Religion and Drugs - Buddhism

Buddhism

See also: Five Precepts, Buddhist ethics, ethic of reciprocity, karma, and two truths doctrine

According to the fifth precept of the Pancasila, Buddhists are meant to refrain from any quantity of intoxicants which would prevent mindfulness or cause heedlessness. In the Pali Tipitaka the precept is explicitly concerned with alcoholic beverages:

"I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness."
Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.

However, caffeine in tea is permitted, even encouraged for monks of most traditions, as it is believed to promote wakefulness.

Generally speaking, the vast majority of Buddhists and Buddhist sects denounce and have historically frowned upon the use of any intoxicants by an individual who has taken the five precepts. Most Buddhists view the use and abuse of intoxicants to be a hindrance in the development of an enlightened mind. However, there are a few historical and doctrinal exceptions.