The Psychedelic Future of American Buddhism

 

By Henry Blanke

It is well known that the practice of Buddhism in this country emerged out of the explosion of the use of psychedelic drugs among the countercultural segment of the Baby Boomer generation.

The story goes that after drugs introduced them to the possibilities of altered and expanded consciousness, those serious about channeling their psychedelic experiences into a disciplined spiritual practice gravitated to the Asian teachers bringing Buddhism (and other mystical religions) to the United States. The consensus was that LSD, psilocybin, mescaline and other such substances opened a door, but were unnecessary once a serious meditative practice had been established.

While it is interesting to ponder how many American Buddhists of that generation continued to (and still do) occasionally dip their toes into the pool of mind expanding substances, my concern here is with practitioners of the Gen X and Millennial cohorts who are now experimenting with psychedelics.

Currently these drugs seem on the verge of the kind of mainstream acceptance that marijuana has gained.

Clinical trials of the therapeutic use of MDMA for PTSD among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans as well as to treat rape victims have been successful and await FDA approval. And psilocybin has been used for the treatment of severe depression and anxiety.

Of particular interest is the well-known Johns Hopkins psilocybin experiment which was different in that the drug was used in a spiritual rather than therapeutic context. Participants chosen had experience with meditation and the majority reported that their experience was profound and lasting.

It is clear that there is a social atmosphere in which people of younger generations, especially those interested in alternate spirituality and psycho-experimentation, use and discuss psychedelics in an open way. However, for aging Boomers the use of these substances other than as an introductory gateway way back when is a Buddhist heresy.

They say that the fifth of the Zen Grave precepts warns against intoxicants.

This begs the question of whether psilocybin and such should be considered as being in the same category as say alcohol and heroin. But you will not hear much discussion of this among American Buddhist students and teachers older than about 50. It may be that a creeping puritanism is at play here (spiritual experiences can only be authentic if they are the result of sustained and disciplined effort) as aging practitioners become more conservative and rigid.

The future of Buddhism here is with the young and many of them are open to psychedelics as an adjunct to meditation or as a distinct psycho-experimental practice.

According to a 2009 Shambala Sun poll 66 percent of American Buddhists say that they use psychedelics either often or a little. And that was 15 years ago! Spring Washam, a teacher at Spirit Rock, a center in the Vipassana tradition, offers meditation retreats which include the ritual consumption of  Ayahuasca. The Buddhist Geeks website has hosted events to discuss the confluence of the Dharma and psychedelics and a conference in Portland discussed these matters from a Vajrayana perspective.

Perhaps the godmother of the Buddhist/psychedelic interface is Roshi Joan Halifax of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe. She, along with her ex-husband and psychedelic research pioneer Stanislav Grof, has used LSD in hospice work. Something is happening here, but Boomer Roshi doesn’t know quite what it is.

My own view as a Soto Zen practitioner is that psychedelics can be a tool to realize and actualize what Dogen saw as our fundamental, intrinsic enlightened nature.

Users are adding a powerfully transformative substance to the molecular chemical vortex of the brain. Also, I see psychedelics as a kind of simulator (similar to flight simulators for pilots) of even deeper purely meditative experiences. It may be useful to think of psychedelic Buddhism as a shadow counterculture to the subculture of orthodox Dharma in the United States.

In this way it is analogous to the left-handed Tantrism of historical India and Tibet. Those adepts used wine, meat, ritual sexual intercourse and other heterodox substances and techniques to harness potent sensual energies and channel them towards spiritual goals.

It will not be long before the first two generations of American Buddhists move aside for those now in their 30s and 40s. Will the current revival of interest in mind enhancing drugs coincide with a psychedelic Buddhist renaissance?

Personal Note: I became fascinated by mysticism and Asian philosophy at college in the late 1970s at read voraciously. Huxley’s Doors of Perception lead me to experimenting with LSD and psilocybin mushrooms which I enjoyed immensely, but there was no real Buddhist flavor to my trips. It was only several years later that I became a Zen student and stopped using psychedelics.

Then in 1983 I tried MDMA with my future wife. I clearly recall reading a passage on Indra’s Net which induced a kind of samadhi. Only after Suzanne asked where I was did I return to consensual reality. While I have not had the opportunity or inclination to sample drugs since I do still enjoy marijuana, recently I smoked a rather large quantity and did some informal zazen. I found deep breathing to be immensely pleasurable and for several moments experienced the disappearance of self.

But my focus could not be sustained for more than a few minutes.

I imagine the Tantric mahasiddhas of ancient India would have taken psychedelics had they been available (they may we’ll have indulged in the mysterious soma anyway.). If I should have the chance to take psilocybin in the future I will do so as an experimental supplement to Zen practice.

 

Henry Blanke is a long time Soto Zen Buddhist and enjoys writing poetry and essays, jazz music and cooking Italian food for friends and lovers. He lives like a monk in Queens, NY.

 

 

 

Photo: Pixabay

Editor: Dana Gornall
 

 

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