Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America

329 Pages·2016·1.87 MB·English

by  Douglas Osto

A LT E R E D S TAT E S

DOUGLAS OSTO
A LT E R E D S TAT E S
c
Buddhism and Psychedelic
Spirituality in America
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW YORK
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2016 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Osto, Douglas, 1967- author.
Title: Altered states : Buddhism and psychedelic spirituality in America /
Douglas Osto.
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, 2016. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015051437 (print) | LCCN 2016002641 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780231177306 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780231541411 (electronic : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780231541411 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: Hallucinogenic drugs and religious
experience—United States. Buddhism—United States.
Classification: LCC BL65.D7 O765 2016 (print) | LCC BL65.D7 (ebook) |
DDC 294.3/366157883—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015051437
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
cover design: faceoutstudio / Kara Davison
cover image: Buddha © Shutterstock / Clouds © Thinkstock
References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
published with the help of a grant
Figure Foundation
midnight onward flowers in high noon
e

For my children.
Pounded as it is between
the Hammer of Fate and the Anvil of Time,
May my life be forged into a work of art
worthy of my descendants’ memory.
Amor Fati!
e
Then the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra put forth his right hand and
placed it upon the head of Sudhana, the merchant’s son. . . . In the
very next moment . . . Sudhana realized gateways into trance equal
in number to the atoms in all Buddha lands. Through every single
trance he penetrated oceans of world realms equal in number to
the atoms in all Buddha lands and accumulated previously unseen
requisites for omniscience equal in number to the atoms in all
Buddha lands. . . .
Then the Great Being, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, said this
to Sudhana, the merchant’s son: “O Son of Good Family, did you see
my miracle?”
Sudhana said, “I saw, Noble One.”
—The Supreme Array Scripture
CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
1. Buddhism and the Psychedelic Connection 1
2. The Psychedelic Revolution 21
3. The Buddhist Revolution 55
4. Opening the Door:
Psychedelics as a Gateway to Buddhist Practice 79
5. Closing the Door:
The Fifth Precept and Graduating from Psychedelics 121
6. Keeping the Door Open:
Psychedelics as an Adjunct to Buddhist Practice 139
7. Are Psychedelics “the True Dharma”?:
Debates, Presuppositions, and Philosophical Issues 175
Conclusions 203