[Buddha-l] Can Buddhists quit smoking?

[Richard Hayes]

I recently came across an intriguing proposal from a Buddhist in the
U.K. Noting that strict anti-smoking laws have been passed in the U.K.,
she wondered whether the time has come for Buddhists to consider the
possibility of doing ceremonies in rooms in which the air is not
polluted by clouds of incense smoke. Incense, she observes, has usually
been used in Asia outdoors or in very well-ventilated and drafty temples
and used to be used in Europe to mask offensive smells (as in churches
filled with parishioners who did not bathe except when being baptised or
prepared for burial). When incense is burned indoors in small
well-insulated rooms with double-glazed windows, she observes, it
quickly becomes overpowering, making it difficult for people to
concentrate while coughing and coping with stinging eyes and burning
nostrils.

Having coped for decades with the unnecessary dukkha resulting from
sitting in Buddhist settings where people routinely burn incense as if
they assumed it to be impossible to practice Buddhism without clouds of
irritating smoke in the air, I admire the courageous good sense involved
in making this proposal. The woman who made the proposal predicted that
it might result in fairly strong emotional reactions. I wonder whether
she is right. So I ask: What reactions does the proposal of a smoke-free
Buddhist practice provoke among the imminently sensible and mindful
denizens of buddha-l? Does it incense you or does it seem sensible to
you?

To save ourselves from at least one smoked red herring, let me add that
the person making the proposal grew up in Asia. I say this lest someone
imagine this proposal to find alternatives to incense might be yet
another example of Puritanism masquerading as Buddhism.

-- 
Inflammably yours,
Richard
Albuquerque (where it is now illegal to smoke on any city property,
including outdoor parks)