PLUM VILLAGE
A Global Community of Practice Centers
In the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh
"The nature of the self and its transformation is the basic teaching of Buddhism. In a very real sense, this is also the concern of the steps - a careful and systematic deconstruction of the alcoholic self and its rebuilding based on different assumptions, reactions, core values and relationships."
9 Essays, Buddhism and the 12 Step Model of Recovery,
Meditation In Recovery Group, (sfzc.org)
The written and spoken words of these four individuals are the inspiration for this site.
Jiddu
Krishnamurti
1895 - 1986
Therese
Jacobs-Stewart
On this site, all of the words and phrases that are underlined have links. When you click on them they take you off of this site or to a different page on this site. Most of the pictures also contain links.
Mindpracthing.com is the result of our efforts to develop a meeting format that would help us maintain our spiritual condition through the practices of Mindfulness and Meditation. The Big Book tells us that even though we have found a higher power and had a spiritual awakening as the result of working the 12 Steps, “We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” The way we look at it, the Buddhist practice of Mindfulness is the equivalent of Christian Spirituality; therefore, by expanding our mindfulness and deepening our meditation practice, we maintain our spiritual condition.
Above all, we wanted a meeting that was focused on the Steps and that had but one primary purpose - to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. The fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and working the 12 Steps within that fellowship saved our lives and we hope that all of our Buddhist brothers and sisters who are still suffering from the effects of drugs and alcohol might have the same opportunity we had of getting clean and sober. Recently, the incidents of alcoholism and drug addiction have risen sharply; however, the access to quality and affordable treatment, which was never good, has become even worse. For these reasons, we wanted to have a meeting that remained within the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. Like it says, a desire to stop drinking is the only requirement for membership.​ The pages under the HOME tab deal primarily with how we came to the conclusion that just as you can have "a god of your understanding," you can also have a spirituality of your understanding.
Under the 12 STEPS & MINDFULNESS tab on the main menu bar, we present the 12 Steps from the perspective of the Meditation in Recovery group at the San Francisco Zen Center. The Meditation in Recovery group at the SFZC is responsible for a set of essays on and about the Twelve Steps titled Buddhism and the 12 Step Method of Recovery. In their introduction to these essays they present an explanation of how these essays came about. You may read that introduction and the nine essays in PDF format at this link.
The content of CONTEMPLATIVE NEUROSCIENCE explores the integration of neuroscience, contemplative practices and Ancient Eastern Wisdom Traditions. This science has provided the research base for the evidence that the repeated experience of intense meditation produces extremely positive altered human personality traits such as compassion, self-acceptance, life-purpose, autonomy, self-mastery, personal growth, and an undisturbed, contemplative mind. These results are enumerated in many professional science journals, academic reports and books, just one of which is "Altered Traits." ​ At the bottom of the CONTEMPLATIVE NEUROSCIENCE dropdown box you will find the subtab labled Start Your Own Meeting. This subtab contains a Meeting Leader's Guide for an Awakening To 12 Step Recovery meeting format. Please copy and paste this guide and use it for your own meeting. Modify it any way you choose or make up your own guide. The guide also contains links to pdfs of varius readings like How It Works, the A.A. Preamble and other readings that you may want to use to open your meeting.
The MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION tab on the main menu bar is concerned with how to be mindful in general and how to meditate in particular. The purpose of meditation is personal transformation and healing. In a very real sense this is also the purpose of the Steps - a careful and systematic deconstruction of the alcoholic self and its rebuilding based on different assumptions, reactions, core values and relationships. The mindfulness meditation practices that are outlined in the subtabs of the MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION tab, when taken together, are intended to be a very basic Mindfulness Meditation beginner’s manual in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
​
"It is not necessary to throw away your tradition, religion or family. Keep everything and introduce mindfulness, peace, joy into it.
Your friends will see the value of mindfulness through you–not through what you say, but through your being."
Thich Nhat Hanh
​
In our opinion it is quite difficult and rather disingenuous to discuss mindfulness in general and meditation in particular without references to and discussions of Buddhist psychology, history and philosophy. Many consider Buddhism as a religion with its own deities, theologies and rituals; however, there is also a school of Secular Buddhism. It is this type of Buddhism that we are referring to throughout this website.​