Twining Vines: Buddhism and Recovery, Online 6/9–7/14

Practice Center
Date / Time
Jun 9, 2026 / 6:00pm - Jul 14, 2026 / 7:30pm
Event Type
Classes & Extended Courses
Description

The Zoom link to participate in this event will be provided at least 24 hours before it begins. Please call 415-354-0360 if you have any questions.


This class is offered as a bridge between the language of recovery and the language of Buddhist practice. Each expresses truth through a different doorway, one through the Twelve Steps and the other through the Dharma. The purpose is not to merge belief systems but to show how both paths speak to the same experience of awakening, healing, and service.

These parallels will be woven throughout the six-week class as part of meditation, reflection, and group dialogue. Participants are encouraged to engage with the material as personal exploration rather than doctrine.

Course Outline

Week 1 – The Turning Point: Willingness and Surrender
Theme: Recognizing the moment of readiness, the crack where light enters.

Week 2 – Living by Vow: From Control to Intention
Theme: Replacing old survival strategies with the clarity of vow.

Week 3 – Meditation as Medicine
Theme: Stillness as healing; awareness as detox.

Week 4 – Sangha and the Healing Power of Community
Theme: From isolation to connection, the sangha and the rooms of recovery as mirror and refuge.

Week 5 – Self-Compassion and the Middle Way
Theme: Healing the inner critic and learning to trust your own goodness.

Week 6 – People, Places, and Things: Walking the Path in Daily Life
Theme: Integrating recovery and practice into everyday living.

Reading Recommendations
Teaching will draw from the following texts. Purchase is optional, and course handouts of these sections will be provided.

Recordings:
All course sessions will be recorded, and registered participants will receive temporary access to the recordings for later viewing.

Fee Information
  • Benefactor Ticket Price: $315
  • Sustaining Level: $252
  • Member (Become an SFZC Member): $227
  • Sliding Scale 1: $151
  • Sliding Scale 2: $63
  • Current SFZC residents and qualified SFZC retirees may attend this course for free. To register, please email onlineprograms@sfzc.org at least 72 hours before the program begins.

Register Online

Or call 415-354-0360.

About SFZC Public Programs, Fees, and Cancellations