what do you mean by 'reject' here? the first response to the original poster says clearly that if one does drugs, they cannot be called a buddhist. i think a dogmatic, rule-based response rejects compassion as given in forms like the pure land sect, which only require faith in the wisdom of the bud...

mods: is this against the rules because it is a meta-analysis of the effects of this thread on others? or can this be just awareness of the nature of how these internet threads work, and therefore valid discussion of the topic? there's a long wind-up here, but the point is specifically relevant to t...

i've been thinking deeply on this subject. one day i'll post citations and charts, i guess. We practice to see the things as they really are. and you started practicing from the day you were born? and you never did anything, good or bad, before you began practicing? and others who haven't, or perhap...

Any, I repeat, ANY drugs, pot, alcohol etc., will obscure your mind and it will be impossible to recognize the path. agreed. that's why we shouldn't close conversation to people who are living with obscured minds. drug use is real, it actually happens. debating about whether this is good or bad is ...

Should we encourage them to behave in ways that do not lead to joy, peace, and freedom from suffering in order to draw them in? there's no middle way between shutting down conversation with rule recitation and encouraging them to do drugs? my own opinion is that the rule recitation is only being sa...

most of these comments seem beside the point. i think the problem is that almost all of the respondents here are trying to categorize and abstract out an essence of an idea instead of confronting some bits of reality i am trying to focus on. my own point is this page is the second result on google s...

It's a fundamental question: "Do I like to follow the teachings of the Buddha or should I try to find a way around it." Is that the right question to ask? I would have thought one followed the Buddha's teaching for instrumental reasons - you follow them because you think they will take yo...

The Buddha's path is put down to help you. You can do whatever you want. Just remember that the Buddha was probably a lot more on top of things than you are. I'd trust him. agreed. "If you cling to it, if you fondle it, if you treasure it, if you are attached to it," says the Buddha, &quo...