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Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Alex Wilding

microban wrote at 2009-10-15 20:31:44
BUDDHISTS (Tibet, India, and China)From the 5th Century B.C.E. on ritually used Marijuana; initiation rites and mystical experiences were (are) common in many Chinese Buddhist Sects. Some Tibetan Buddhists and lamas (priests) consider Marijuana their most holy plant. Many Buddhist traditions, writings, and beliefs indicate that "Siddhartha" (the Buddha) himself, used and ate nothing but hemp and its seeds for six years prior to announcing (discovering) his truths and becoming the Buddha (Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path).

Jeff wrote at 2009-10-25 18:44:26
Well this goes to the person who answered the question. Yeah buddist may be against intoxication but marijuana is an anti-oxidant, and also if you did your research, it is said in scripturs that Siddhartha Gautama ingested one cannis seed a day while he sat under the Bohdi tree. So if your happy doing what your doing, then keep doing it. That is true enlightenment.

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Alex Wilding

Expertise

I have practiced and studied Tibetan Buddhism in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions since the early 1970s, and have a good knowledge of theory, history and of the struggles of trying to practice the teachings, including meditation, while leading a normal, modern life. I am also available to provide background information for journalists.

Experience

I have been a practitioner since the early 1970s; have run a small Buddhist centre in the English Midlands and was vice-president of Kagyu Benchen Ling e.V. in Germany, for whom I managed three large Buddhist summer-camps. More importantly, I maintain a habit of personal practice. I am the "owner" of the Kagyu list at Yahoo.

Education/Credentials
My first degree was an M.A. from Oxford. I later obtained a Master of Philosophy degree for a research thesis in "Initiation in Tibetan Buddhism" from Leicester University. I also have engineering and educational qualifications.

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