Modern Culture

The new wave of psychedelics in buddhist practice

Even the old guard is taking note of this development, recognizing the new generation’s skill in working with psychedelics and the advances in their therapeutic use. [Jack Kornfield writes}, “It has to be done carefully and with the boundaries that the Buddha offered regarding ethics—not to harm yourself and not to harm others.”

Those pushing the boundaries of dharma and psychedelics are, for the most part, Generation X teachers and millennials. Erik Davis, who writes frequently on the intersection of Buddhism, psychedelics, and Americana, said, “We are witnessing a youthquake within Buddhism, a changing of the guard of teachers following the decline of the hippie baby boomers. This new generation of teachers is comfortable with being both Buddhists and consciousness hackers using non-Buddhist means.” … Today’s practitioners insist their forays into psychedelics are not a replay of the merry prankster, tripping counterculture scene of the 1960s. Nor is it a continuation of the psychedelic use in the 1980s and 1990s, which Davis described in Zig Zag Zen as “American tantric adepts in their solitariness working with these substances by themselves.” Rather, Buddhist teachers and practitioners are reviewing, reassessing, and experimenting with psychedelics in small sanghas across the country.

Original Article (Lions Roar):
The New Wave of Psychedelics in Buddhist Practice
Artwork Fair Use:
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