Drugs and equanimity

[villkorkarma]

Why is drugs related to ignorans and what does ignorans means?

[Annapurna]

Take a look at what equanimity is:

It's having control over emotions and/or less emotionality. (Imo)

Drugs however reduce the control over emotions while increasing them, and dim the clarity, and some create downright hallucinations.

So that's why they increase ignorance, in my understanding.

Ignorance means a lack of knowledge, clarity and realization.

[daverupa]

They tend to be sensual pleasures. Many medicines are also abusable for this reason. Equanimity is a certain equipoise with respect to feeling, so to seek a drug which generates pleasant feeling is at odds with equanimity, and the pursuit of sensual pleasures of any kind is based on not seeing the danger, nor the escape, which is ignorance.

[SDC]

The euphoric experience during drug use allows for a sort of universal acceptance of whatever happens. But it isn’t because one fully understands that experience (upekkha), it is because one has temporarily lost their ability to process what is happening. It feels wonderful but it is not upekkha.

[cooran]

Hello Villorkarma,

This might be of interest:

''Theravada

Classification
Within the Theravada tradition, moha is classified as one of the three unwholesome roots, which are the root or source of all of the other unwholesome mental factors.[1]
In the Theravada tradition, moha is considered to be synonymous with avijja, but the terms are used in different contexts. Bhikkhu Bodhi explains:
Ignorance (avijja) is actually identical in nature with the unwholesome root "delusion" (moha). When the Buddha speaks in a psychological context about mental factors, he generally uses the word "delusion"; when he speaks about the causal basis of samsara, he uses the word "ignorance" (avijja).[2]Thus, the term avijja is used when identifying the first causal link in the twelve links of dependent origination, and moha is used when discussing the mental factors.

Explanation
In the Theravada tradition, moha is considered to be a fundamental ignorance of the nature of reality.[3]
Nina van Gorkom explains:
When there is moha we live in darkness. It was the Buddha';s great compassion which moved him to teach people Dhamma. Dhamma is the light which can dispel darkness. If we do not know Dhamma we are ignorant about the world, about ourselves; we are ignorant about good and ill deeds and their results; we are ignorant about the eradication of defilements.[3]
The Atthasālinī (Book II, Part IX, Ch.1, 249) states about moha:
'Delusion' (moha) has the characteristic of blindness or opposition to knowledge; the essence of non-penetration or the function of covering the intrinsic nature of the object; the manifestation of being opposed to right conduct or causing blindness; the proximate cause of unwise attention; and it should be regarded as the root of all akusala....[3]
Nina van Gorkom explains:
There are many degrees of moha. When we study Dhamma we become less ignorant about realities; we understand more about paramattha Dhammas, about kamma and vipaka. However, this does not mean that we can already eradicate moha. Moha cannot be eradicated merely by thinking about the truth; it can only be eradicated by developing the wisdom which knows 'the world in the ariyan sense': eye-sense, visible object, seeing-consciousness, ear-sense, sound, hearing-consciousness, and all realities appearing through the six doors.[3]''
[…………………………………..]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moha_(Buddhism" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

with metta
Chris

[villkorkarma]

from my expereince it isnt so dangerous to take a snuff from time to time..

[drifting cloud]

from my expereince it isnt so dangerous to take a snuff from time to time..

No, it's not "dangerous" (although FYI, it raises your risk of developing oral and nasal cancers). But it's not conducive to ending suffering. You are basically using the drug to avoid facing reality in that particular moment, either by numbing your perceptions (in the case of opiates) or by heightening them (in the case of stimulants) or inducing perceptions (in the case of hallucinogens).

Ask yourself why you want to avoid facing the reality of that moment - chances are there is something (perhaps something very subtle) about that reality that you don't like, that agitates you, that causes you to suffer. Rather than explore that, you choose to ignore it by turning to a drug. But of course, the high eventually wears off, and you will still have to face reality, 'unfiltered' by whatever substance you are using.

It's this impulse to avoid facing reality, and acting as if the drug will provide a real satisfaction or solution to your ills, that is acting out of ignorance in the Buddhist sense of avijja ("fundamental ignorance").

[manas]

from my expereince it isnt so dangerous to take a snuff from time to time..

and from my experience, every time we take any kind of mind-altering drug, we encourage a kind of laziness in the mind, where we are not willing to work for our pleasure, but want it 'free of charge'. Which, of course, it never is anyway.

But the worst thing for me is how drugs encourage us to need an external agent in order to access 'blissful states of mind'. Every time we do this, imo, we ever so slightly weaken our ability to generate our own bliss, from within, without any external aid - ie, the piti-sukha we can access in meditation.

[BlueLotus]

from my expereince it isnt so dangerous to take a snuff from time to time..

ah ha But maybe not it can addict and some time become all time

[villkorkarma]

from my expereince it isnt so dangerous to take a snuff from time to time..

No, it's not "dangerous" (although FYI, it raises your risk of developing oral and nasal cancers). But it's not conducive to ending suffering. You are basically using the drug to avoid facing reality in that particular moment, either by numbing your perceptions (in the case of opiates) or by heightening them (in the case of stimulants) or inducing perceptions (in the case of hallucinogens).

Ask yourself why you want to avoid facing the reality of that moment - chances are there is something (perhaps something very subtle) about that reality that you don't like, that agitates you, that causes you to suffer. Rather than explore that, you choose to ignore it by turning to a drug. But of course, the high eventually wears off, and you will still have to face reality, 'unfiltered' by whatever substance you are using.

It's this impulse to avoid facing reality, and acting as if the drug will provide a real satisfaction or solution to your ills, that is acting out of ignorance in the Buddhist sense of avijja ("fundamental ignorance").

Its just a prove that iam not satisfied as it is you meant? or what is igorans?

[whynotme]

from my expereince it isnt so dangerous to take a snuff from time to time..

No, it's not "dangerous" (although FYI, it raises your risk of developing oral and nasal cancers). But it's not conducive to ending suffering. You are basically using the drug to avoid facing reality in that particular moment, either by numbing your perceptions (in the case of opiates) or by heightening them (in the case of stimulants) or inducing perceptions (in the case of hallucinogens).

Ask yourself why you want to avoid facing the reality of that moment - chances are there is something (perhaps something very subtle) about that reality that you don't like, that agitates you, that causes you to suffer. Rather than explore that, you choose to ignore it by turning to a drug. But of course, the high eventually wears off, and you will still have to face reality, 'unfiltered' by whatever substance you are using.

It's this impulse to avoid facing reality, and acting as if the drug will provide a real satisfaction or solution to your ills, that is acting out of ignorance in the Buddhist sense of avijja ("fundamental ignorance").

Very well said.

Even if one can use drugs his whole life, that precious time gone and where he lands his next lives?

Ignorance: don't know, don't understand what is suffering and what lead to suffering and view suffering as happiness, and view the way lead to suffering is the way lead to happiness. The Buddha said something similar

Regards.