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Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics Paperback – May 5, 2015

by Allan Badiner (Editor), Alex Grey (Editor), Stephen Batchelor (Foreword)

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More than ever, people are in pursuit of greater fulfillment in their lives, seeking a deeper spiritual truth and strategies for liberation from suffering. Both Buddhism and psychedelics are subjects that one encounters in such spiritual pursuit. Edited by Tricycle contributing editor Allan Badiner and art edited by renowned visionary artist Alex Grey, Zig Zag Zen features a foreword by Buddhist scholar Stephen Batchelor, a preface by historian of religion Huston Smith and numerous essays, interviews, and art that lie outside the scope of mainstream anthologies. This new edition of the classic work on Buddhism and psychedelics includes a recent interview with Rick Doblin, founder of MAPS, contributions from Ralph Metzner, James Fadiman and Kokyo Henkel, and a discussion of ayahuasca’s unique influence on Zen Buddhism. Packed with enlightening entries offering eye-opening insights into alternate methods of inner exploration.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Synergetic Press
Publication date

May 5, 2015
Reading age

16 years and up
Dimensions

7 x 1 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

090779162X
ISBN-13

978-0907791621
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From the Publisher

Review

Zig Zag Zen is a treasure trove--inspiritng, frightening, powerful, funny, eye-opeing, and a source of great wisdom on a subject that our society finds endlessly confusing.

--Mark Epstein, M.D., author of Thoughts Without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, and Going on Being

Zig Zag Zen shines by its fairness: its authors squarely face the Zig as well as the Zag. That's Zen at its best.

--David Steindl-Rast, OSB, author of Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer

Zig Zag Zen is a must read for anyone who is concerned about the future of Buddhist practice.

--Tenzin Bob Thurman, chair of Indo-Tibetan studies at Columbia University

About the Author

Allan Badiner served as the editor of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (Chronicle Books, 2002), as well as two other books of collected essays, Dharma Gaia: A Harvest in Buddhism and Ecology (Parallax Press, 19901) and Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism (Parallax, 2002). Allan is a contributing editor of Tricycle Magazine, and serves on the board of directors of Rainforest Action Network, Threshold Foundation and Project CBD. He has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for more than 25 years.

Alex Grey is a renowned American artist specializing in spiritual and psychedelic (visionary) art. His work spans a variety of forms including performance art, sculpture and painting. He is a member of the Integral Institute, on the board of advisors for the Center of Cognitive Liberty and Ethics and is Chair of Wisdom University's Sacred Art Department. He and his wife Allyson Grey are co-founders of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, CoSM, a non-profit church supporting Visionary Culture in Wappinger, New York.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Synergetic Press; 2nd edition (May 5, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 090779162X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0907791621
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 16 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.035 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #566,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #350 in Zen Philosophy (Books)
- #416 in Buddhist Rituals & Practice (Books)
- #463 in Zen Spirituality

Customer Reviews:
34 ratings

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3 star		9%
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Jesse Gros

Puts The Pieces Together!

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book is delicious. It really filled a gap in my experience. I know many people are taking medicine journeys these days, and sometimes it just feels like we are playing with magic. It's not always easy to articulate how, or why the experience matters in the larger narrative. People feel the shift, but often have questions about how it all integrates into everyday life. This book builds a bridge between experience and the larger "why." It weaves a great story bringing in art, history and relevant, cutting edge Buddhist philosophy.

Thank you Allan. It's profoundly informative. It's a must read for anyone who is seriously looking to understand the role of entheogens, spiritual practice and integration of these experiences into the larger picture. -Jesse

9 people found this helpful

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B. Conover

very enlightening book, well worth buying.

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2015

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Excellent book - series of fascinating essays written by people who have experimented with psychedelics
and turned to meditation and Buddhism. Beautiful art work by various artists and Alex Grey was the art director.
Well worth reading and having in your library.

7 people found this helpful

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Jane

Beautiful art and digestable

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2018

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Well written and designed.

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R. Jeffrey Goldsmith

a most unusual book with a variety of authors. ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2015

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a most unusual book with a variety of authors. You have to be interested in the details of meditation practice to find this interesting.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

Great book-arrived quickly

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Ira Israel

Fascinating on so many levels! And the artwork is stunning also!

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2015

I found "Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics" to be one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. I was born in 1966, the year that LSD was made illegal and all of the experiments at Harvard Divinity School and in the psychology department at Harvard went underground. One must take into account that the professors leading these experiments at Harvard - such as Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass), David McClelland, Frank Barron, Ralph Metzner - as well as many other people experimenting with these drugs such as Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts - were exceptionally bright, well-educated people who had the intention of exploring human consciousness. By the time I was a teenager in the 1980s, drugs were mostly used for recreational distractions.

Allan Badiner wanted to know what happened to the research with psychedelics by bright, spiritually-minded people so he decided to ask a wide spectrum of seekers what their experiences exploring the relationship between Buddhism and psychedelics was.

