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Dr. J. chats with Jamie Hubbard, a professor of Buddhist Studies at Smith College, and organizer of a conference on the use of neurotechnology to enhance Buddhist practice, April 10, 2010 at Smith College.
I guess the answer as to whether we prescribe drug enhancement as worthwhile or even ethical will always be a personal choice. Although with the "safe" drugs that may become available, this may prove to be a great advantage to many "sufferers" and there can be a great benefit of perhaps psychedelic drugs where guidance and tuition is on hand, (such as in a clinic or group etc).
It all boils down to deciding "what you really want", and for that you need to know "who you are?" Kinda "catch 22" here? Would I contemplate drug enhancements myself? Hmm I am generally adverse to all drugs, and drug use, and although there are close parties who do use these and are encouraging me, when I enquire further, they cannot really give me a straight answer regarding their experiences. I guess you have to be there!
The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors_of_Perception
Posted by Paracelsus on 03/01 at 01:25 PM
Let's say some pill or apparatus allows one to experience the fruition of 30 years of cave-dwelling hermetic retreat in a single moment or some similarly obnoxious quanta of time - would the brain of the would-be Buddha instantly learn not to grasp or attach, or would the old habits kick in instead, relegating the experience to something more transient? This seems to touch on the old Buddhist paradox that an enlightenment experience may be the result of years (or lifetimes) of developmental effort, or it can happen in an instant, seemingly contingent upon no prior cultivation at all. The latter case simply offends the inner Calvinist of so many of us Americans...
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