Table of Contents
Secret Drugs of Buddhism: Psychedelic Sacraments and the Origins of the Vajrayana
This is the first book to examine the historical use of entheogenic plants in the Buddhist tradition. It uses scriptural sources, botany, pharmacology, and religious iconography to highlight the key role psychedelics played in Indian religions. The book traces the use of these substances from the ancient Hindu soma potion to amrita, the sacred drink of Vajrayana Buddhism. While modern Vajrayana ceremonies use a non-psychoactive form of amrita, evidence suggests that early practitioners used a potent entheogen.
About the Author
Michael Crowley
Michael Crowley was born on February 26, 1948, in Cardiff, Wales. He began his Buddhist studies in 1966 with a Tibetan lama and became an upasaka of the Kagyud lineage in 1970. To enhance his Buddhist studies, he learned Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Mandarin Chinese. Mike has lectured at various institutions including the Museum of Asia and the Pacific in Warsaw, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, The California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His articles have appeared in publications such as Fortean Times, Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness, and Culture, Psychedelic American, and Psychedelic Press UK. In January 2016, Mike received the R. Gordon Wasson Award for his significant contributions to entheobotany. He currently serves on the advisory board of The Psychedelic Sangha, a group of psychedelically-inclined Buddhists based in New York, and teaches at the Dharma Collective in San Francisco.