The Satja Vow

One of the most important things for me at Wat Thamkrabok was the satja vow. The promise I made not to drink again for the rest of my life. I was recently asked by somebody if you need to be Buddhist to make this vow.

I speak to many ex-patients of Wat Thamkrabok who have been sober for decades. Some of these people wouldn't consider themselves to be Buddhist, and I don't think you need to study Buddhism in order to take the satja seriously. The vow takes on its own importance and the fact that it can be only made once increases the significance.

In my view Wat Thamkrabok is a very spiritual community. I think that this is what makes it magical. In this I agree with AA, recovery often needs to be a spiritual path.

Many addicts are acting up because they have no other means of coping and are missing a spiritual aspect of their lives. The famous 'hole in the soul'. In my view many addicts have spiritual yearnings and if these yearnings are not met life will have little meaning.

The satja vow works. While you keep it good things come into your life. As somebody remains sober they will see that their lives are improving and their faith in the satja will grow. This has been the experience of all who I have spoken to who have followed the program.

The satja vow replaces the need for a support group in many cases, although some ex-patients do belong to AA/NA also. Of course sometimes the shit will hit the fan, as nobody gets a free ride through life, but the vow supports people through life.

The difference, in my view, between an ex-Thamkrabok patient who keeps his vow and a 'dry-drunk' is that the 'dry-drunk' has stagnated. They have giving up alcohol but all the reasons for why they drank/used are still there. They may stay sober for long periods but will resent this life without a tool (their favorite drug) which helped make life bearable.

An ex- Thamkrabok patient has made a vow to stay sober. They do this in order to find their correct path in life. A path which will make them happy. The fact that they have made themselves open to change and development means that change does happen. Sincere effort gets rewarded. I believe a similar process occurs when people in AA follow the 12 steps. I don't believe that it is only Wat Thamkrabok or the 12 stepers who have cornered the market on spirituality. Ex- addicts can find other ways to find their way onto a path through life which has meaning.

It is my belief that the satja vow is the same as the higher power in AA. The ex-Wat Thamkrabok patient puts their faith in the fact that the vow will get them through life. They can hand-over to this higher power. When they face powerlessness in life, which most of us face everyday, they can pass this over to their satja/higher power. The belief that the fact that they are trying to do the right thing will mean that everything will work out the way it should.

So no, you don't need to have any Buddhist knowledge to appreciate the satja vow, but you do need to believe that if you do the right thing the right things will happen. I would say that most people believe this basic idea of kamma (karma), at least at some level.