When the Desire to Drink Falls Away
Since I began teaching NBEF practice methods in 2022, I have observed something that I find extraordinary and deeply encouraging. At NBEF, practitioners begin developing morality, concentration, and insight together. One particularly striking change concerns the fifth precept: abstaining from alcohol and other intoxicants that lead to heedlessness.
My instruction is simple. Observe the thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations that arise through the six sense doors. Notice what is happening, let go, and return to the present moment. In my experience, this practice gradually and naturally increases wholesome thoughts, speech, and actions while decreasing unwholesome ones.
With alcohol, what surprised me was that, within a few months to a year, all the practitioners who drank alcohol stopped drinking on their own, without my interventions or instructions specific to alcohol. These included occasional drinkers and people who had struggled with heavy drinking. Often, I learned about their decision afterward, when they shared the benefits they had noticed in their health and meditation.
One reason came up repeatedly: drinking made meditation difficult. As their practice developed, they increasingly valued the clarity, peace, and joy of meditation. Eventually, they preferred meditation to alcohol. Their decision grew out of directly observing the effects of drinking.
Some practitioners told me that, after abstaining for quite a while, they drank again to see how it felt. They no longer experienced the enjoyment or excitement they remembered. Some described it as feeling like consuming poison. Having experienced that change, they did not wish to continue drinking. I share this as something they reported, rather than as a suggestion that anyone should test themselves by drinking again.
To the best of my knowledge, none of these practitioners has returned to drinking. This is an observation from the people I have taught, based on what they have shared with me. Even within that scope, I find it remarkable, knowing how difficult it can be to stop drinking and remain sober.
For me, this illustrates how observing oneโs own experience can change what the mind values. As practitioners recognize what brings disturbance and what supports peace, their choices begin to change. Keeping a precept can become increasingly natural because they understand its value through their own experience.
This is one of the most encouraging things I have witnessed as a teacher: morality developing through awareness and understanding, with practitioners discovering for themselves that they no longer want something they once enjoyed.
Nancy Acord, Founder of NBEF
I share these observations as a Dhamma teacher. I am not a doctor or a specialist in treating alcohol-related problems, and these observations should not be taken as medical advice.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism advises people who have been drinking heavily for a prolonged period to seek medical help when planning to stop, because sudden withdrawal can be dangerous. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for guidance appropriate to your circumstances.
Source: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismโTreatment for Alcohol Problems.