[Buddha-l] Buddhism, drug use and LSD

[Stefan Detrez]

Maybe a form of sensory deprivation can enhance 'mystical' or
'enlightenment' experiences. Jezus is claimed to have sat 40 days in
the desert seing the devil and stuff, the Buddha sat long enough under
the tree until reaching enlightenment, the Jains starve themselves to
gain insights into the discourses of their belief systems. Would those
be 'artificial', too?

I know it's Buddhist rhetoric to claim that in the state of nirvana
'there is no experience because there is no experiencer', but I wonder
if one studying religious psychology would go and claim that in a
-let's say- laboratory situation there's no one there experiencing
anything. For me, in a conventional lingo it is justified to speak of
someone's 'enlightenment experience'.

Now, to get back to a question undiscussed until now: what about
'moderate' drug use? A 'middle way' in mind altering substance use?
What good reasons are there to approve or decline getting high from a
Buddhist point of view?

Stefan