Tao Te Ching that wu-wei is an “intuitive cooperation with the natural order,
which is perfect and harmonious when left to work without the interference
of ignorant human action” (xviii).14 In The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoffʼs
views of wu-wei are in concordance with Hirshfi eldʼs beliefs about zazen
and writing. Hoff suggests that wu-wei “evolves from the inner sensitivity
to the natural rhythm of things. … When we learn to work with our own
Inner Nature, and with the natural laws operating around us, we reach the
level of Wu Wei. Then we work with the natural order of things and operate
on the principle of minimal effort” (68-69).15 This is likely what Hirshfi eld
means by “effortless efforts.” In another speech at the Green Gulch event,
Gary Snyder stated, “Meditation is the art of deliberately staying open
so that myriad things can experience themselves. One of the ways that
phenomena ʻexperience themselvesʼ is in poetry” (12).16 Poetry becomes
the outlet for the unutterable, exquisite acts of the mind; it is the bridge
between language and abstraction.
14 Ong, Yi Ping. Introduction. Tao Te Ching. By Lao Tzu. Trans. Charles
Muller New York: Barnes & Noble, 2005.
15 Hoff, Benjamin. The Tao of Pooh. New York: Penguin, 1982.
16 Snyder, Gary. Jimmy and Lucyʼs House of “K.” vol. 9. 1989.
59
The Psychedelic Controversy
While focused practice of zazen is the traditional route to enlightenment,
some Zen practitioners believe that the use of certain psychedelic substances
can create mental states and mystical experiences similar to the effects that
meditation produces. In an essay titled “The New Alchemy,” Watts chronicles
his experiences with mescaline and lysergic acid diethylamide (also known
as LSD). He contends that “they induce states of mind remarkably similar
to cosmic consciousness” (128).17 While clearly a proponent of drug use
as a spiritual aid, he brings up several interesting counter-arguments which
challenge his stance. Watts points out that “mystical experience seems
altogether too easy when it simply comes out of a bottle” and that if drugs
produce enlightening states of mind, then “spiritual insight is after all only
a matter of body chemistry involving a total reduction of the spiritual to the
material” (128).17 However, in response, he asserts, “States akin to mystical
experience arise only in certain individuals and then often depend upon
considerable concentration and effort to use the change in consciousness
in certain ways” (129).
While Watts may be correct that only experienced practitioners can
harness the affected state of mind into a usable spiritual experience, there
seems to be a level of artifi ciality connected to altering the brainʼs natural
chemical state in order to approach the divine. This is not to say that drugs,
especially psychedelics, are not effective for other purposes whether
recreational, scientifi c, or artistic. Watts indicates that an important use
of hallucinogenic substances is “as an instrumental aid to the creative
artist, thinker, or scientist” (130). According to his accounts, these types
of drugs can give the sense of transcending time and materiality, very
much coinciding with the goals and the philosophy of Zen. However, more
conservative Zen practitioners may frown upon the lawless nature of using
drugs, even to achieve a spiritual end. The rejection of drug use in religious
practice is probably more political and moral than anything else.
Perhaps the spiritual revelation itself is not derived from the substance
but rather from its cultural significance. For example, Southwestern
American Indian tribes have used peyote in their traditional religious
practices for generations. Similarly, although classical Buddhists did not use
LSD, they did have their fair share of practices involving the use of natural
substances. In an essay/poem titled “Amrta: The Neuropharmacology of
Nirvana,” Dale Pendell discusses the use of consciousness-altering drugs
such as Psilocybe cubensis (also known as mushrooms) and Cannabis sativa
17 Watts, Alan. “The New Alchemy.” This is it. New York: Vintage, 1973.
Zen Buddhism
The University of Alabama McNair Journal
60
(also known as marijuana) in traditional Indian yogic practices. Substance
use has had a long and illustrious lineage in the Zen writing tradition. Li Po,
one of the most preeminent poets of the High Tʼang (along with Wang Wei
and Tu Fu), wrote some of his most famous pieces while intoxicated. David
Hinton states in his preface to The Selected Poems of Li Po that many of
the classical Chinese poets would drink “just enough so that the ego fades
and perception is clarifi ed” (xv).18 This habit continued all the way into the
heavy drug use and alcohol consumption of the Beat Generation and is still
showing its face in contemporary Zen practice and writing. Nevertheless, the