'Let Go Of Any Guilt Or Shame' If You Use Cannabis For Spiritual Purpose Says Meditation Guide

Is cannabis use allowed in Buddhism if it helps in a person's own spiritual journey, awakening?

To find out more about this complex topic we reached out to Will Johnson, the founder and director of the Institute for Embodiment Training, which combines Western somatic psychotherapy with Eastern meditation practices. Johnson is also the author of several books including Cannabis in Spiritual Practice: The Ecstasy of Shiva, the Calm of Buddha. For Johnson himself, cannabis plays an important role in his spiritual practice.

In the first part of our conversation HERE, Johnson shares his spiritual journey and talks about his first cannabis experiences and the impact Ida Rolf had on him, and Shiva's sacrament.

In this part, he concentrates on reconciling traditional Buddhist teachings on abstaining from intoxicants with the use of cannabis in spiritual contexts, his thoughts on recreational use and how this book on cannabis and spirituality came to life.

Let Go Of Any Guilt Or Shame

Despite cannabis becoming more openly embraced across the world, in the spiritual universe the stigma is very much alive. What's more cannabis use is often shamed and ostracized by the spiritual community.

"At every retreat I've ever taught at a Buddhist center I would have at least one student tearfully seek me out," Johnson shares. Students would share that cannabis played an extremely important role in their spiritual awakening but they were shamed by their Buddhist community for using it. He would advise them to "let go of any guilt or shame your spiritual community may have projected onto you because you're someone for whom cannabis supports your awakening."

Johnson and his wife live in Costa Rica where they run the Hollow Bamboo Retreat Center. "The name comes from a statement from the deeply body-oriented Mahamudra teacher Tilopa to ‘become like a hollow bamboo,'", he explains. And, while cannabis complements his spiritual practices he is not suggesting it will work for everyone. About half of his students are what he calls "Pure Land" as they follow very strict and pure diets, don't consume coffee or alcohol and would not take cannabis or other entheogens, because this is what works for them. The other half he refers to as Ganjasangha as they invoke Shiva in sitting meditations with the help of THC because this is what works for them.

"Buddhism is in need of reformation," Johnson said. "The Buddhism coming over from Asia has gotten obsessively fixated on "mind," the implication being that an expansion of what we conventionally refer to as mind is what enlightenment is about." While he affirms that the calming of the mind and strong concentration are foundational to awakening they are not in themselves the awakening. With traditional Buddhist practices that are predominately mind-oriented with bodies still as statues, cannabis "does NOT work well at all as cannabis supports letting go, not fixating."

In his book, Johnson revises the five basic precepts of Buddhism by changing them from things you shouldn't do to attitudes you should embrace. The precept about not taking intoxicants he changes to "only put in your mouth what nurtures your body and feeds your soul.  If cannabis works, use it.  If it doesn't, don't.  But I want people to take responsibility and make their own honest decisions of what works and what doesn't."

It's no surprise that Johnson does not consider himself a Buddhist even though he relies on instructions from seminal Buddhist texts as the foundation for the practices he teaches.

‘Inverted Intervention'

How did you decide to write a book about your own experience with cannabis and spirituality?

"My decision to write Cannabis in Spirituality was prompted by an ‘inverted intervention' that my sons had with me," Johnson shared. His sons told him that being invited to teach in the Buddhist world where cannabis is disallowed, but cannabis being a part of who he is and how he practices spirituality is important to write a book about. To share how he uses cannabis as a catalyst for the practices he shares. ‘If you don't, you're being miserly about what you've discovered and will die a coward for not expressing your truth. ‘Go for it, Dad,'” his sons told him and that was more than enough.

The book, Cannabis in Spiritual Practice provides guidelines to people interested in adding a small amount of cannabis to their sitting meditation practice. "One important rule of thumb is to use only a small amount of cannabis," highlighted Johnson.

Non-Spiritual Recreational Use?

On recreational cannabis use without any spiritual goals, Johnson says "Cannabis is its own teacher, and everyone who is open enough to surrender to its effect is going to benefit. Yes, I really like to sit down in meditation after invoking Shiva, but I honor the herb for all the ways it enhances my life. I'm a musician, and I wouldn't dream of picking up my guitar without first invoking Shiva. I also like it for writing and editing.  It very much supports my physical practices—swimming, Pilates, spontaneous dance (there's a reason why surfers, snowboarders, and skaters so often use cannabis for their chosen activity)—and my love play with my wife."

Asked to describe cannabis in one word, he chooses “awakening.”

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