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| The drunkard said, "They're here, they're there, pink elephants [are] everywhere!" |
.Oh no, it's not just humans. Elephants and other animals SEEK out psychedelics. (Think of the magic mushroom-loving reindeer of the Arctic circle, who not only search for
Amanita muscaria or Fly agaric hallucinogenic mushrooms in the snow but also lick "yellow" snow in the hopes that the reindeer responsible for the deposit found some, just as shamans filter the strong entheogenic compounds in magic mushrooms for their followers and patients). There are humans and animals in Nepal, Turkey, and the Hindu Kush region who feast on hallucinogenic "
mad honey," derived from rhododendron (
grayanotoxins) and other plants collected by bees.
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| Don't get high, Kids. Meditate to see visions. |
Mushrooms, contrary to what many might think, are
not plants. They are a whole different kingdom, the fungi studied by mycologists. But there are plenty of plants -- like the components of
Ayahuasca of the Amazon Jungle/Rainforest, which is comprised of three plant pharmacy ingredients, strangely, not the same three -- that are entheogens. There is Syrian Rue, there are alkaloids galore in rainforests, and animals are looking:
- Even in the Buddha's time, among the Sakas (Shakyas, Indo-Scythians), there was a "magical" entheogenic/psychedelic drug known in Vedic Sanskrit as soma (haoma in the Avestan language of the Indo-Iranians/Aryans west of ancient Jambudvipa). No one knows what exactly was in this concoction, but it seems to have included powerful local cannabis, kumis, and the mysterious psychedelic known as blue lotus. Did wandering ascetics (sramanas, shamans) partake of it for divine visions or did warrior princes imbibe it for guidance and/or to go berserk in battle like Berserkers?
Hallucinogenic plants
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| Oh no, Dumbo, it's bad trip time! Set and setting! |
Deep within the heart of Africa, a captivating spectacle unfolds — one that challenges our understanding of animal behavior and the natural world.
Elephants, the majestic titans of the savanna (grasslands), have been observed engaging in a curious ritual: seeking out and consuming plants known for their psychoactive properties.
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| So that's why they stink so much: detoxing |
[This is in addition to elephants' penchant to visit fallen fruit that has fermented and the ground (by the natural activity of yeasts and bacteria) and gorge themselves on it until they are as drunk as skunks, if skunks could get drunk, which they can if enough fruit falls on the ground to pique their interest or if Uncle Kelly leaves his glass of the "water of life" (Gaelic
fuisce, whisky) out overnight after passing out and they come searching for Seamus the Dog's food bowl for freebies.]
This behavior, both fascinating and enigmatic, raises intriguing questions about the motivations and experiences of these gentle giants.
Does Wisdom Quarterly advocate (entheogenic) drug use?
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| Experimentation beyond science? |
Certainly not. Drugs are bad and go against the fourth of the Five Precepts incumbents on Buddhists. If any
thing (drug, food, behavior) occasions heedlessness (the violating of precepts or engaging in any of the Ten Courses of Unwholesome Conduct), it should and must be avoided and abstained from. Who in their right mind would take something that destroyed all one's virtue. One often hears of people who say, "I would never [fill in the blank with any bad thing]...
unless I were drunk or high." Therefore, one should not get drunk or high because to do so is to engage in harmful karma that will come back to one, and it won't matter that one was high, as when drunk drivers get imprisoned just for driving drunk even though they didn't hit anyone yet. And when they do hit someone, it will not have been "on purpose" (with intention), so how can they be held liable? They can. They are. If one murders or steals while high, it does not matter to judges, juries, or the general public that the perpetrator excuses the behavior by saying, "Yeah, but I was high." Stay sober. Praise sobriety. Study plants:
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| Oh, much better, trippin' on reality |
Get high on life or the ecstatic meditations (
jhanas), with
samadhi in mind, opening the third eye (
dibba cakkhu), stimulating the pineal gland in natural and nonharmful ways. Try
pranayama to alter consciousness in a way that does not destroy one. There's a fine line between character-building and soul-destroying (even though "soul" is not really the best word to use as it has misleading connotations) experiences. Drugs are a kind of Russian roulette. Find a shaman, a guide, a discipline before f'ing around and finding out. Will kids find out? Don't they always? It is an explorer's function to go on a quest. So let it be a spiritual quest of mind-expanding "soul" searching that brings about the end of suffering by heightening compassion and wisdom. That's what
Wisdom Quarterly is saying. Read Dr. Ammon Hillman's
The Chemical Muse to see just how long this has been going on in Western culture. Then read John Allegro's banned magic mushroom text about the real meaning of Christianity. Antihero Homer Simpson is the perfect example of what not to do, besotted on the couch being programmed by TV's hypnotic influence, accomplishing nothing.
- DiscoverWildScience via MSN.com, April 8, 2025; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
