[Buddha-l] Buddhism, drug use and LSD

[Bernie Simon]

Stefan Detrez <stefan.detrez at gmail.com> writes:

> And suppose someone took LSD to do vipassana. In what way is this
> person's samadhi 'less' or 'ungenuine' compared to intensive 'clean'
> meditation? I have some experience with LSD and know that it's given
> me a spiritual experience of oneness with the cosmos and gave me
> insight in my place in the world I still carry in my heart. I can
> honestly say the experience had characteristics which are similar to
> what I've read about mysticism and 'sudden insights' in to the fabric
> of being.
>
> Can drugs enhance the enlightenment experience without being
> stigmatized as artificial?


There's no such thing as an "enlightenment experience" because an 
*experience* presupposes an *experiencer*, which enlightenment shows 
not to exist. As my teacher has said, "If someone comes and asks me is 
this experience enlightenment, I can say it is not."

My twenty five years of experience as a meditator have shown me that 
LSD and meditation lead to quite different places. You may believe or 
disbelieve me, but that's how it is.

----
And we were laughing at the stars
while our feet clung tight to the ground
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