Can Buddhist smoke weed? Or do LSD

Buddhism is more of a way of life than a strict religeon with 'rules and regulations'.

I find marijuana and LSD bring me closer to god.

Psychedelics showed me the light!

Just do whatever man!

 

Thanks guys. I doubt I will smoke. Im not going to shorten my life when it already has No definite length. I really want to become a boddhistiva. To save others from rebirth. It seems like a horrible trap, I really don't know if I have the discipline for it but I want it. I will practice meditation to better myself. Maybe I'll use LSD in the future because in tired of questioning life there is no purpose I won't get answers. But yeah im over this stuff i don't have a desire for drugs knowing I have no definite life span. So, Yeah.

 

? !

 

What?

 

I think it would be looked down upon in terms of like.. their traditions and what not a while ago. But I think it would be allot more acceptable nowadays

 

i use cannabis to achieve heightened states of awareness, other dimensions, access chakras, yoga, medication, etc.

 

Drugs come under intoxicants, so naturally it will not be helpful in Buddhism, which is mainly focussed on expanding one's consciousness through meditation.

The attachment and craving for drugs for the temporary pleasures it gives, can become a major obstacle to the healthy nervous system and mind needed for proper meditation. The great state of perpetual bliss attained by regular meditation is also far superior to the temporal pleasures of drugs.

Drugs maybe useful in the beginning , to have a glimpse of greater states of consciousness, but its continued use will deteriorate and damage the mind and body, making them an unfit instrument for spiritual growth . And a healthy mind and body is necessary for spiritual progress and enlightenment in Buddhism.

 

if you're lucky, you can find LSD blotters with hindu gods printed on them. red shiva was some of the best L i have ever taken

i've never seen any with buddha on it...though i'm sure it probably did exist at one point.

 

I've had some buddhas.

My take on OP:

As a buddhist you can do whatever you like; being buddhist does not come with moral precepts or rules that an angry god enforces. It means you are aware of your actions and thoughts and how they foster attachment and suffering or going with the flow and nirvana.

If you are asking "can i be a buddhist monk and smoke weed", the answer must come from the buddhist monastery you are interested in joining. I imagine the answer would be No, just like the answer to "can I bring a prostitute to my chambers" or "can I murder a fellow monk I disagree with".

But there are no "rules", only honest realizations. It is not good to be attached to marijuana but it is also not good to be attached to the idea that some lofty spiritual goal is only attainable through abstinence from psychotropic substances.

 

I agree with this. But would a true Buddhist, who is well-established in awareness, and blissful and joyful consequently, would have a need for drugs in the first place ! Why settle for expensive second-hand stuff of poor quality and durability, when you can have the original cheaply and which is also of high quality and durability.


Here is what Osho says on drugs...

"Don′t be bothered by any experiences that people who are taking drugs will tell you about. Meditation is not concerned with experiences but with the experiencer. Experiences are outside things. Meditation is concerned with you, not what happens to you, not what you see.... A beautiful rose ― certainly under the influence of a drug it will look more beautiful, more radiant but still, what is the use? You remain the same person. Your heart does not open its petals, you are as dead as before. Except for meditation there is no way. Drugs can give you hallucinations, illusory experiences…." Osho

 

Exactly, drugs give you experiences. If you are mistaking those experiences for enlightenment then you are having issues. If you are taking drugs and having fun, just like you are on a roller coaster and having fun, then I don't see the harm. one is not the replacement for the other; drugs are not a poor mimickry of enlightenment to be rejected. They are like sex, an experience of pleasure which can still be deep and spiritual and positive to your life and health of your biological being. You know I consider Alan Watts to be pretty "with it" as far as anything resembling enlightenment goes, and he was a big fan of the booze and mushrooms. It's about attachment. I also doubt Osho ever took LSD or mushrooms or any other ego-killing substance or he would say something a little different. Not all drugs are made the same . . . and any "experience" of enlightenment is an experience, which means it is rooted in brain physiology. Drugs affect brain physiology.

 

LSD is a different type of drug. i'm not trying to say it can't be over-used, or that it will always lead to mind-expanding, soul-opening experiences.

but i have taken LSD and my "heart opened its petals" for sure. i was no longer the same person. i was more alive than ever. maybe it was all just an illusion, but i think it had a real and positive effect on my life. and how can we be sure that everything isn't just an illusion?

i'm also no expert on meditation, but to me, LSD can feel a hell of a lot like good meditation, if taken in a setting conducive to that.

