Click the link above to read the 2nd Edition of the Recovery Dharma book, including updates to the text and 14 personal stories of recovery from members of the community!

Dear Sangha,

‍ ‍We are now into our fourth month of 2026. Recently having welcomed in spring, what a wonderful place the front range of Colorado is to be. Along with the plants we can also welcome freshness through understanding and new experiences.

In our exploration of the Truths and the Path, April can be a focus on the Fourth Nobel Truth. This Truth shows there is a way to end suffering with wise practice of the Path. As we go on we can reflect upon this from page 17: “The Eightfold Path is a way of life that each of us follows to the best of our understanding and capacity.”

This takes time. The Path helps lighten the load when we enter it feeling pretty heavy. We learn to breathe. May we all find breath, lightness and wisdom on our path.

Peace & Harmony,
RD Denver

Buddhist Celebrations

this month

(*celestial events are added as particularly in Theravadan Bhuddism, the lunar cycles are part of the cyclical nature of existence. These days may be incorporated within your own personal practice.)

Full Moon: April 2
April 8 (Wed): Buddha's Birthday (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese traditions)
April 15 (Wed): Buddha's Enlightenment Day (Kadampa tradition)
New Moon: April 17

Upcoming Events

To have your Dharma and/or recovery events added to the newsletter, please email recoverydharmametrodenver@gmail.com.

Inquiries Group at the Phoenix Gym (2221 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205)

Sundays, 6:45PM (except first Sunday of each Month reserved for business meeting).
Come and do your Inquiries with us! Whether just Starting on the first, picking up where you've left off or if you've done them before to understand how responses may have changed in time. We may be on different ones. What matters is that we come together for ourselves and to support others on the jouney.
Each meeting is facilitated by somebody new. Maybe yourself?

The Mending Circle - Westminster, CO

Saturday, April 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2026
12:30 PM 2:30 PM

Advocates For Recovery Colorado3440 West 71st PlaceWestminster, CO, 80030United States (map)

Join us for The Mending Circle: Creating for a Cause!

At Advocates for Recovery Colorado, we believe that connection is a vital piece of the recovery journey. To foster that connection, we are launching The Mending Circle, a recurring gathering for crafters of all skill levels.

No supplies? No problem. We will have some materials to get you started.

Come for the venting stay for the mending. Let's knit our community closer together!

For more events with AFR click here.

Colorado Artists in Recovery (CAiR) hosts several workshops throughout the month, and welcomes all in recovery to participate for free. Whether you are new in recovery or wanting to try something new well into your journey, these workshops offer wonderful opportunities to explore new talents and meet others within positive/safe spaces.

Yin Yoga - Yin is accessible to anyone in any shape wanting to explore deeper healing poses through slow meditative movements. Yin is focused on improving your wellness slowly and safely using lots of props to maximize comfort.

April 9, 4-6PM
Champa Street Gym
2233 Champa Street, Denver, CO

Please reserve a spot ahead of time on the NewForm app.
For a full listing of events at the Phoenix Gym, click here.

Meetings

Join us at one of our weekly meetings. We have in-person meetings nearly every day of the week across the Front Range as well as online meetings you can join from anywhere. We practice meditation together and then read from the Recovery Dharma book or another Buddhist text. The second half of the meeting is dedicated to providing space to talk about the topic or anything you need to share related to recovery.

Sundays 5:30 The Phoenix (In-Person) 2233 Champa St. Denver, CO 80205‍ ‍
Tuesdays 6:45 The Phoenix (In-Person)2233 Champa St. Denver, CO 80205(in Baby Champa, the door to the left of the gym entrance).
Thursday 6:30 pm MT Lakewood (In-Person) @ Shepherd of the Hills Church - 11500 W 20th Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215
Thursday 7:00 pm MT Denver (In-Person) @ FREE Spiritual Community Center - 2122 S. Lafayette St, Denver, CO 80210

For a complete list of meetings in the area, visit our website. To have your Dharma group added to our list, please reach out at RecoveryDharmaMetroDenver@gmail.com.

From the Book

THE fourth NOBLE TRUTH:

The Path

The Buddha taught that by living ethically, practicing meditation, and developing wisdom and compassion, we can end the suffering we create by resisting, running from, and misunderstanding reality.

The Fourth Noble Truth is the Path that summarizes the essential elements to recovery, or awakening, and leads to the ending of suffering. It provides an instructive practice for investigating and becom-ing aware of the conditioned responses we cling to. These are the eight factors of the Path:

1. Wise Understanding

2. Wise Intention

3. Wise Speech

4. Wise Action

5. Wise Livelihood

6. Wise Effort

7. Wise Mindfulness

8. Wise Concentration

These eight factors can be divided into three groups:

• The Wisdom group of Understanding and Intention.

• The Ethics group of Speech, Action, and Livelihood.

• The Concentration group of Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration.

Each of us will understand and practice each aspect of this Eightfold Path in our own way. We develop our wisdom, ethical practice, and concentration as far as we can in any given moment. As we come to a deeper understanding of the Four Noble Truths, we’re able to bring more effort and concentration to letting go of our greed, hatred, and confusion. Our ethical development will cause us to reflect more deeply on these sources of our unwise actions.

Read this and the rest of the book here. This starts on page 16.

Community Resources

Recovery Dharma supports a holistic path to recovery. There is no one right way to recover and it's always a good idea to add more tools to your toolbox to facilitate your healing.

Here are some other community resources to check out:

Advocates for Recovery - recovery meetings, events, coaching
CHOW(Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness)
CAIR(Colorado Artists in Recovery) - artists workshops and events
Rooted303 - personal development classes, recovery coaching, support groups
The Phoenix - A Sober Active Community offering free exercise classes
Hard Beauty - recovery coaching and workshops
Meditation Resources - Insight Timer App, Sounds True One, Waking Up, Headspace, Plum Village App, Recovery Dharma Meditations.