‍Overview: In his blog, Sam Woolfe explores the five Buddhist precepts, focusing on the fifth precept, which advises against intoxicants. These precepts are ethical guidelines meant to help Buddhists reduce suffering and work towards enlightenment. The fifth precept traditionally covers alcohol and recreational drugs, with the goal of preventing carelessness and maintaining mental clarity. Interpretations of this precept vary among Buddhists: Theravada Buddhists generally view any use of intoxicants, including psychedelics, as a violation of the precept, adhering strictly to the Pali Canon, which emphasizes complete abstinence. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhists and modern Western teachers often have a more flexible approach, with some seeing moderate use of alcohol and certain drugs, including psychedelics, as acceptable if it does not lead to addiction or cloud the mind excessively. Woolfe discusses how psychedelics, unlike alcohol, can sometimes enhance mindfulness and spiritual awareness, which some modern practitioners find compatible with Buddhist practice. However, this remains a complex and context-dependent issue, with opinions differing widely within the Buddhist community. The blog highlights the nuanced views on how psychedelics might align with Buddhist practices, drawing from historical texts, contemporary interpretations, and personal experiences of modern teachers.

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Does the Fifth Precept of Buddhism Prohibit the Use of Psychedelics?

In Buddhism, the five precepts (or five moral precepts) are codes of ethics that lay Buddhists are expected to follow. They are intended to help followers of Buddhism overcome dukkha (suffering, or unsatisfactoriness) and achieve enlightenment, as the Buddha did. These five precepts are as follows:

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1. Refrain from taking life (e.g. not killing any sentient being)
2. Refrain from taking what is not given (e.g. not stealing)
3. Refrain from the misuse of the senses (e.g. not committing adultery or sexual misconduct)
4. Refrain from wrong speech (e.g. not lying or gossiping)
5. Refrain from intoxicants that cloud the mind (e.g. not drinking alcohol or taking drugs)

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The five precepts are a subject of interpretation, and individual Buddhists might follow them in different ways. For instance, many Buddhists refrain from eating meat, feeling this to be a natural consequence of the first precept. But in this article, we are only interested in the fifth precept: abstaining from the use of so-called ‘intoxicants’. Buddhists, again, can interpret this precept differently. While some may view it as a prohibition against any use of alcohol, for instance, others may feel it is justified to drink alcohol in moderation, so long as it does not ‘cloud the mind’. 

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The fifth precept tends to include the categories of both alcohol and drugs. But ‘drugs’ is an extremely broad category. In this context, it does not include medicinal drugs. Buddhism does not prohibit the use of medicines (even though many pain medications do, arguably, ‘cloud the mind’). It refers to recreational drug use: using alcohol and drugs primarily for their psychoactive effects.

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This brings us to the subcategory of psychedelics. Based on the fifth precept, is the use of these compounds allowed in Buddhism?

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Unpacking the Fifth Precept of Buddhism

Buddhists are expected to abstain from using intoxicants, as these are said to cause carelessness. The phrasing in Pali – the language in which some of the oldest Buddhist texts are written – clearly refers to alcohol consumption. And it is easy to see why. Excessive alcohol consumption is no doubt a cause of carelessness, such as reckless driving, violence, and risky sexual behavior.

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However, as already mentioned, Buddhists disagree about whether the fifth precept allows any form of alcohol consumption. They also differ in terms of whether other drug use is allowed. You will find a variety of opinions in the different Buddhist schools, and opinions differ from teacher to teacher as well. Because drinking alcohol is so socially and culturally ingrained, the fifth precept is not typically followed so strictly. For instance, if you look at countries where the majority are Buddhist (e.g. Thailand), alcohol consumption – at least in moderation – is not frowned upon. 

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The fifth precept was created as a way to support all the other precepts. We can see this clearly when we consider the state of drunkenness. If you’re drunk, you can be more prone to saying the wrong thing. The Buddha, in one of the Jataka tales – morality stories in which the Buddha recounts some of his past lives on his road to enlightenment – discusses drunkenness:

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“The one who drinks this brew will sin in thought, word, and deed. He will see good as evil and evil as good. Even the most modest person will act indecently when drunk. The wisest man will babble foolishly. . . . You will grow accustomed to evil behavior, to lies, to abuse, to filth, and to disgrace.”

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Of course, many Buddhists might not view alcohol in such a negative light. When using alcohol in moderation, some people might feel they also tend to express kind thoughts towards friends that they might not express so easily when sober. Many Mahayana Buddhist schools and teachers stress that it is intoxication, and not drinking per se, that violates the fifth precept. Those who hold this view make a distinction between getting black-out drunk, getting tipsy, and enjoying a glass of wine with dinner. 

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How Are Psychedelics Viewed in Buddhism?

Most traditional Theravada Buddhists see the use of cannabis, psychedelics, and other recreational drugs as a clear violation of the fifth precept (Theravada Buddhism is the oldest and most conservative school of Buddhism; its adherents strictly follow the Pali Canon: the earliest written texts of the Buddha’s teachings). However, opinions among Mahayana Buddhists – who are less conservative than Theravada Buddhists – vary.