 

See, Buddhism is focused on enlightened living, that is, a balanced and mindful life. And any intoxicant, and the craving for it, prevents one from being in constant awareness.

If however, one is well-established in constant awareness through proper spiritual practices and austerities, then such a person can indulge in sex and drugs , and convert them ( along with other daily activities) into a meditative process.

He would then even use drugs or sex creatively to further expand his consciousness, as opposed to an unaware person who uses drugs and sex to become even more unconscious.

It is like in Feng Shui. If you place a crystal in a room which is untidy and cluttered, the crystal will only amplify the negative energy further. If the room is tidy and clean , the crystal amplifies the positive energy.

Similarly , the mindful one can convert even a poison into a medicine/nutrient, while the unconscious person can convert even a medicine into a poison.

 

Not sure how to use the formatting on this site for linking comments so I will just do it the old fashion way ...

ravi25 said, "See, Buddhism is focused on enlightened living ..."

This is only true regarding the way the teachings are transmitted to unlearned people. Unlearned meaning those who do not understand. The goal of Buddhism is nothing more than Understanding. That's all. Understanding. Dictionary.com says Enlighten is "to give intellectual or spiritual light to; instruct; impart knowledge to." Look up Understand and you will see that its meaning is exactly the same as Enlighten is more words than that provided by Enlighten.

The Second Noble Truth starts off saying Ignorance conditions Sankhara, and in the Buddhist understanding Sankharas are three types of actions: mental action, verbal action, and physical action. Thinking is mental action, speaking is verbal action, and doing things with the body are physical action (including opening the mouth to speak). What I'm giving attention to is "Ignorance". If you know all the conditioned limbs that appear as a result of Ignorance, you also know that in order to put an end to any of these limbs is not to put to an end to the limb that conditions the next, but to put an end to the root, which is Ignorance. Understanding (Enlightenment) puts and end to Ignorance. However, if you have a misunderstanding of what Enlightenment is, then stating your goal as Attaining Enlightenment will never have the desired effect (affect) will never be.

I guess that this also depends on your cultural conditioning. Some people a different understanding of words than others. Some even pretend to have this understanding out of an unreasonable sense of fear (reaction to a definitional belief system).

Too bad this original post is more than a year and half old.

 

And does mere understanding ensure proper application as well ! There were many scholars too at the time of Buddha who had an understanding of the mechanics of the spiritual process but lacked in application to become enlightened themselves.

The goal of Buddha through Buddhism, was not just to create understanding, but to ensure the learner becomes a Buddha himself. And there is a vast difference between one who understands and one who is a Buddha himself.

Action having desire or ego as its background creates karma indeed. The 'Understanding' here is that action performed under mindfulness does not create karma and also exhausts the sankharas or unconscious tendencies of the mind .

However,does this understanding alone can be classified as enlightenment !

It is only one, who understanding this, and properly applies this meticulously and steadily, to the point that all the sankharas or unconscious tendencies of the mind is exhausted till he is well established permanently in the state of Asamprajnata Samadhi (nirvikalpa samadhi ), who can be stated to be enlightened.

One who understands this process and follows it properly, can be said to be established in enligtened living, even if he or she is not yet enlightened. This is what I meant when I stated that Buddhism is focussed on enlightened living, which naturally produces enligtenment in the process.

If the means are right, obviously the ends will come by itself.

Understanding and its proper application puts an end to ignorance.

Yes , proper and precise understanding , coupled with proper application, yields the right results .

 

If your following the Buddha's guidance, then NO...all intoxicants are a no NO.

The Buddhas path, is enlightenment of the utmost clarity and pureness!

 

^^funny advice coming from someone with your username

 

Hiya Porkster,

What the proponents of Sidhartha Buddhas now teach is a very disciplend path...the most noble and virtuous route to enlightenment...almost impossible I believe...but still probably achieveable..and vastly rewarding as a life path!

As using magic mushrooms to gain enlightenment was my route....I used a more direct method...one which is in built into the mechanism of the universe, by providing us with a fruit which enables us to transcend time and within the context of a trip to enter Nirvana! It's a path that I believe is far more achievable by the likes of you and me!

 

^^nice, detailed explanation.

i like mushrooms too

 

if you haven't taken buddhist refuge you can do whatever the fuck you want because you're not buddhist - otherwise buddhists have rules against being careless and or intoxicated - some schools are more strict - others like Trungpas fuck whores spread aids and drive drunk going off the road and dying on the way to the whorehouse.

I suppose this means you must simply use your own judgement. If you have any.