Buddhist Recovery Network

Practicing In Sangha: Diversity & Belonging
2022-09-04 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | BRN Academy

A Place Between: What's Along the Middle Way?
2022-11-06 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
The Buddha revealed to us an eight-fold path as a way to work with and move beyond suffering, a way to be in recovery from the three poisons in all their many forms. How do we embrace this middle way of being with curiosity, awareness and engagement, and what does it reveal to us along the way? Let’s notice the qualities of the change that comes as a result of our efforts. Let’s practice widening our view to see the distances we’ve traveled, how we’re becoming, what energizes our practice and gives life to our regular steps along the way.

Beginning Again
2023-01-01 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
As the New Year starts, we renew our commitment to recovery and practice. This talk will focus on the importance of persistence and continuity in practice and recovery. The importance of finding joy in the simple experiences of life, in breathing, in walking, in being with others.

All You Need is Love
2023-02-05 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
In our world it seems that hate and anger are so prevalent it can feel overwhelming at times. In our own lives, it’s also quite easy for us to slip into aversion and othering while finding it fully justified. In this talk Mary discusses the need to name love as a foundation of our practice. The Buddha gave us the Metta Sutta as well as other teachings on how to be with a mind imbued with lovingkindness and compassion. This foundation of love will allow us to fully open to the world and to ourselves, letting go of the need to create barriers. Turning towards love is the answer.

Forgiveness on the Path to Recovery
2023-03-05 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
So many of us come into sobriety with a really poor relationship with ourselves and so heavily burdened with resentments towards ourselves and others. By practicing forgiveness, not in a theistic Christian outside ourselves way, but as self empowering and self healing way to start to let go, to change our relationship with, and to be truly free. It is imperative for forgiveness to be infused in all our practices and our path so that we can be liberated, experiencing the difference between just sobriety and the big Recovery, with a capital R!

Long Enduring Mind
2023-04-02 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
Recovery and dharma practice go through many ups and downs. How do we sustain our spiritual lives through the seasons of life?

The Karma Garden—A missing tool of Buddhist Recovery for process addictions
2023-05-07 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
Do you struggle with renouncing your compulsive behavior? Thomas has readapted a vital tool for process addictions into Buddhist framework, which they call “The Karma Garden: Watering Seeds of Self-Care.”
This tool helps you:

Define the behaviors you’re renouncing (the insatiable cravings and damage of hungry ghosts)
Keep alert of risky conditions (-Bad Karma seeds / Suffering)
Fill your cup with healthy self-care choices (+Good Karma / Healing)

https://insighttimer.com/ang

https://rd.rocks

Understanding No Self and a World Based on Identities
2023-06-04 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
For this session, in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride, Lev will read a poem from the book Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices and talk about why it’s important to honor who we all are, or identify, while also understanding the emptiness of us.

The Basic Pattern of Things: Managing Expectations
2023-07-02 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
The Buddha’s First Truth or Realisation was “Life is painful and then you die.” If this is true, then how do we respond to the disappointments of life and the certainty of death? This session will explore how we are conditioned to protect, promote and satisfy a ‘self’ which can never be satisfied. As the Buddha says “we are the slaves of craving”. Our wise-heartedness meditation will cultivate an appropriate attitude to the vicissitudes of life.

Committing to Change
2023-08-06 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy

The Zen Way of Recovery
2023-09-03 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
Laura will be sharing from her recently released book The Zen Way of Recovery: An Illuminated Path Out of the Darkness of Addiction, a collection of dharma talks on teachings that are congruent with recovery. The twin paths of Zen practice and recovery have evolved and sustained her since she got sober in 1985.
Here is a link to the book: https://www.shambhala.com/zen-way-of-recovery.html

Kate Johnson - October 2023
2023-10-01 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy

Recovering the Heart during distress times
2023-11-05 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy

My Journey Into Recovery and Dharma
2023-12-03 10:00 - 11:00
Since this is my first time speaking at the BRN Academy, I thought I would share some stories about my personal journey with you. I’ve been in recovery from drugs and alcohol since 1987, and there have been plenty of ups and downs along the way. Finding the practice of insight meditation and the Buddha’s path of liberation gave me a new sense of possibility in my life after years of being clean and sober in 12 step meetings.

I finally learned how to be more self-reliant. As the Buddha instructed in one sutta: “Dwell with yourselves as your own island, with yourselves as your own refuge, with no other refuge; dwell with the Dhamma as your island, with the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other refuge…” Of course, Sangha (community) is vitally important, too.