Firstly, as all Buddhists will tell you, the Buddha was very specifically against intoxicants (although Robert Thurman says that in the original Pali language, the 5th precept clearly refers to alcohol). So most of the writers and interviewees in "Zig Zag Zen" have to weigh in on whether psychedelics constitute intoxicants or not. Some argue that they are intoxicants, some argue that they aren't intoxicants, some argue that they are intoxicants but get a pass, and some argue that they aren't intoxicants but still should be avoided.

What Mister Badiner has assembled is a captivating array of diverse perspectives and personal experiences wherein many gifted writers and thinkers try to use language to convey the ineffable. In addition, Alex Grey, who is widely regarded as the leading progenitor of the increasingly popular 'visionary art' movement, is the art editor of "Zig Zag Zen" and has compiled a lush and visually stunning assortment of artworks that bring the discussion to life in a visceral and concrete manner.

"Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics" is a fun, historical exploration of the divergent viewpoints and experiences of many extremely bright people who - like the Buddha - carry the intention of exploring human consciousness with the goal of allaying suffering. As Robert Thurman observed, "Zig Zag Zen is a must read for anyone who is concerned about the future of Buddhist practice."

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

David Wilder

Honest Discussion About Psychedelics' Role in Buddhism

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2016

The book Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics is a compilation of articles and interviews written and conducted by several respected people in both the Buddhist and psychedelic communities. The pieces explore the crossovers between Buddhism and psychedelics and offer an honest perspective about whether psychedelic substances have a place in a sincere Buddhist practice, and vice-versa.

Following a foreword written by Stephen Batchelor, a preface written by religious studies scholar Huston Smith, and an introduction written by the book's editor Allan Badiner, Zig Zag Zen is broken into three main sections: "Intersection", which explores the points common to both topics, "Concrescence?", which discusses the coalescence or "growing together" of Buddhism and psychedelics, and "Lessons", which offers advice from the elders in both movements for a beginning psychonaut or Buddhist.

The "Intersection" section covers topics like the Tibetan Book of the Dead and a 1964 psychedelicized version of it called The Psychedelic Experience, the concept of suffering, America's relationship with Buddhism, shamanism, spiritually-influenced artwork, and other various spiritual practices. The authors featured in this section include psychedelic researcher Ralph Metzner, professor Roger Walsh, anthropologist/writer Christian Rätsch, and Allan Badiner, among others.

The "Concrescence?" section begins with a thorough explanation of Buddhist and psychedelic artwork by visionary artist Alex Grey, followed by an explanation by Rick Strassman concerning his groundbreaking DMT research, and then features several chapters on various topics such as "psychoactivism", "leaning into rawness", ayahuasca, cannabis as a harm reduction practice, and a fantastic analysis of psychedelics' potential role in Buddhist practice by writer Erik Davis.

The final section, "Lessons", includes several discussions concerning whether psychedelics are a help or a hindrance on the Buddhist path, features an interview with the well-known psychedelic bard Terence McKenna, the work of Rick Doblin with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Lama Surya Das' "zen commandments", and more.

The book is extremely well-written and edited, and offers an honest look at whether psychedelics can play a valid role in a Buddhist practice. The authors (and speakers) in the book do not all agree on a conclusion, and so it is up to the reader to decide whether psychedelics would truly assist them in their spiritual path or not. Featured throughout the book are a plethora of breathtaking art pieces in full color. I would advise this book to anyone who has an interest in either Buddhism or psychedelics.

6 people found this helpful

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kevin o'keefe

Poorly constructed

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

Ordered the book last week and to be honest I haven't even read it yet. However, my copy is in terrible condition. The pages have completely separated from the cover. The glue that attaches the spine of the pages to the cover seems to be really weak or poorly applied and isn't strong enough to keep the book in once piece. I now have a bunch of pages and a completely separated cover. Super disappointed in this purchase.

This review is based solely on the quality of the book itself. NOT the content.

4 people found this helpful

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Mandy

An intelligent, well balanced and open discussion

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

An intelligent book that delivers a great all round discussion on what has been a 'hot topic' for over 50yrs. In delivers in the spirit of Truth, encouraging the individual to search oneself as to what path to follow. Neither vilifying nor deifying psychedelics, rather balancing everything with sound examples and advice. The format - a series of essays, reflections, transcripts of interviews and some truly Divine artwork makes for a smooth and easy read. I cannot rate this book highly enough for those in search of the Mystery of Life.

4 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Damaged item

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

Great book but item damaged. The whole front cover is peeling off. Not great considering the price!

Daniel Takami

Thanks

Reviewed in Spain on January 31, 2021

Verified Purchase

Interesting, thanks

Gustavo Bechert Sartori

Ótimo, Recomendo!

Reviewed in Brazil on June 10, 2018

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Excelente livro, recomendo! Conteúdo muito versatil e com varias ideias para inserir no seu processo de autoconhecimento pessoal. Não perca tempo

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Client d'Amazon

Really interesting mix

Reviewed in France on June 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

Exceptional printing of the artwork, nice fonts, great paper. Perfect. Really interesting blend of perspectives. Must have for a psychonaut or anyone interested in the workings of the human mind

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