Depression and alcohol

[reef]

I try every day to be a good person and to follow the path that lays ahead for me but when i come across an obstacle that i cant climb my first reaction is to grab a bottle ...... im ashamed that as a self proclaimed buddhist i fail myself at every obstacle when buddha himself overcame all he had to deal with ...i need to immerse myself in buddha and all he embodies but feel that maybe i have already lost the right to be a part of his world .. Am i still worthy or do i deserve that Karma that i get ....

[Trilaksana]

Everyone's worthy. The Buddha taught a murderer who becomes an enlightened monk.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit....086.than.html

[Aloka]

Hi reef,

We all start where we are when we begin to practice the Dhamma, nobody is expected to be perfect.

Regarding the alcohol, if you don't buy it in the first place, then there won't be a bottle for you to grab !

I suggest that you start watching Ajahn Jayasaro's Buddhist Meditation videos and doing a little meditation every day instead of drinking. Just 10 minutes morning and evening is ok to begin with. You can find more about them by looking at the meditation thread in our Study Links section. Each video is only a few minutes long.

http://www.buddhismwithoutboundaries...0131#post40131

However, if your drinking habits have got out of control, maybe you could have a look at the "Buddhist Recovery Network" I don't know anything firsthand about it myself but it might be worth investigating.

http://www.buddhistrecovery.org/

With kind wishes,

Aloka

[SeeknShinjin]

Hello Reef,

Its ok, Were human. I also so easily give in to cravings, I cannot help it. We are human, not Buddha. its ok to fall, just get back up, we can learn from this. Everything we encounter is a teacher. So we can learn from all.

You are always wothy, its not for anyone to decide. Even a murder of the buddhas time Angulimalla was wothy see here:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit....086.than.html

Although he had to deal with the past karma he created, he transcended it, he just accepted it. But he created none of the karma of what he did in the past again. To me he saw what he was, he learned and changed.

So, when I am constantly seeking dharma, there is no time to take part in the "bad", just surround yourself in dharma. Maybe find a local temple or sangha, this will help alot.

But its ok to fall, all that matters is if we get back up.

Gassho,

SS

[Aloka]

Even a murder of the buddhas time Angulimalla was wothy see here:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit....086.than.html

Trilaksana already mentioned that sutta #2

Lovely to see that people are thinking of and quoting the suttas though !

[Aloka]

Hello again reef,

We have a recent thread "Effect of Alcohol" which might also be of interest to you :


http://www.buddhismwithoutboundaries...ect-of-alcohol

[ModernLuddite]

Your local library will have a copy of the Alcoholics Anonymous book. I recommend reading it. I also recommend attending meetings, but the book is also quite good.

It's a part of my personal Buddhist canon.

[Chang]

Hi reef
You have come to a sanitary place. Buddhists know the bad effect of wine. Make sure to go to a doctor and prepare to renounce wine. I encourage you to quit wine as soon as possible. Go to a doctor and go to a Guru at your region. They will help you stop drinking.

Wines really cause tragedy in you and your family. I need not to say more explict. You are not a good buddhist actually now, but I think you have the power to change. Get free form the material that make you feel so bad.

[Stormsy]

Get outside (in nature) and breathe. At this point, you might reveal thought patterns that have never risen before. Do not think of your problems or the benefits that come with ceasing them. Instead, go out and look back into yourself without any attachment to the self, then see everything more clearly.

Never ask whether you are still "worthy". The past nor future do not exist in reality. With that said, the only physical reality we can be absolutely sure of is the present moment, now. You are always ready to leave what you have done behind and further yourself unto enlightenment.

Metta

[Alexey]

I try every day to be a good person and to follow the path that lays ahead for me but when i come across an obstacle that i cant climb my first reaction is to grab a bottle ...... im ashamed that as a self proclaimed buddhist i fail myself at every obstacle when buddha himself overcame all he had to deal with ...i need to immerse myself in buddha and all he embodies but feel that maybe i have already lost the right to be a part of his world .. Am i still worthy or do i deserve that Karma that i get ....

Hello Reef,

Its ok, Were human. I also so easily give in to cravings, I cannot help it. We are human, not Buddha. its ok to fall, just get back up, we can learn from this. Everything we encounter is a teacher. So we can learn from all.

To complete, i would say that is good sometimes to fall, after that you would be able to help others in this probleme with alcohool, because you have alredy this experiance of practice.

Agree with every body in this topic, its a goods advices. Advices to be heared by the one.