Topic: My Journey Into Recovery and Dharma
2023-12-03 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy

Bringing the New Year in with Wisdom
2024-01-07 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
Every day is a new year, and it’s an opportunity to do something different because the past has gone . However so many of us hold onto the past or cling onto a future that hasn’t even arrived. Today we will explore letting go and discovering a freedom in the present moment. Let’s leave behind our addictive and compulsive behaviors and face the reality of now!

Mary Stancavage - Finding Ease in the Present Moment -
2024-02-04 10:00 - 11:00
Finding ease in the present moment can sometimes feel like an impossible task – there is so much going on in the world and in our own lives and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. When things are challenging, we tend to fall into familiar patterns of reactivity which keep us either stuck in this overwhelm or getting lost in stories that don’t serve us. In this talk Mary will discuss different ways we get entangled and how we can get unstuck and move towards both equanimity and ease, regardless of what’s going on.

marystancavage.org
Seven Factors of Awakening

BRN March Teaching
2024-03-03 10:00 - 11:00

Vince Cullen - Higher Truths & Advanced Understandings
2024-03-03 10:00 - 11:00
The Buddha’s first official teaching was given to ‘noble ones’, that is the five ascetics who trained alongside Gautama, seeking an end to the suffering of this existence and an end to future rebirths.
The way out of suffering, the Buddha said, was the Middle Way; the middle path between the extremes of sensual existence. The first and most critical step of the Middle Way is appropriate understanding. And the first things we need to understand correctly are the realities and possibilities of being human.
Join me to explore what an advanced understanding of the ‘true’ realities of existence are and what an appropriate response might be in both our mental attitude and our engagement with the spectrum of sensuality.

Kevin Griffin - Deepening Attunement to Body, Feelings, and Mind
2024-04-07 10:00 - 11:00
In this talk we will explore how recovery and mindfulness can make us more sensitive internally and externally. Such increasing awareness allows us to let go on profound levels and wake up to our inherent wisdom and wholeness.

Venerable Pannavari Bhikkhuni - Loosening the Pain of Regret
2024-05-05 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
The pain of regret can bind us. We will discuss the ways we can unbind through the Dharma.

How 'Not Wanting' is the Key
2024-06-02 10:00 | BRN Academy
Next BRN Academy teaching with Walt Opie — June 2nd 2024 @ 10:00am US Pacific Time

I once heard the teacher Joseph Goldstein say on a retreat that what we are really practicing is “not wanting.” He added that this is the Third Noble Truth (of the Four Noble Truths). In this talk I will explore how I understand this and what it has meant to my practice and in my recovery process. Certainly when I was still drinking and using drugs I never once recall thinking that “not wanting” was the way to go.

Gary Sanders - Just assume the answer to every question is compassion
2024-07-07 10:00 - 11:00
“Just assume the answer to every question is compassion” – Father Greg Boyle in his book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

In Buddhism, compassion is the appropriate response to pain and whether we are new to sobriety and suffering the special kind of newcomer pain, or in long term recovery and suffering the pain of everyday life…compassion is ALWAYS the answer.

My hope this BRN Academy session is to explore some areas in recovery that aren’t talked about a whole lot: interpersonal relationships, secondary addictions, untreated or under treated trauma, and other topics that all can be proactively prepared for and met will compassion.

The Power of Choice
2024-08-04 10:00 - 11:00
Choices guide the manner in which we walk the path of Dharma. Can we use suffering to build joy? Can we turn the obstacles in our lives into good medicine for our growth?

Prayer

Nama Butsu, Nama Hou, Nama Sou

We honor our teachers, our teachings, and our communities,
Knowing that as we do so, we connect with that sacred center within each of us
that is the home of our deliverance from suffering.
It is our place of belonging, our place of unity, of communion, of oneness—
it is the Buddha nature which we all aspire to awaken.
It is the one Buddha mind that uplifts, supports, nurtures and encompasses us all.

As we unite together in oneness, each reflecting upon our own lives
and hearing the stories of other lives,
we come to a place of understanding our common ground and our sameness
and we release the suffering we have caused ourselves and others.
This moment is a change in our thinking, our behavior, our voices—
we come together in this truth—there is no separation between us.

Our participation today, is the beginning of a new way of showing up,
a new understanding of well considered causes,
in recognition that we are interconnected and that all our actions have impact,
and always we are one.
The truth of this recognition fuels every moment of intentional interaction
as we walk forward together on this day.

We are grateful for our awareness of our oneness in the Dharma;
we are grateful to know that we are victorious in our efforts for seeking awakening;
we are grateful to be alive to have each and every opportunity to transform our lives;
we are grateful that our hearts are a place of prayer;
always mindful, always intent on walking this path of liberation.

Each of our voices is a song of liberation;
together we form a chorus of awakening that lifts us all out of suffering.
This is our truth—we are the Buddha’s children,

we are the emissaries of love and compassion.

