A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery

A Burning Desire is a gift for those who struggle with the Twelve Step program’s focus on the need to surrender to a Higher Power. Taking a radical departure from traditional views of God, Western or Eastern, author Kevin Griffin neither accepts Christian beliefs in a Supreme Being nor Buddhist non-theism, but rather forges a refreshing, sensible, and accessible Middle Way. Griffin shows how the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, can be understood as a Higher Power. Karma, mindfulness, impermanence, and the Eightfold Path itself are revealed as powerful forces that can be accessed through meditation and inquiry.

Drawing from his own experiences with substance abuse, rehabilitation, and recovery, Griffin looks at the various ways that meditation and spiritual practices helped deepen his experience of sobriety. His personal story of addiction is not only raw, honest and engrossing, but guides readers to an inquiry of their own spirituality. In doing so, he poses profound questions, including:

·         How can I understand God from a Buddhist perspective?

·         How can I “turn my will and my life over” as a Buddhist?

·         How can this idea of God “remove my shortcomings”?

·         How do I learn this God’s “will”?

• Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World
• Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life After Addiction
• One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps
• Buddhism and the Twelve Steps: A Recovery Workbook for Individuals and Groups
• Recovery Dharma: How to Use Buddhist Practices and Principles to Heal the Suffering of Addiction
• Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction
• Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction
• Dharma of Recovery: Using Buddhist Practice and Principles to End the Suffering of Addiction
• Mindfulness and the 12 Steps: Living Recovery in the Present Moment
• The 12-Step Buddhist: Enhance Recovery from Any Addiction