Most American-born Buddhist teachers and many of their students were influenced by their experiences with psychedelics and cannabis in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, however, we find many Buddhist teachers advising against using psychoactive substances to assist with spiritual development. At the same time, a new generation of meditators and seekers are exploring psychedelics and benefiting from the thoughtful, informed use of psychedelic plants and chemicals.
In our first session, Brad will be joined by two leading Buddhist thinkers, Allan Badiner and Kokyo Henkel, to discuss:
Is there a similarity between psychedelic experiences and Buddhist practices such as meditation?
Can psychedelics be a support for meditation and other spiritual practices?
What does current research show about the link between the neurology of psychedelic experiences and contemplative states?
What are the similarities and differences emerge when exploring non-duality through Buddhist and psychedelic lenses?
How have Buddhists drawn on psychedelic experiences to enhance their spiritual practices?
Kokyo Henkel’s experience with psychedelics and Buddhism has co-evolved over time. Following an initial opening with psychedelics around the same time he began meditation practice, he was drawn deeper into the study and practice of Buddhism. Kokyo has been practicing Zen Buddhism since 1990 at San Francisco Zen Center in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and at Bukkokuji Monastery in Japan. He was ordained as a priest in 1994 by Tenshin Anderson Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2010. Kokyo is currently the head teacher at Santa Cruz Zen Center.
Allan Badiner served as editor for the first edition, and now for the new edition, of the groundbreaking anthology Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (Synergetic Press, 2015), which launched the first inquiry into the ethical, doctrinal, and transcendental considerations of the intersection of Buddhism and psychedelics. He is also editor of two other books of collected essays, Dharma Gaia: A Harvest in Buddhism and Ecology (Parallax Press, 1990) and Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism (Parallax, 2002). Allan is a contributing editor of Tricycle magazine, and serves on the board of directors of Rainforest Action Network, Threshold Foundation and Project CBD. He has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for more than 25 years.
