egyptians used to get high as part of rituals

7/30/2019 Egyptians Used to Get High as Part of Rituals

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E L S E V I E R Journal of Ethnopharmacology48 (1995) 99-11 8

:~'~ Jou rna l ofE T H N OPHARMACOLOGY

So ma s i ddha s a nd a l c he mi c a l e n l i g h te nme nt : ps y c he de l i cmus hr o o ms i n B uddhi s t t r a d i t i o nScott Hajicek-Dobberstein

3322 16th Street, San Francisco. CA 94114. USAReceived 6 Novem ber 1993; revision received 7 February 1994; accepted 16 February 1995

AbstractIn the legendary biographies of some Buddhist adepts fro m the 2nd- and 9th-centuries there are som e clues whichcan be interpreted to reveal that the adepts were consuming psychedelic Amanita muscar ia , ' fly agaric' , mushroomsto achieve enlightenment. This secret ingredient in the alchemical elixir they used to attain 'realization ' was, of course,unnamed, in keeping with their vows to maintain the secrecy of their practices. Its identity was concealed behind aset of symbols, some o f which app eared in the S om a symbol system of the R g Veda, som e othe r symbols possibly pass-ed down from a t ime of earl ier shamanic use of the m ushroom in the fores ts o f Northern Eurasia , an d some symbolsthat may be unique to these Buddhist legends . The co ngrui ty of these sets of symbols from No rthern and SouthernAsian traditions will be shown to b e reflected in the Germ anic tradition in some characteristics of the Oldest Go d,

Odin.Keywords : Amanita muscar ia ; Soma; Buddhism; Psychedelic drugs; Odin

1 . I n t r o d u c t i o nI t h a s b e e n p u t f o r t h b y v a r i o u s t h e o r i s t s a n d

t o d i f f e r e n t d e g r e e s o f a c c e p t a n c e t h a t t h ep s y c h e d e l i c m u s h r o o m A m a n i t a m u s c a r i a ( L . e xF r . ) H o o k e r v a r . m u s c a r i a , t he f ly agar i c , i s t her e a l e n t i t y b e h i n d s u c h m y t h s a n d l e g e n d s a sS o m a , b o t h g o d a n d s a c r e d b e v e r a g e ( W a s s o n ,1 9 68 ), t h e a p p l e i n t h e G a r d e n o f E d e n ( W a s s o n ,1 9 68 ) a n d t h e a p p l e s o f H e s p e r i d e s ( R u c k i nW asson , 1986, p . 171), t he G old en F leece (Al l egro ,1970, p .118; Ruck in Wasson, 1986, p .171) and thef i r e o f P r o m e t h e u s ( R u c k i n W a s s o n , 1 9 86 , p . 1 69 ),

* Corresponding author.

K a k u l j a h u r a k a n ' L i g h t e n in g b o l t O n e - l e g ' o f th eM a y a n s ( L o w r y in W a s s o n , 1 98 6, p p . 4 7 - 5 1 ) a n dt h e H u i t z i l a p o c h t l i a s p e c t o f T e z c a t l i p o c a o f t h eA z t e c s ( W a s s o n , 1 98 6 , p . 5 3 ) , a n d e v e n J e su s C h r i s t(Al l egro , 1970) and Santa C laus (Ot t , 1976, p . 97) .

T h e f l y a g a r i c s ee m s t o b e m o r e l i b e r a l r e g a r d i n gt h e v a r i et i e s o f m y t h o l o g i c a l t r a d i t i o n s i t a p p e a r sin than the few spec i f i c habi t a t s i t p re fe rs inn a t u r e . I h a v e r e c e n t l y f o u n d i t a p p e a r i n g i n t h ep a g e s o f s o m e h a g i o g r a p h i e s o f B u d d h i s t s id d h a s ,' a d e p t s , a t t a i n e r s ' o r , v e r y l o o s e ly , ' s a in t s ' . N od i r e ct c o n n e c t i o n o f a n y p s y c h e d e li c m u s h r o o m t oa n y B u d d h i s t t r a d i t i o n h a s y e t b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d ,b u t I p r e s e n t e v i d e n c e h e r e w h i c h s h o w s t h a t i n aB u d d h i s t a l c h e m i c a l t r a d i t i o n , p r o b a b l y a c o n -t i n u a t i o n o f t h e V e d i c s o m a u s e , A m a n i t a m u s c a r ia

