BUDDHIST TEACHINGS APPEAR IN EARLY AA PAMPHLET

In the 1940s - just a few years after the founding of AA -  Buddhism found its way into AA literature. It came in a pamphlet commissioned by AA founder Dr. Bob and it was titled  Spiritual Milestones in Alcoholics Anonymous: “Consider the eight-part program laid down in Buddhism: Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindedness, and right contemplation. The Buddhist philosophy, as exemplified by these eight points, could be literally adopted by AA as a substitute or an addition to the Twelve Steps. Generosity, universal love, and welfare of other rather than consideration of self are basic to Buddhism.”