Kevin Griffin

Guest Teacher

Kevin Griffin is a Buddhist teacher and author of several books, including One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, and his latest Buddhism & the Twelve Steps DAILY REFLECTIONS. A longtime Buddhist practitioner and 12 Step participant, he is a leader in the mindful recovery movement and one of the founders of the Buddhist Recovery Network. Kevin is a husband, father and musician. His album “Laughing Buddha” is a collection of rock and world beat tunes with Buddhist themes.

Kevin Griffin

Interrupting an addiction means interrupting a very powerful force. The great challenge is this: how do we engage in an effort to change that isn’t driven by grasping, that isn’t creating more suffering? This is why it’s important that we keep an attitude of kindness when we meditate, otherwise it can turn into another struggle to achieve something or to do something right. Our practice of mindfulness is a vital step in any kind of love or self-compassion practice. If there isn’t kindness inherent in this process of recovery, it's not recovery.

 
Kevin Griffin, Self-Compassion

Kevin Griffin's Upcoming Programs

Retreat On-Land

Sunday, December 29 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Keep Coming Back: Mindfulness Practices for Recovery and Renewal

6 CE Credits. Our Dharma practice and our recovery program each rest on the foundation of intention and commitment. One day at a time and one breath at a time, we keep coming back to the present moment and to our wish to be free. This daylong retreat will focus on renewing our commitment and maintaining our program and practice. Through mindfulness meditations, lectures, interactive exercises, and personal reflection, we will seek fresh inspiration for a year of growth and happiness.

Kevin Griffin

Kevin Griffin

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Retreat Online

Sunday, December 29 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Keep Coming Back: Mindfulness Practices for Recovery and Renewal

6 CE Credits. Our Dharma practice and our recovery program each rest on the foundation of intention and commitment. One day at a time and one breath at a time, we keep coming back to the present moment and to our wish to be free. This daylong retreat will focus on renewing our commitment and maintaining our program and practice. Through mindfulness meditations, lectures, interactive exercises, and personal reflection, we will seek fresh inspiration for a year of growth and happiness.

Kevin Griffin

Kevin Griffin

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Upcoming Drop-Ins

Drop-in Online

Friday, December 13 7:15 PM - 9:15 PM

Dharma and Recovery Group

Open to all in recovery. Our Dharma & Recovery group explores the intersection of recovery with Buddhist teachings and practices. We welcome all people who identify with any of the full range of addictions, from substances to behaviors, as well as habitual thought and emotional patterns. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.

Kevin Griffin

Kevin Griffin

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View all programs by Kevin Griffin

Dharma Library

Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Kevin Griffin through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.

Picks from the Library

Talks

June 9, 2023 | 1 hour 24 min

Mindfulness and Recovery

Kevin Griffin

This practice asks us, challenges us, to become comfortable with our own mind. Mindfulness lets us have some clarity and understanding of what's actually going on with our mind-body system and then allows us to have more choices. So mindfulness is kind of an intervention. Because if the definition of addiction includes the idea that you're not deciding anything—you are being dictated to by your addiction—then being able to intervene in that, to perform this sort of mindful intervention, gives us the chance to actually change the whole flow and direction of our lives.

Talks

January 13, 2023 | 1 hour 16 min

Self-Compassion

Kevin Griffin

Interrupting an addiction means interrupting a very powerful force. The great challenge is this: how do we engage in an effort to change that isn’t driven by grasping, that isn’t creating more suffering? This is why it’s important that we keep an attitude of kindness when we meditate, otherwise it can turn into another struggle to achieve something or to do something right. Our practice of mindfulness is a vital step in any kind of love or self-compassion practice. If there isn’t kindness inherent in this process of recovery, it's not recovery.

Talks

September 11, 2020 | 1:30:00

Dharma and Recovery

Kevin Griffin

What’s most important about karma is what I call our emotional karma. What does it feel like when you make amends? If you work the 12 Steps, it’s a really precious thing to do. Not because it fixes anything, but because it changes you. It actually gives you a feeling of strength because the burden of the past, of guilt and regret, keeps us hiding, keeps us fearful, keeps us trying not to look, not to feel. But when we can stand up, and say “Yes, this is true,” then there’s a freedom that comes with that. What “making amends” does is that it finally convinces us of the value of honesty, and of the freedom that comes when we stop protecting the ego.

Talks

December 29, 2018 | 33 min.

Keep Coming Back: Dharma, Recovery and Renewal

Kevin Griffin

We want to let go of negative patterns and adopt positive patterns. In Buddhism, this is called “right effort.” We’re going to abandon the negative behaviors, thought patterns, speech patterns—all that destructive behavior—and we’re going to cultivate positive patterns in our lives. It is through changing our thoughts, words, and deeds, rather than through God intervening and fixing our lives, that we are going to change our lives. By definition, we’re going to change ourselves. We’re going to become different people who operate differently because we think, speak, and act differently now.
View all teachings by Kevin Griffin in our Dharma Library