Buddhism and Mastery of the Mind

Paper Summary:

This paper assesses how Buddhism views enlightenment and gaining mastery over the mind. The paper discusses the book "ZigZag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics" by Stephen Batchelor, Alan Hunt Badiner and Alex Grey, which looks at the phenomenon of mind-altering drug usage within Eastern religions in the United States. The paper then focuses on Buddhist spiritual tenets, such as meditation for the achievement of enlightenment. The paper also investigates whether Buddhism supports the use of drugs such as LSD and marijuana.

From the Paper:

"For the Buddhist, the mind has more power than all the other forces so the mind is the principle power to be mastered. It is the Buddhist belief that the mind is the power that creates real accomplishments and actions without control of the mind are aimless. Conflicts of many kinds happen because of the lack of controlling the mind. In order to learn to control the mind, it is necessary search the deepest parts of our mind. This endeavor can be achieved through a deep, clear examination of ourselves and meditation. The Buddhist accepts the mind is the center of our existence. Everything a person goes through, happiness and pain is directly created through thoughts and the effects of those thoughts."

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