Can Buddhist smoke weed? Or do LSD

marijuana and lsd have actually had a role in enhancing my interest/connection to Buddhism. i don't have a source for this.. but i've heard that some Tibetan Buddhist groups have used special smoking blends to introduce 'beginners' to a meditative state which they then have to try and reach through meditation.

my understanding is that Buddha was mostly referring to alcohol, but most importantly he was saying to avoid things which 'lead to heedlessness'. do you find that lsd and marijuana lead to increased clarity/understanding or perhaps emotional stability in your life? also, do you find yourself craving these substances? even 'positive' things can become addictive. its really up to you to reflect on how these things integrate themselves into your life.

i would say the most important thing is to make sure you aren't harming others and yourself. and of course, you should have a regular meditation practice. with a strong meditation practice as well as some scholarly understanding of core buddhist philosophy, the other things should fall into place... and its ultimately your own karmic seeds you'll have to deal with.

 

often people will bash drugs... and then they are drinking lots of coffee and watching tv... or even worse.. shoving their dogma down people's throats.. don't worry about it too much man, find your own path (that's what buddha did)

 

OP, just like what others have said, essentially you're the ultimate decider--Buddha said something like "be a teacher unto yourself."
Not the best analogy, but it'll do for now: Would you wear suit and tie when you go for jogging?
As your own "teacher", you'll soon learn what is productive and what is unproductive when you're trying to achieve your goal(s).

 

Forgot to add:
I'm an admirer of Buddhism, I'm not a Buddhist. I only found out about Buddhism in Junior High when we had to pick the top 5 world religions and write a report about it.

 

"MISquote" or not, the conclusion is the same: don't believe anything from anyone w/out challenging or investigating it yourself.

That's what appealed to me so much about Buddhism: He was democratic and encouraged his followers to become critical thinkers.

Here's one of my favorite Buddha's teachings: (paraphrased, of course)
"I'm only a guide post, you are the traveler."

 

I'm not reading any of the posts.

Buddhism doesn't need you to speak for it. You can kill people but if you get something from Buddhism then power to it. Buddhism doesn't also need all the know-it-alls and dipshits whi act all holy roller. they are full of shit. buddhism doesn't need jailers and thugs.

Buddhism speaks for itself. the truths of Buddhism are self obvious and need nobody to make hilltop preaching for them.

You can be incentous and a total asshole and practice Buddhism.

Just don't think you're a good practitioner.

So smoke dope, drink, cheat on your spouse, beat people up, speak lies, but if Buddhism makes you a better person even some time then great!

 

Buddhism and Hinduism seem very similar to me; Buddha borrowed lots of concepts from Hinduism.
So OP, why not try out Hinduism?

 

Such is simply not true.

Buddhism is based in the four truths which are that no god can stop suffering: pain, sickness, aging, death - thus worship of gods is useless.

But there is a cessation to suffering, and it is nirvana.

(the other truths are subject to interpretation but usually revolve around desire and lacking attachment to desire.

There are many ways of looking at thtat depending upon school of Buddhism.

For instance - Tibetan school teaches that desire is the path, and that one can be attached and also not attached at the same time. That is called 'tantra.'

Hinduism believes in the eternality of the Vedas. That worship will lead to better conditions, or liberation. It believes in varnashrama which is 4 stages of life.

buddhism believes none of these things.

How can you say they are similar.

Buddha came from a time when the word "Hindu" had as yet not existed.

And in India there are people who are tantrikas who are not Hindus and who do not worship the five main gods nor care about the Vedas.

A system called 'Sri Vidya' also teaches nirvana and they have a mantra called nirvanamahashodashi.

Alsos, a Buddhist is abjured to not make sacrifices to gods or ancestors.

 

@ Chodpa,

As you continue to mature, you'll realize not to take things at their face values nor take things in their isolated instances.
E.g. when I first learned about Buddhism, I was also learning about Hinduism, that's when I recognized that Buddha did in fact borrowed some concepts from Hinduism, the major one is rebirth, the minor one is levels of existence.

Also, I am not naive enough to believe that a concept/phenomenon/idea/religion cannot exist absent a word ascribing/describing it.

I refer you to my own quote from post#25:
"That's what appealed to me so much about Buddhism: He was democratic and encouraged his followers to become critical thinkers.

Here's one of my favorite Buddha's teachings: (paraphrased, of course)
'I'm only a guide post, you are the traveler.' "

 

I'm 45. I went to college and have a degree in tantra and Veda. I have more initiations than anyone I have ever met. Buddhism is Buddhism - it isn't Christianity or Vedism, or mish mash.

