Secret Drugs of Buddhism: Psychedelic Sacraments and the Origins of the Vajrayana

by Mike Crowley, Ann Shulgin (Foreword)

Secret Drugs of Buddhism is the first book to explore the historical evidence for the use of entheogenic plants within the Buddhist tradition. Drawing on scriptural sources, botany, pharmacology, and religious iconography, this book calls attention to the central role which psychedelics played in Indian religions. It traces their history from the mysterious soma potion, celebrated in the most ancient Hindu scriptures, to amrita, the sacramental drink of Vajrayana Buddhism. Although amrita used in modern Vajrayana ceremonies lacks any psychoactivity, there is copious evidence that the amrita used by the earliest Vajrayana practitioners was a potent entheogen. It is the nature of this psychedelic form of the sacrament which is the central topic of this book. In particular, Secret Drugs of Buddhism attempts to identify the specific ingredients employed in amrita’s earliest formulations. To this end, the book presents evidence from many countries in which the Vajrayana movement flourished. These include Bhutan, Japan, Mongolia, and Tibet but special attention is given to India, the land of its origin.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, History, Meditation, Nonfiction

340 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2019

Reviews

[ar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ended up skimming this one. Not really well written, a bit jumbled, but with a title like that, I couldn't say no. He did a podcast interview on a show called "Psily Rabbits' where you can get a solid taste of his shpiel. I think conversation may be a better format for this info than a book.

[Juuso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found most interesting part of this book the arguments and research into the parallels between vedic and vajrayana pantheons, and the claim about transmission of Indian soma to Vajrayana amrita. The author has impressive amount of knowledge of his subject, the exposition of various myths and iconographic features is extremely detailed. It seems to me that something quite psychedelic probably was ingested in vajrayana initiations. But, if the soma/amrita was a psychedelic mushroom, and large scale psychedelic mushroom use was a norm in early vajrayana, one would expect to find a bit less ambiguous and stretched evidence for these claims than the author is able to provide.

The overall history bits and comparative mythology between vajrayana ja earlier Indian religions, and tantric practices was the most solid parts of this book. For the rest 200 pages the author is repeating the same fixated "insight" that everything in boddhisatva images with a vague resemblance or even isolated features like red and white colour refers to psychedelic mushrooms. What the thinker thinks, the prover proves. At least I was not convinced that every boddhisattva, dakini, parasol shape, red and white thing etc. would be a hidden reference or personification of psychedelic mushrooms. Also there is great ambiguities in the argument, as the author at the same time insist that soma/amrita was psychedelic mushrooms but also brings in a variety of other possible candidates. I think based on his own evidence and the mass of ambiguities and unsolved puzzles in them, the author should be much less convinced of his own hypotheses and conclusions.

Also I find it a bit anachronistic that we would need a pharmacological reason for every alteration of consciousness or trippy feature in spiritual traditions. Placebo is a strong drug, and definitely there are other ways than psychedelic substances to alter your consciousness.

[Darrell Kinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A not often mentioned in tantric practices is entheogenic drug usage. Mike Crowley does as astounding job of taken primary source material and demonstrating that much of the symbolism and metaphor of tantric artwork and texts points to the usage of psychoactive substances for ritualistic and initiatory purposes. He provides a detailed survey of the native entheogenic plants of the Himayalan region. The author is quite knowledgeable on the deities, demigods, dakinis, and asuras that populate the hindu and buddhist worldview. Even though drugs were the common thread uniting his narrative, Crowley spends ample time acclimating his reader to the Vajrayana Buddhist universe, which is far richer than I imagined.

[James Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is written more as a reference book rather than in a non-fiction narrative. The themes discussed are fascinating but the style was so deficient that the substance was rendered unappealing. Such a hefty tome requires a substantial commitment of time, so if you are not captivated in the early stages, there is a strong temptation to skim and discard.

[Taylor U · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mike Crowley: a egotistical cannabis grower that drugs women on his property in Northern California for experimental and sexual pleasure.

[Graham Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books. Very illuminating. It's amazing what's inside this book. Who knew that amrita is actually a psychedelic plant This is true Buddhism the raw original ancient form. Brilliant book. Read it.