Soma siddhas and alchemical enlightenment: psychedelic mushrooms in Buddhist tradition.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology October 1, 1995 DOI: 10.1016/0378-8741(95)01292-l (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Buddhist adepts from 2nd- and 9th-century legends |
| Topics | Buddhism Psilocybin |
| Citations | 34 |
| Key points | Argues that legendary Buddhist adepts consumed Amanita muscaria mushrooms to achieve enlightenment, with the practice concealed behind a set of symbols. |
Abstract
In the legendary biographies of some Buddhist adepts from the 2nd- and 9th-centuries there are some clues which can be interpreted to reveal that the adepts were consuming psychedelic Amanita muscaria, 'fly agaric', mushrooms to achieve enlightenment. This secret ingredient in the alchemical elixir they used to attain 'realization' was, of course, unnamed, in keeping with their vows to maintain the secrecy of their practices. Its identity was concealed behind a set of symbols, some of which appeared in the Soma symbol system of the Rg Veda, some other symbols possibly passed down from a time of earlier shamanic use of the mushroom in the forests of Northern Eurasia, and some symbols that may be unique to these Buddhist legends. The congruity of these sets of symbols from Northern and Southern Asian traditions will be shown to be reflected in the Germanic tradition in some characteristics of the Oldest God, Odin.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- Amanita muscaria: chemistry, biology, toxicology, and ethnomycology. Mycological research February 1, 2003
- Introduction: Evidence for entheogen use in prehistory and world religions Journal of Psychedelic Studies June 1, 2019
- Analysis of hallucinogenic constituents in Amanita mushrooms circulated in Japan. Forensic Science International December 20, 2006
- Historical overview of psychoactive mushrooms Inflammation and Regeneration 2009
- The “Kamasutra” temples of India: A case for the encoding of psychedelically induced spirituality Journal of Psychedelic Studies May 29, 2019
and 7 more in the library