loved one is struggling with an addiction, click www.hopetrustindia.com for an online appointment with an expert.