buddhism and marijuana

I know since I've started smoking its definatly helped me. I've reached levels of awareness I never thought possible. And thats just weed, I've yet to try shrooms or anything else yet!
When I smoke, I become more thoughtful and yes - perhaps more spiritual. I think things through much more, I am much more sensitive to my senses and to others. I feel and see things others are blind to.
Like Sangharyan says, Buddha never intended us to worship and obey everything he's ever taught. he simply is saying "hey, this worked for me, try it out, or see what works for you." Buddha is pretty chill, yes?

 

It's built up on being mindful.

You must be mindful and make your own decisions and realize what you are doing. and more importantly, why your doing them.

 

if anything, I believe marijuana actually enhances mindfulness and awareness, and can greatly help in achieving "enlightenment" or "nirvana".

 

This is why people are more clever than the Buddha ... they know better than he what does and doesn't "enhance" mindfulness.

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I have felt the oneness feeling just from weed (and without as well, but it definitely helps).

 

buddha use to eat weed

 

Weed is definately a plant with "soul"... much like green tea and certain other plants. These plants are somehow touched with some sort of divinity.

 

Weed works very well with our bodies for some reason. And when I say works, I mean has it's effect with very little harm.

There seems to be something about cannabis that helps to treat a wide range of ailments and it does so with side-effects that are either neutral or positive.

Cannabis can be used as a medicine, food, and material for making things (clothes, houses, etc)... Cannabis/hemp compliments just about every human need... it is like bamboo for a Panda, in a way...

 

excuse me?

 

Do you have proof that marijuana plants were actually used as building material to make houses?

 

???

Passing out while driving after smoking marijuana is a neutral or positive side effect?

Where's your reasoning for this?

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Not so. Pot increases mental discursiveness and increases ones dualistic tendencies and attachments. It also increases ones compulsiveness, hence things like, 'the munchies.'

While pot can also reduce suffering, it can also increase attachment, which is exactly the opposite tendency required by Buddhist training, for the escape from samsara.

I have yet to meet pot smokers who could maintain any form of samadhi. A samadhi which depends upon pot is a samadhi which is based in form and causation, so it is not self sustaining, not liberating.

Pot can increase ones visual brain centers and imagination, it can be good for some tasks, it can decrease suffering, and now I am reading that THC can be used in medicine to increase the ability of the body to adjust to transplants of tissues.

Ultimately, pot is a narcotic, which means that it dulls the mind. That blissful dullness can seem to strengthen ones concentration and yet what is not available during the stoned time is the body's natural ability to create physiological bliss.

Thus one will never establish themself in any of the jhanas or other blissful nonsamsaric states through pot use.

But on the other hand, it can open windows, if not doors. Pot is no substitute for real mind training. But if you need a pain killer then yes, it's probably the most holistic one.

 

In my experience pot might be revealing when you're on it (but not always, it can get you quite paranoid), if you rely on it too much it will influence your mental state of being in a negative way wshen you're not on it. you might not even notice this and in the worst case develop a habit that does not support your mental state of being and your spiritual growth.

Though i fully support that pot and also psychedelics are powerful spiritual eye openers, you'll have to look for other ways of spiritual growth that do not involve substances in a way drugs and psychedelics do.

Because eventually you will become dependent on them if you rely solely on them for your spiritual growth. i'm talking about stuff like meditation, yoga, healthy living, philosophizing and living in a clean consiousness at all time.

It's like Ram Dass, there is a video with an interview of him on this website. he stated that when he discovered the power of drugs so to say, he started experimenting with all kinds of uppers, downers and psychedelics just to see if he could reach some kind of chemical enlightenment. he was astonished to find people in India that had reached this state of being without actual drugs, but due to spiritual training. after this he abandoned the psychedelic way and focused on spiritual growth through hinduism related practices.

though not buddism related, this still explains why drugs in general won't work in my opinion to obtain spiritual awareness in the long run

 

I'm not an expert or anything-- but it seems to me that a core idea of Buddhism is to simplify your existence... which would mean only partaking in those things that are absolutely necessary. I don't mean asceticism or deprivation, just simplification.

Of course, the moment we realize this is the moment our mind starts to create arguments to reaffirm its attachments to those unnecessary things in our lives, ie: 'well, why shouldn't I be allowed to smoke drugs?', which is the same as 'well, why shouldn't I be allowed to bring my girlfriend?', or 'why shouldn't I be allowed to treat myself to a nice juicy steak now and then?', etc. It's your mind refusing to let go, and doing whatever it can to justify it.

Also, maybe this is just my experience, but it seems to me that drugs don't exactly lead to a quiet mind...

 

In my opinion cannabis is a beautiful plant with a lot of potential to help us, mind, body, and soul. I think it can help with meditation, learning, and even enlightenment.
Buddha didn't make any commandments or rules... just suggestions and personal experience. Who's to say the next Buddha (enlightened one) won't be a stoner? I wouldn't be too surprised.

 

After poking around this thread for a bit I found this post to be a good one.

As for my own personal opinion, I don't feel that any true follower of Buddha's teachings would feel the need or desire to do any drugs, whether they were technically "allowed" or not.

 

Do i need life? No. Should i avoid life? No.

...i'm sure it's not the thing that makes you think you need it, but your own thinking. The statement is kinda like denial but i see where you're going with it ... the things we find addictive are probably best avoided or at least done in moderation. ...unless you're really hardcore.

 

I would argue that marijuana only enhances your perception. Certainly it would be important to note that man sober minds don't have the 'right' perception in the first place, based upon many factors, brain chemistry only one of them.

 

Just look at Ram Dass. Would he have achieved any enlightenment if he hadn't done mushrooms and LSD with Leary at Harvard? didn't Ram Das say that part of enlightenment was becoming aware that all things are temporary and that attachment leads to suffering? I enjoy smoking pot and right now it does me good inthe future It ma not but abstaining from something that helps this much seems like its doing more harm than good and I can understand when someone says that the path to enlightenment is my way or the highway,that sounds a lot like fear based western Christianity to me

 

Honestly, I don't think pot is very helpful to my buddhist practices. I smoke pot, and am a practicing buddhist. But I think they are two different pieces of my life... it doesnt DETER my path, but it doesn't push me on the right one.... Do what feels right for you man, and im sure youll figure something that works out for you