Buddhism and Psychedelics

[Telico]

Hi everybody.

I've recently read something said by an american buddhist monk which sounded like "Giving psychedelics (like psilocybin) to people that have terminal illness is a terrible thing, and the better way to act as if you were God"

However, the MAPS said that giving psychedelics to dying people should help them to make an introspection and stop being affraid from death.

So, I was wondering if anyone here knows anything about how buddhists/taoists etc. consider psychedelics. Thanks a lot.

 

[magickmumu]

Because intoxication is not allowed in Buddhism, most Buddhist don't take drugs.
Of course psychedelics are medicine and not intoxicants, but that's not how most people view them.

Some of the Buddhist are aware of the powers of psychedelics, but I think these Buddhist are mostly westerners.

Taoism has it's roots in Chinese alchemy. I don't know if there are any records of psychedelics use in china at that time????

And of course there is soma, which is not found in Buddhism, but a early Brahmanism.

The old shamanistic tradition of Tibet known as Bon or Bon Po, has influenced Tibet Buddhism quite a lot. Terence Mckenna tried to find out if there was any connection between Bon and psychedelic plants or fungi. He didn't find anything in the Himalayas. He needed to go to south America to struck real gold.


I think it could be all right for a Buddhist to use psychedelics. If it's something you do to open the mind and free you from Samsara it is not intoxication.

 

[Telico]

Thanks a lot magickmumu ;-) !

 

[gammagoblin]

I know people in Tibet consider cannabis a sacred plant, and I also found a datura plant in a garden of a monastery in Tibet, but I don't know why it was there... Also found an iron cannabis plant in a temple in China, next to a buddha statue (onfurtunatelly I wasn't allowed to make pictures ). Maybe this page can help you.

 

[GOD]

I was told years ago that "Temple balls" were made by novice monks as a test of patience and use by monks to help them meditate .

 

[psm]

Taoism has it's roots in Chinese alchemy. I don't know if there are any records of psychedelics use in china at that time????

there was indeed. just read about it recently...
one of the earliest writings about cannabis are found in china around that time.

since taoism doesn't use any doctrines (it's still a philosophy - even if some sell it as a religion) and thus it does not uses any rules, only ideas and suggestions. I cannot imagine, that the zen priests (taoistic, not zen-buddhists) were all sober

 

[Icelus]

Maybe you'll like this book http://www.zigzagzen.com
I've read this book a few years ago, but as far as i can remember most of the interviews and text in this book is from western people.

I think that magickmumu is right when he's saying that most of the buddhists who are aware of the power of psychedelics are western people. But who knows, maybe there are (or were) non-western psychedelic using buddhists somewhere far away

 

[psm]

I think I recall to have read somewhere that Buddha himself (Siddhartha) was using hemp. he at least ate the seeds. but i see no reason why he would not also made use banhg. after all, its an old indian tradition, especially for a psychonaut, as he surely was.

 

[GOD]

Michael Hollinshead gave a budist lama some lsd and he meditated and said nothing happened more than by his usual meditation . I think its in the book "The man who turned on the world" . Its in one of the files in the "Free books" thread .

 

[Telico]

wow ! I didn't expected so many relevant answers concerning this particular question. Thanks a lot to all you !!!

 

[Nomada]

Both buddhism and induism are not centralized religions, they don't have any nexus-of-dominance-Vatican or else,
they have lots and lots of different schools with different perspectives.

I suspect that some of this traditions are psychedelic-friendly

The older tibetan buddhism traditions like Kagyu or Nyingma I think retain lots of shamanic structures.
Right now I don't have a link for this but will look for it...

 

[tryptonaut]

Dr. Strassmans buddhist community urged him to stop with the DMT experiments and eventually threw him out when he didn't...
Buddhism is pretty conservative and also has kind of fascist structures (if your superior says stop your scientific experiments you're supposed to obey and not argue!)

Forgive me for not scientifically quoting here - it is somewhere in his book "dmt the spirit molecule" - I'm under the influence of San Pedro slowly kicking in, please don't make me look up the exact chapter and page now

 

[Telico]

Of course, but Strassman buddhist community people acted in a very particular context : the high priest was probably the only one who didn't do drugs in all his life in the buddhist monastery. And he was dying, so all the monks tried to hide their psychedelic past in order to be seen as "correct" by the high priest. AN so they could obtain better ranked position in the monastery.

It's sad, but it was just a competition for power... I don't think Strassman's community should be seen as representative of buddhism.

 

[psm]

as soon as you make rules for spiritualism, you fuck it up...

 

[GOD]

"as soon as you make rules for spiritualism, you fuck it up."

In a way thats what i`m talking about when i say drop dogma , hokus pokus , priests , "shsmsn" and trany uniforms . The kingdom of heaven is within you . Just lie down and relax . Then empty your mind , stop the internal dialog and mentaly peel of the layers of your consciousness and look for the light .

 

[magickmumu]

"as soon as you make rules for spiritualism, you fuck it up."

In a way thats what i`m talking about when i say drop dogma , hokus pokus , priests , "shsmsn" and trany uniforms . The kingdom of heaven is within you . Just lie down and relax . Then empty your mind , stop the internal dialog and mentaly peel of the layers of your consciousness and look for the light .

Easier said then done


It is funny, you say there is no need for dogma's and rules.
And jet you give us instructions.
(There is no need for dogma, but you got to do it like this???)

This is not a personal attack on you god. (I agree with your instructions)
A religion is as high as he who is practising it.
It's all about intention. It's funny when we think of religion we think of a group, but the people in the group are individuals.

A lot of Buddhist knowledge is instruction. Like God giving us instruction on how to look for the light. I see no wrong in checking out Buddhism or any other religion, as long as you keep thinking for yourself.

 

[GOD]

"Easier said then done "

Yes .

Instructions are not dogma or rules . And i didnt say anyone has to do it like this or that . Our personal answers are within us and i have studyed ways to reach those answers for a long time and i have never found or heard of an easyer or more effective way than i have said . I think most people are to scared to do what i say , to scared to look inside themselves , to scared to take their own responsibility , that they need someone , a "shaman" / priest / pope to hold their hands , and /or books as teddybears , and / or carnival trany uniforms = they just want to play pretend spiritual ego games .

 

[magickmumu]

These people identify themselves to much with whatever they do.
Acting without attachment maybe the answer.

 

[BrainEater]

words cause missunderstandings. they are without meaning, the words themselves are empty... it's like a transport of a message through words...
unfortunately not always the message gets delivered the way it should be, yet sometimes it's only confused in it's meaning and therefore clarification from the message-sender can help in bringing clarity.


when you stop thinking for yourself, words can become dangerous for you, for obvious reasons of becoming a slave/servant of something which would not be you and most probably you didn't want it, too.

but that's normal brainwashing... nobody's safe :weedman:


peace.

 

[druglessdouglas]

I know people in Tibet consider cannabis a sacred plant, and I also found a datura plant in a garden of a monastery in Tibet, but I don't know why it was there... Also found an iron cannabis plant in a temple in China, next to a buddha statue (onfurtunatelly I wasn't allowed to make pictures ). Maybe this page can help you.

officially all drugs are frowned on by the monks but in reality they use a range of drugs, including datura to bring about alterted states of mind. they even get drunk when they can, some monestaries brew beer and distill spirits of there own