It has more scriptures than any other religion on earth and is more specific.

As you mature you'll realize that ice cream is cold and jambalaya is hot. Until then you're not allowed in my kitchen.

 

In terms of the absolute, everything else is an abstraction.

 

The mind is how one experiences - the absolute (if such a thing exists) must be made into something for it to have any use. otherwise it's like water without a well. The well is your mind.

Also, Buddhists do not believe in an absolute. Or maybe you have never studied Buddhism. There is no eternity in Buddhism.

This absolute you speak of. Make use of it where it makes things MORE awesome instead of LESS. I bet you use it to make things less, just as you disrespected Buddha and the 60 years he taught teachings which did not talk about an eternal absolute.

bleh - why bother - unstudied people think all things are the same - but are Mozart and Guns N Roses the same?

 

Nice! A Buddhist pissing contest!
:2thumbsup:

 

@ Chodpa

Please reread your own post #26, and w/ a straight face claim that 45 = maturity?

("As you continue to mature" =!= "as you mature")

 

You never were abused by a cult leader.
You never had Darryl Kitchen play holy roller with you.

 

Buddha would probably congratulate you if you were brave enough to disrespect him. You don't seem like the type.

 

To assist your comprehension. 9.75 is not ten dollars. Almost ten dollars does not purchase an item that sells for ten dollars, almost ten dollars is an abstraction. I didn't say anything about an eternal absolute. Arrogant people don't listen. The least concern is the same as the greatest devotion and the least irritation is the same as the greatest catastrophe in terms of capacity to unsettle the mind.

 

If you a devote buddhist doing long hours of meditation every day, reaching toward enlightenment in this life time, then weed and lsd will probably be a set back.

But if you follow the buddhist tradition more as a helpful guideline in which to live a good life, then weed and lsd have there story to tell and add to that, and they are very much worth hearing.

I follow what the buddha said, and what other buddhas have said (christ, krishna, mahavira), and I sit a long time in meditation trying to find the deeper realms that the buddha found. But I am also a devotee to cannabis.

Cannabis seems to help with meditation in some sense, you relax, your more willing to sit there, you are content, and you just let your mind drift off. But after awhile the reflectiveness of the mind becomes weaker, your mind gets fuzzy, and while you can sit for long periods of time, little comes out of it.

In deep deep mediation they say your mind becomes like lazer pointer, able to see cleary and pinpoint fine details in each thought, with cannibis this is somewhat lost as time goes on.

Now as far as LSD goes. Lsd is the buddha in chemical form. Lsd will take you to the deepest realms of perception and beyond, and in crystal clarity. Lsd will take you to the pure lands made of pure light. Lsd awake you, bring you to the source, the brahman, the godhead, the Self.

But there is a catch on that too, as soon as its over its over. You always say this is it, I am enlightened, I have seen what the gods have seen. Then you wake up in the morning and your ego is fully intact, and you just wake up normal you.

Lsd is so powerful, such a revealing source, such a revalation. 100 million times more revlation from an Lsd trip then reading some buddhist scripture. It is such a powerful source that you may feel you want to drop buddhism all together. You may feel like meditation is worthless and want to stop doing it.

The Buddhas have said though, this is a problem, don't stop meditating, you may have thought you have found but you have only caught a glimpse. The real enlightenment comes from yourself, by yourself, no lsd, no buddhas, no one but you alone can enter your holiness.

So both Lsd and Cannabis are powerful sources of insight, information, and enlightenment, but they are not the be all, end all, enlightenment of the Buddha. I feel if you are already taking antidepressants then you haven't fully understood what meditation and buddhism is trying to teach. Since meditation is the natural way of relieving someone from all illnesses, especially ones of discontent like depression.

Anyway in todays time, I think it would be healthy to try a dose of both Lsd and Cannabis. They help reconnect back into the natural spirituality rather then all this perverted religion and ideas of the 21st century. Just remember how that could effect the deeper realms of buddhism at later times tho.

Hope this helped some!

 

LSD is a tremendous distraction. A good trip feels like what enlightenment should feel like - though it isn't enlightenment. The difference is with bodhisattva. A tripper makes fun of people doing silly things. They laugh. They feel on top of the world. A Buddha still serves even stupid people when they are at their bottom.

Pot can make your life feel great. Pot though is a narcotic. And it is also an opioid. Now you think I'm dumb - read this: http://www.dirkhanson.org/neuroaddiction.html

 

So does Buddhism. LSD has helped people more in 60 years than Buddhism has in thousands.

Also, pot isn't a narcotic or an opioid, so I'd say you're not too far off being labelled dumb.