Renaissance or Dead End? The New Debate on Psychedelic Drug Use by North American Buddhists

By Justin Whitaker | | Buddhistdoor Global

The use of psychedelic drugs was common in the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s in North America and Western Europe. This time also saw a flourishing of Buddhism in the West, and for many the use of drugs was seen as a doorway into Buddhist practice and perhaps even a tool for seeing through illusions of society and the ego. And while this trend has continued, it was this year that the discussion of drugs and spiritual pursuit became an open and at times confrontational debate in the Buddhist world. While the topic of drug use continues to elicit very strong opinions and reactions, the range of responses to this issue have been anything but black and white. One initial area of developing nuance has been in the specific drugs being discussed. Allan Badiner, one of the editors of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (Synergetic Press, 2010 and 2015), writes: The notion that all “drugs” are fundamentally alike is at the root of the confusion in our drug laws and the social debate about them. Drugs differ. Uses and occasions differ. Policies and practices also ought to differ appropriately. Along those lines Stephen Batchelor, in his forward to the book, writes: Before Buddhists can even begin to have a serious discussion about the use and abuse of drugs in contemporary society, there needs to be an acceptance of at least the possibility that certain currently illegal drugs can produce life- and performance-enhancing effects. Such a shift in attitude may require considerably greater openness, understanding, and tolerance from those in the Buddhist community entrusted with offering moral and spiritual guidance.



Rev. James Ford. From eliotinstitute.org