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Resources

Organizations, books, and tools we recommend for Buddhist-informed recovery.

Community Organizations

Insight Denver

Insight Denver

A local Buddhist and Insight Meditation community open to all — not recovery-focused, but a wonderful space for deepening practice.

Visit Insight Denver
Dave Smith Dharma

Dave Smith Dharma

Integrates early Buddhist teachings with trauma-informed recovery work, offering practical, accessible Dharma for healing, growth, and transformation.

Visit Dave Smith Dharma
Buddhist Recovery Network

Buddhist Recovery Network

Offers online meetings, virtual retreats, podcasts, and many more resources that focus on applying Buddhist practice to recovery from addiction.

Visit BRN

Recommended Reading

Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook

Buddhism & The Twelve Steps Workbook

Kevin Griffin

kevingriffin.net
One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps

Kevin Griffin

kevingriffin.net
Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction

Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction

Noah Levine

refugerecovery.org
No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners

No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners

Noah Rasheta

Open Library
Recovery Dharma

Recovery Dharma

Recovery Dharma

recoverydharma.org
Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book

Bill W.

AA.org

Meditation Practices

While we are developing our own content, we refer people to these trusted meditation apps and resources used by our community.

Basic Breath Meditation

The simplest and most universal entry point into practice. Resting attention on the natural rhythm of the breath trains the mind to settle and return. A foundation that supports every other form of meditation.

Shamatha

Calm abiding — the practice of settling the mind in stillness and ease. By resting attention gently on the breath, we cultivate a stable, clear foundation from which all deeper practice can arise.

Vipassana

Insight meditation — the direct investigation of experience as it arises. Through sustained mindful attention, we learn to see clearly the impermanence of all phenomena and loosen the grip of craving and aversion.

Concentration

The deliberate, sustained focusing of attention on a single object, developing unification and depth of mind. Strong concentration supports both calm and insight, and opens the doorway to deeper meditative absorption.

Brahmaviharas

The four heart practices: loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha). These cultivate an open, warm heart toward ourselves and all beings — central to the recovery path.

Four Foundations of Mindfulness

The Buddha's complete map of mindful awareness, drawn from the Satipatthana Sutta: mindfulness of body (kaya), feeling tones (vedana), states of mind (citta), and mental phenomena (dhamma).

Meditation Apps

The Way

A deep, structured path through ancient Zen and Buddhist meditation traditions, guided by Zen Master Henry Shukman. Offers a single long-term curriculum — no choice of what to do next, just practice.

Insight Timer

The world's largest free meditation library — 100,000+ guided sessions from 20,000+ teachers across every tradition. A vast resource for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

Waking Up

Sam Harris's secular mindfulness app. Rigorous, philosophically grounded practice drawing on Vipassana, Loving-Kindness, Dzogchen, and Zen. Free for anyone who cannot afford it.

Plum Village

Free guided meditations, deep relaxations, and Dharma talks from Zen Master Thich Nhất Hạnh and the Plum Village monastic community. Completely free — a gift to the world.