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Drug Rehab in Monastery
Hi,
I'm planning to visit a Buddhist Monastery to help me stop doing things like smoking ciggarrettes and snorting cocaine. Do you think this a good option, as I know in places like Thailand it works to do this.
Thanks
I'm planning to visit a Buddhist Monastery to help me stop doing things like smoking ciggarrettes and snorting cocaine. Do you think this a good option, as I know in places like Thailand it works to do this.
Thanks
0
Comments
That's not what monasteries are for.
This isn't Thailand.
perhaps they're more geared towards that there, because there is no national health system and programme implemented.
If you need help with your habit, visit a doctor and go on an official programme.
Using a place of calm abiding and retreat as a remedy for your problems is unfair and unreasonable. Monasteries are not there for that.
But that's just my opinion.
Get some help, kick the stuff, try daily meditation then go.
It will also be benefitting for you to spend time in a monastery as a side to your treatment. But time in a monastery in the UK, without proper treatment might not help, especially if they are not geared up for such a thing.
Nios.
When I tell people I had this MAJOR migraine when I stopped drinking caffeine they kind of dismiss it as nothing serious. Well, it is nothing compared to cigarettes or cocaine, I'm sure, but it lasted a few days and after 12 hours of that hell I was about to crack, and it had nothing to do with a simple desire. Apparently, in the case of caffeine, your head gets filled with blood and causes all sort of symptoms when you stop. :P
It's about a guy who into the punk rock scene at a young age... got into crack and heroin addictions and ended up going through a process of quitting drugs. He's now been clean and practicing meditation for a long long time. I'm just saying it's possible.
I encourage you to quit the cocaine. I've snorted a few lines in my day... just think of how you feel after... the cravings and the anxiety and the regret. Not worth... brain damage man!
If your cocaine habit is slight, your plan might work. However, I feel you should also submit your intentions to the monastery, to ask them if their community would be willing to take part in your recovery. They could very well be willing, but its not correct to just show up with your expectations. Also, it might make them more easily relate to what you are experiencing.
A traditional detox/recovery program would certainly be more supportive, I know NA to be helpful for many. That you are looking to stop self-destructive behaviors is great! I wish you luck and strength.
With warmth,
Matt
I think not....
So do what is appropriate to your needs, appropriately.
Take the proper measures to deal with your issues, and take whatever medical counsel and support is open to you.
But using a Monastery as a place primarily to shed such attachments should not be your first port of call.
Interesting way to put it. I totally agree. There's a right place and a right moment for everything and this just seems off in a couple major ways.
Agreed!
What is a monastery for, if not a place to shed attachments? Maybe a Theravada monastery is VERY different from a Mahayana one? I don't know.
but self-imposed withdrawal from a drug addiction with no medical input or support is not a skilful course of action.
I trust Stream has contacted the Monastery beforehand and advised them of his intentions, because to put himself through something like this and go cold turkey, is too much of a responsibility for those who are not forearmed, consulted or even equipped to do so.
It is a selfish and inconsiderate move, and if I were the principal Ajahn at the monastery, I would not be best pleased with the imposition, frankly.
Unannounced and unscheduled, It is highly inconsiderate to both the monks and other retreatants.
Stream, if you are intent on pursuing this course of action, despite the overwhelming counsel that it would not be an appropriate thing to do, at least have the good grace to consult the Monastery authorities, and make sure you would be welcome to proceed.
Palzang
They are still in operation apparently. I strongly suggest you read the information on the website before you go running off there though. It's not a holiday resort, and you'd better be prepared.
Palzang
This looks very interesting Palzang and I would love to go. However I am simply too poor to go to Thailand. I did actually have a fund of savings to go towards a holiday, but I spent it all on cocaine.
I am learning things however just from the website, Sajja, (the vow) sounds very interesting even though I don't fully understand what it means.
I am simply going to go to the closest Monastery to me. I won't be a bother, I just need the regimented life style to give me a bit of a kick up the backside.
Palzang
Mtns
What you said makes sense.
1. Agitation and restless behavior
2. Depressed mood
3. Fatigue
4. Generalized malaise
5. Increased appetite
6. Vivid and unpleasant dreams
7. Slowing of activity
8. Intense craving for the drug
None of these things would require the abbot or other retreatants to intervene. 8 is often the most difficult part and is strictly a mental process. The craving is facilitated by the physical addiction, but there are no outward physical effects of withdraw. The other retreatants would not even know he/she is going thru withdraw, unless he/she started acting out. Which does not happen, unless there is also some type of underlying psychological disorder in the person.
Now if it were some other drug like benzodiazepines, barbiturates or alcohol, that would be an entirely different story. Cold-turkey withdraw from those drugs is a "medically dangerous" thing to do and could actually kill you. Symptoms can include suicidal depression, epileptic seizures, cardiac arrest, delirious behavior, etc. Medical supervision is essential with these drugs because you may need to be carted off to the hospital to save your life if they occur. But, such a thing does not happen with cocaine. Cocaine withdrawal is considered, in the substance abuse professions, to be one of the least dangerous withdrawals out of the hard drugs because the withdrawal is mental and not physical.
I understand where you are coming from though.
I quit smoking years ago and although I occasionally experience the desire to smoke again, I have trained my mind to always imagine the extreme amount of negatives associated with cigarettes - the poisonous smoke, deadly chemicals, nasty smell, high cost, health problems, and early death - when I experience a craving. While I never had a cocaine addiction I've heard that it can also be difficult to quit, as the body quickly builds up a tolerance and needs more and more to sustain the "high."
As with anything, dedication and constant effort will pay off. When you are clean and sober, then you can enter a retreat and will not be distracted by physical substance cravings.
drug rehab
The only reason that people use drugs is a basic desire to be happy. Once the mind has been trained to be at peace, the need to use drugs falls away on its own and will never re occur.
I wish you the best.
I'd say let the head of the Buddhist monastery know and let them make the decision. If they decide that they are not set up for this, thank them and find a substance abuse program instead.
sincerely john