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Many teachers from the Zen Buddhist tradition interpret the fifth precept to mean refraining from any addictive or compulsive activity that intoxicates the mind. This would include, then, not just excessive alcohol or drug use but also excessive use of pornography, gambling, shopping, and the internet. Psychedelics, in contrast, don’t typically lead to addictive or compulsive use. So perhaps if they don’t lead to such patterns of use, and don’t also get in the way of living an ethical and well-adjusted life, then they cannot be seen to violate the fifth precept.

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Many current Western Buddhist teachers arrived at Buddhism in the context of the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Well-known teachers such as Jack Kornfield experimented with psychedelics and found the psychedelic experience to be a way of getting introduced to Buddhism. He said that LSD “prepares the mind for Buddhism”. Kornfield found that the LSD experience allowed him to grasp the most difficult things in Buddhism. Western Buddhist teachers, however, do not see psychedelic use alone as sufficient to pursue a spiritual path.

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For teachers like Kornfield, their psychedelic experiences inspired them to take up a meditation practice, as a way to deepen and integrate their insights, and maintain healthy states of mind. The same holds true for many other people. Psychedelics were a ‘gateway drug’ that led them to Buddhism. Allan Badiner, the author of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics, said:

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“What a lot of people will say is that they took a psychedelic journey, and they reached a place that was extremely beautiful and special and had a non-dual character; that the whole world made sense to them and was integrated; that they were integrated with the world; that everything was alive. People describe these almost oceanic feelings of joy and connection. They don’t want to have a practice that involves a chemical dependency so they look for ways to kindle that feeling again in a more sustainable way. There’s kind of a migration to Buddhism to reach the highs that they had some experience with in their psychedelic journey.”

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Nevertheless, many in the Buddhist community do not see psychedelics as a legitimate part of a Dharma practice (applying the Buddha’s teachings to one’s daily life). Badiner adds that there are “others who think that Buddhism and psychedelics make a great pair of practices.” Indeed, many consider themselves Buddhists and they continue to use psychedelics, viewing these experiences as complementing their Buddhist beliefs and practices.

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Is It Justified to View Psychedelics as Intoxicants?

Many in the psychedelic community – from researchers to therapists to psychonauts (a term used to describe individuals who explore the inner realms of human consciousness through the use of psychedelics) – would challenge the notion that psychedelics should be viewed as intoxicants. Rather than clouding the mind, many find that these substances clarify the mind.

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Moreover, it is not so clear that their use encourages heedlessness. Nonetheless, they are tools, with a variety of potential uses; and they can produce all manner of experiences. So whether or not psychedelic use violates the fifth precept is not a black-and-white issue. 

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In terms of the argument against viewing psychedelics as intoxicants, or mind-clouding substances, research indicates that they can lead to psychological insight, emotional breakthroughs, greater self-compassion, enhanced connectedness, and a more realistic forecasting of future life events. All of this suggests that psychedelics can clarify people’s view of themselves, others, and the world. They have an ability to combat cognitive distortions, rather than induce or strengthen them. At the same time, we have to recognise that psychedelics may also generate false insights, and they may lead some people to conspiracy theories or delusions (e.g. of the paranoid or grandiose variety). Psychedelics are not, therefore, always catalysts for truth and clarity.

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So whether or not psychedelic use violates the fifth precept may depend on how one uses these substances, i.e. in ways that tend to foster clarity instead of delusion (in a Buddhist framework). Nonetheless, this is complicated by the fact that psychedelic effects can be unpredictable, unlike, say, the effects of alcohol. While excessive alcohol consumption may reliably lead to poor judgment or carelessness for many, it is hard to say what will happen after taking a strong dose of a psychedelic. This is because the psychedelic experience is determined not just by dose but by extra-pharmacological factors, colloquially known as ‘set and setting’.

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If you use psychedelics with care, attention, and intention, then it is more likely that your experience will lead to greater awareness, rather than a dulling or clouding of the mind, and heedlessness. Furthermore, researchers have found that psilocybin can enhance insightfulness in mindfulness meditation among experienced practitioners. Meditation teacher Jeremy Lipkowitz, in a Medium post, writes that:

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“because I was using it [a psychedelic] in the context of a meditation retreat (which included periods of practicing metta meditation and reflecting on impermanence), I also felt deepened states of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Rather than hindering or preventing skillful mind-states, the drug was a great support for cultivating them.”

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For those interested in both psychedelics and Buddhism, it will be a personal decision whether one wants to incorporate psychedelic use into their Buddhist practice. Yet so far it seems that psychedelic use in certain contexts can certainly be a way of enhancing mindfulness and the positive emotional states that Buddhists seek to cultivate.

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About the Author: Sam Woolfe is a freelance writer and blogger specialising in philosophy, psychedelics, psychology, and mental health. He is the author of Altered Perspectives: Critical Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness. His work has been published by the Institute of Art and Ideas, Philosophy Now, Psychedelic Press, Psychedelic Support, Third Wave, and Lucid News. You can read more of his work at samwoolfe.com. He lives in London, UK.