Many in recovery have found practicing Buddhism a useful tool in staying sober. Jazz giant Herbie Hancock, who has had his struggles with crack cocaine, recently talked to Phoenix Times about the benefits Buddhism has had on his life and sobriety.
*Hancock has been following Buddhist beliefs for over forty years, and he says, “It helped me to see that’s the reason I went through [the drug addiction] so that coming out of it, I could use that to help other people. It makes it possible for you to turn everything that could be bad, and turn it into something of value. And consequently, that that leads to is a fearless life.”
*Hancock credits rehab and Buddhism with turning his life around. He told NPR, “I knew it was the end of the line for something that I wanted to end, but I wasn’t able to do it myself. I needed to go to rehab. And that, in combination with chanting, was what did it.”
*Hancock added that in following Buddhist beliefs, “I have seen the results of not just in my life, but in how I behave, how I treat people, how I view other people…everybody is born with the potential for Buddha-hood or enlightenment…it’s not something that you get from outside yourself; it’s already something that’s in yourself. The object of life is to uncover that. Get the stuff out of the way that keeps you from revealing all that you can be.”
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