Marijuana.com

Lawnmower

Apparently, when asked whether drugs could be used to attain enlightenment, the Dalai Lama once joked "I sure hope so!"

I'm sort of what you might call an "amateur Buddhist" - I'm not too well up on the Buddhist viewpoint on a lot of things. I've heard people suggesting that Buddhism almost endorses the use of drugs for spiritual purposes in some circumstances...

But did Buddha not advise against taking intoxicants?

Is anyone else here a Buddhist, and if so, do you have any ideas on this? Obviously, non-Buddhists feel free to give your ideas too...

happy happy joy joy

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Lawnmower

 

Rxrgood4u

Sounds like me..... some people call weed budda... who knows maybe sidharda gatuma "budda" ate a brick of nepal hash and wondered into the mountains returning with enlightenment...... but I read lama surya das book awaking the buddha within ,....eight steps to enlightenment ....tibetan wisdom for the western world...you should definately read one of his books,..he is a jewish raised guy from new jersey......his website is www.dzogchen.org ., in his book he quotes ......refrain from intoxicants that cause heedlessness...... the best mind-altering drug is truth - lily tomlin if you ask me a lsd trip would be very much like enlightenment tho I have never done lsd.,.. I have heard that it makes you have an intense feeling of belonging to a larger part of the world "oneness"

this guy admits to smoking pot in the 60s ...here are some things he wrote in his book

back in the early 70s I remember trying to discuss drugs with lama yeshe. I described to him in colorful detail my cosmic mystical experiences during a one week solitary tek through nepal. I spent two days meditating at a himalayan hot sprin, under the influence of mushrooms. I had hoped and even expected lama to explain these things and even help me understand. instead he laghed loudly and exclaimed. "western boy's dream!" he would say no more he just kept laughing....

now i personaly dont use drugs , and i don;t reccomend them...

buddhism is unswerving in its bottom-line respect for reality.

once allen ginsberg asked one of my own late teachers, dudjom rinpoche, for advice about the awsome visons he had experienced from taking psychedelics. The kindly old tibetan sage sighed and simply said,"if you see anything horrible, dont cling to it; if you see anything beutiful, dont cling to it. whatever the mid prduces, its the same teaching. Dont cling to it" budda himself never said it better..


I want to join a monistary but there isnt alot of them in wisconsin......maybe some day I will visit the mountains of nepal....most likely I would be distracted by the AWSOME hash prices......heh......I belive hindus use hash as part of their practices...dont quote me,.but maybe.....

buddhism is something you cant GET from a book....at least i think so.....I have read 2 buddhism books front to back a couple times....and Meditation seems unatainable for me.....even tho I have experince a very unique state while very high.....I layed in my bed and attempted to follow the breathing practices of budhisim..when I was high I could concentrate and control my body much better than when I m straight....now thing...buddhism is complete awareness of oneself.....some very strong indica weed seems to give me new abilitys to be more aware of my body....but who knows........no one responded to you, but this is something that is very interesting to me.....have you tried any breathing exercises?

Lawnmower

Dudjom Rinpoche? The same Dudjom Rinpoche who was Sogyal Rinpoche's master? I've read Sogyal Rinpoche's book "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying". Really interesting. Still, I think I'm personally more suited to Zen. But then again, Dzogchen is kind of similar to Zen, isn't it? Wish I knew a bit more about all this...

I suppose it all comes down to "do not take intoxicants which dull the mind"... does cannabis dull the mind, or stimulate it? Both, I suppose, depending on the context and the variety, so I suppose there's no concrete answer to my question. I'm just wondering whether you (or anyone else) have ever got definite "don't smoke dope" advice from a Buddhist teacher? I'm confused.

Maybe it all comes down to the common Zen response that it's "neither good nor bad" - it just depends what you make of it.

To answer your question, I've messed around with simple breathing exercises in the past, but never properly. I keep meaning to actually go to the local Zen dojo and start actually *doing* something about it, but I suppose "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak".

Rxrgood4u

I havent personally but the book I m reqading dedicates a chapter on why to... it says clensing requires abstinance, and staying away from intoxicants...of.any kind ... again The best mind altering substance is truth, dzogchen has been called self secret, meaning that the truth may be hidden, but it is always there for those ready to perceive it.

here is a quote

It's too close so we overlook it.
It seems too good to be true so we can't belive it.
It's too profound so we can't fathom it
It's not outside ourselves so we can't obtain it anew.

dzogchen teachings belive one may obtain enlightenment within one life time...even withing 10 years..surya das mentiones sogyal rinpoche's book the tibentan book of living and dying. a couple times...why do you think your more suited for zen buddhism?

Lawnmower

Hmm, I see.

As for Zen, I just find that, having been brought up a Catholic, I'm not too big into ceremony and rituals etc. So, I suppose I prefer Zen because it's very direct. So is Dzogchen, I imagine, but Zen seems to suit me better personality-wise. As master Seung Sahn puts it, how you eat the meal isn't important, as long as you get a full stomach.

 

KnattySpliff

Some of the sources I have checked with claim Sidhartha lived only on Hemp seeds during his seclusion before the enlightenment. I have no references to the sources unfortunately.
Tibetan Monks smoke marijuana, don't they?

Someone mentioned Hindus smoking hash. This is true, check out the Sadhus, the holy men of india. They wear dreadlocks and smoke hasheesh in chillums. Rastafari was influenced by these indian foreigners who brought a culture of religious contemplation, dreadlocks and hasheesh smoking.

Also note the Ganges river, the holy river of India for Hindus. Ganja is derived from this word. The river is said to have sprung from Shiva's head. Shiva wore dreadlocks and Shiva's followers smoke hasheesh.

bonghits4christ

i heard that the ethiopians believed to have seen a large marijuana plant grow on solomon's grave, and since he was a man who spoke wisdom laced words and proverbs of GOD, I guess they thought he gave them this gift to better see the wisdom that he desperately wanted them to grasp. But I don't know how true that is, but it sounds a lot like the shiva river thing.

KnattySpliff

Bonghits4christ,

You're right, it is believed that ganja grew on Solomon's grave, but I wouldn't say it was in Ethiopia(Zion)...I'm not sure....wherever he was buried. Wasn't he a Mediterreanean ruler?

King Solomon's wise old jahherb. Some say it came from his grave, but I believe it evolved naturally from Jah's creation.

bonghits4christ

Yeah I'm not sure where he was buried. I agree with you on the fact that GOD created the herb.

JOEL 3:20-21

But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of the bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the LORD dwells in Zion!


Peace out!