If cannabis can help an individual on their spiritual journey, their awakening, is its use permitted in Buddhism?
To learn more about this complex topic, we Will Johnson Johnson is the founder and director of the Institute for Embodyment Training, which combines Western body-psychology therapy with Eastern meditation techniques, and is the author of several books, including Cannabis and Spiritual Practice: Shiva’s Ecstasy, Buddha’s Serenity. For Johnson, cannabis plays an important role in his spiritual practice.
In the first part of our conversation, Johnson shares his spiritual journey, talking about his first experience with cannabis and the influence Ida Rolf had on him, as well as the sacrament of shiva.
In this section, he focuses on reconciling traditional Buddhist teachings on abstinence from drugs with cannabis use in a spiritual context, his thoughts on recreational use, and how this book on cannabis and spirituality came about.
Let go of guilt and shame
Despite cannabis becoming increasingly openly accepted around the world, stigma against it persists in spiritual circles, and cannabis use is often seen as stigmatizing and leads to ostracism from spiritual communities.
“At every retreat I taught at the Buddhist Center, at least one student came to me in tears,” Johnson says. The students told him that cannabis played a vital role in their spiritual awakening, but that they had been stigmatized by the Buddhist community for using it. He would advise them to “let go of the guilt and shame that the spiritual community has projected onto you, because cannabis is the person who is supporting your awakening.”
Johnson and his wife live in Costa Rica, where they run the Hollow Bamboo Retreat Center. “The name comes from a line by Tilopa, the Mahamudra teacher who focuses deeply on the body: ‘Become like a hollow bamboo,'” Johnson explains. Cannabis complements Johnson’s spiritual practice, but Johnson doesn’t say it works for everyone. About half of Johnson’s students are what Johnson calls “pure land” people, who follow a very strict, pure diet, don’t drink coffee or alcohol, and don’t take cannabis or other entheogens because that’s what works for them. The other half are what Johnson calls “ganja sangha,” who call on Shiva in zen meditation with the help of THC because that’s what works for them.
“Buddhism needs a reinvention,” Johnson says. “Buddhism, coming from Asia, has become obsessed with the mind, implying the idea that enlightenment is an expansion of what we normally call the mind.” A calm and intense focus are the foundations of awakening, Johnson asserts, but they are not awakening in themselves. Traditional Buddhist practice is primarily mind-centered, with the body as still as a statue. Cannabis “is totally ineffective, because it supports letting go, not attachment.”
In his book, Johnson reframes the five fundamental Buddhist precepts as attitudes to embrace rather than prohibitions. He rewrites the precept against taking drugs as “Put into your mouth only things that nourish your body and nourish your soul. If marijuana works for you, use it. If it doesn’t, stop. But I want people to be responsible and honest in their own judgment about what works and what doesn’t.”
It’s not surprising that Johnson does not consider himself a Buddhist, even though he relies on the teachings of key Buddhist scriptures as the basis for the practice he teaches.
‘Reverse intervention
What inspired you to write a book about your experiences with cannabis and spirituality?
“My decision to write Marijuana in Spirituality came as a result of a ‘reverse intervention’ my sons had with me,” Johnson said. Though he had been invited to teach in Buddhist circles where marijuana is banned, they told him that marijuana is a part of who he is, and that his spiritual practice was important in writing the book, to share how he uses marijuana as a catalyst for the practice he shares. “Otherwise you’ll be stingy with what you discover and die a coward who can’t express your truth. ‘Go for it, Dad,'” they told him, and that was enough.
The book, “Cannabis in Spiritual Practice,” offers guidelines for people interested in adding small amounts of cannabis to their Zen practice. “The key rule of thumb is to use only small amounts of cannabis,” Johnson emphasized.
Non-spiritual Is it for recreational use?
Regarding his recreational use of cannabis without any spiritual purpose, Johnson said, “Cannabis is a teacher in itself, and anyone open enough to surrender to its effects will benefit. Sure, I like to meditate after praying shiva, but I revere this herb because it enriches my life. I’m a musician, but I wouldn’t dream of picking up a guitar without praying shiva first. I also prefer cannabis for writing and editing. It’s a great support for my physical practice, which includes swimming, pilates, improvisational dance (there’s a reason surfers, snowboarders and skaters often use cannabis for their chosen activities), and lovemaking with my wife.”
When asked to describe marijuana in one word, he chose “wake-up.”
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