Teacher Bio
Myokei Caine-Barrett currently holds the position of Bishop of the Nichiren Shu Buddhist Order of North America. She is the first woman and the first American to hold this position. She is also the first American woman and first person of African American-Japanese descent to be fully ordained, having completed this process in 2007 with Archbishop Nissho Uchino in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. She is the guiding teacher and resident priest at Myoken-ji Temple in Houston, Texas.

Myokei Shonin continues to volunteer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as clergy to two prison Sanghas for the past 16 years in keeping with the Lotus Sutra teaching of full equality of all beings. Her writings have been published in a variety of Buddhist magazines [Tricycle, Lion’s Roar] and newspapers [Nichiren Shu News] and is featured in “The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women.” She is currently developing curriculum for (1) the Nichiren Shu tradition and the Lotus Sutra and (2) dealing with the trauma of incarceration and racism.

She also supports weekend trainings for Healing Warrior Hearts, a Texas for Heroes project designed to truly welcome veterans home. Myokei Shonin is a facilitator in dialogues on racism and managing conflict mindfully. She is also a licensed Religious Science practitioner.

Rev Christy Bates - Purification or Harmony?
2024-09-01 10:00 - 11:00
Topic of the teaching: “Purification or Harmony?”

We typically encounter the Teachings through the lens of a guilty self. Meanwhile, our English translations tend to skew in that direction, too. And we know that the suffering of greed, hatred and delusion first-hand. What might it be like to encounter the Dhamma with an intent to harmonize and transmute these energies? Come join Christie Bates (Passatininna) as we explore together!

Christy’s Website – https://www.passaticounseling.com/meditation
Christy’s App – https://www.passaticounseling.com/thebeautifulhuman
Aṅgulimāla Sutta – https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN86.html

Reaching Out and Connecting
2024-10-06 10:00 - 11:00
When things are difficult, it is all too easy to retreat into our own small worlds and lose connection with the bigger picture. Buddhist psychology suggests that as life takes its toll on us, we tend to reduce our personal spheres. We trap ourselves in loops of thought and behaviour. These can be very self-destructive and addictive, but breaking the cycles is not easy as they have been created over time and feel familiar and often (but not always) comforting. On the other hand, when we find the courage to move on, life becomes richer. Moving on is about connection. Connection to the world, ourselves and our environment. It can take many forms, but ultimately it involves trusting that the connection is worth making and allowing ourselves to be embraced by the reality that surrounds us.

Equanimity and Compassion for Precarious Times
2024-11-03 10:00 - 11:00
Fresh “Lev” White is a love and compassion activist. He offers mindfulness, mediation, and diversity trainings as tools for shifting towards more authentic, conscious, and passionate living. He teaches and writes about how unconditional love and self-compassion are the ultimate gateways to honoring and understanding others; thus, healing our communities and our planet.
Read more about Fresh on our Fresh “Lev” White teacher page.

December 2024 BRN Academy Teaching - Great Compassion
2024-12-01 10:00 - 11:00
Opportunity!
MBAR (Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery) Course
December 9, 2024 – January 4, 2025

28 days of support during xmas and new year – one 15 minute coaching video sent a day – and meet Vimalasara on a webinar if you have extra time to support your recovery

Special Price for BRN ($90)

www.eventbrite.com/e/906074642647/?discount=VSMailingList

Teacher Bio
Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John was the co-founder and guiding teacher of Healing and Insight, an online faculty that explored the sharp edges of suffering. Award-winning author of 11 books, they are the co-founder and co-author of Eight Step Recovery: Using The Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction, with 8 step meetings in 3 continents. This year their new book a First Aid Kit for the Mind: Breaking the Cycle of Habitual Behaviours was published. They are one of the founding facilitators of Dr Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry. They live on the unceded territory of Kanata.

Mature Recovery: Going Beyond the Self with Anshin Devin Ashwood
2025-01-05 10:00 - 11:00

Meeting the moment with a Clear Heart with Carol Cano
2025-02-02 10:00 - 11:00 | BRN Academy
Meeting the moment of high stress with a clear heart involves embracing the challenge with a sense of calm and purpose. It’s about grounding yourself in the present, acknowledging the pressure without letting it overwhelm you. A clear heart means letting go of unnecessary tension, judgment, or fear, and instead responding with clarity, focus, and compassion. It’s the ability to breathe deeply, find inner strength, and choose the most thoughtful and constructive course of action. In these moments, your heart remains steady, and you allow yourself to move through the stress with grace and resilience, knowing that the situation is temporary and that you have the tools to navigate it effectively.
“Buddhadasa Bhikkhu reminds us that Dhamma is always available to us, in every moment. It is not an external concept, but an inner experience that we can touch in our daily lives.”
