Tripping Toward the Real: Inducing Liminal Sensory Experiences through Psychoactive Substances in Buddhist Contemplative Practice
Journal of the American Academy of Religion July 11, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/jaarel/lfag046 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Textual analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Early Great Perfection tradition Tibetan writings |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Contemplation Perfection Liminality Consumption sociology Consciousness Aesthetics Epistemology Spiritual practice Spirituality Materiality auditing Connotation Religious experience |
| Key points | Argues that early Tibetan Great Perfection texts prescribe psychoactive fungi as part of the Buddhist path, contradicting scholarly consensus that premodern Buddhists did not use psychedelics. Proposes these traditions as resources for studying psychedelics' role in contemplative experience. |
Abstract
Abstract This article analyzes passages found in Tibetan writings from the early Great Perfection tradition that prescribe the cultivation and consumption of psychoactive fungi as an integral part of the Buddhist path. It identifies these passages as the first instances discovered in premodern Buddhist literature in which the use of psychedelics is unambiguously prescribed to hasten progress toward awakening. In so doing, it makes two central arguments: one, that mounting scholarly consensus claiming premodern Buddhists never used psychoactive substances as part of Buddhist contemplative practice is in need of correction; and two, that the early Tibetan Great Perfection tradition and others that integrate medicine and meditation can serve as resources for investigating how premodern Buddhists envisioned the role of psychedelics in developing contemplative experience. The article concludes with suggestions for how this and similarly focused text-historical research in Buddhist studies might contribute to scientific research on the possible relationships between contemplation and psychedelics.