0378-8741/95/$09.50 1995 Elsevier Science Irelan d Ltd. A ll rights reservedS S D ! 0378-8741(95)01292-L


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100 S. Hajicek-Dob berstein / Journal of Ethnopharm acology 48 (1995) 99-1 18

was taken under certain conditions to achieveenlightenment.According to Wasson (1968, p. 168), religioususe of Am ani ta m uscar ia began some time after thelast Ice Age in the northern Eurasian forest beltwhich spread north following the retreat ing polarice cap, approximately 9000 B.C.E. There, prob-ably beneath a birch tree, its preferred symbiont,early human foragers found and ate the magnifi-cent red- and-white fly agaric, possibly after obser-ving the effect it had on reindeer who had eaten it.Thus began the religious and recreational use ofthis psychedelic mushroom which continues to thepresent time in several regions of the world.

At some undetermined time, early Indo-European speaking tribes lived in close proximityto the ancestors of the Finno-Ugrians with whomthey shared the use of fly agaric, along with a vo-cabulary pertaining to its use (for examination ofthe linguistic evidence of contact between thesetribes, see Burrows, 1973, pp.23-27; Collinder,1955, pp. xiii, 46, 128-141). Centuries later, priestsof the Vedic culture sang hymns in praise of Somathe god, the sacred plant and the sacred drinkpressed from the plant. For reasons that remainuncertain, fly agaric was later replaced in VedicSoma ceremonies by non-psychedelic substitutes,and its true identity became a mystery even to theprevious keepers of this secret, the Vedic priests.After that point, there seem to be no referencesrecorded in Indian literature by those who hadpractical knowledge of the true identity of Soma,or by those possibly consuming fly agaric underanother name. The references to Soma in post-Vedic sources are discussed by O'Flaherty(Wasson, 1968, pp. 95-147).2 . M a t e r i a l s

2.1. The hagiographies of Buddhist siddhasYet, such references to practitioners of religiousrituals actually using the psychedelic mushroomdo exist. I have found them in T he S to r i e s o fthe Eighty-Four Siddhas (Skt. Caturasiti-siddha-pravrtti, Tib. Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi ' i 1orgyus) which was translated into Tibetan and writ-ten down in the late 1 th- or early 12th-centuryC.E. by the monk Smon-grub-shes-rab, as nar-

rated to him in Sanskrit by Abhayadatta. The at-tribution of author, trar;slator and origin of thetext given in its colophon does not mention anoriginal Sanskrit text as a source. This con-spicuous omission may suggest derivation fromoral tradition. A discussion of the identities of thepurported author and translator can be found inDowman (1985, pp. 384-88).The most likely sources of the eighty-fourthumb-nail biographies that make up this workwere the legends of each of the siddhas which werepassed down as oral hagiography by his or herdisciples and later compiled, possibly byAbhayadatta who did not include a record of hissources.

There are two English translations of this work,Robinson (1979) and Dowman (1985). Bothtranslators worked under the guidance of Tibetanlama advisors. Robinson's translation is very closeto the Tibetan text, but Dowman presents a self-described adaption 'from the stilted mnemonicstyle of the Tibetan manuscript to give a fluentidiomatic rendering into English while maintain-ing fidelity to the original meaning' (Dowman,1985, p. xii). At least in the s tory of the siddha Kar-naripa, Dowman and his lama advisors completelymissed the 'original meaning'. This story, whichreveals the identity of the secret ingredient of thealchemical elixir which brings enlightenment, is in-terpreted by Dowman simply as a parable of thesiddha's humility and modesty! Robinson also failsto reveal the real meaning of the story of Kar-naripa, which is not explicitly expressed in thestory, but he does not obscure the real meaningwith imperceptive, misinformed impressions. Ipresent my own translation of the story of the sid-dha Karnaripa below. I have tried to keep mytranslation as close as possible to the literal con-tent of the Tibetan text, so that those who do notread Tibetan can interpret for themselves the im-agery and symbolic elements of the story.3 . M e t h o d3.1. Interpretation o f the secret meanin gThere are at least three levels of informationcontained in the eighty-four stories. Firstly, thereare the historical, biographical facts: the castes


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S. Hajicek-Dobberstein / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118 10]i n t o w h i ch t h e siddhas w er e b o r n , t h e i r o ccu p a -t i o n s , t h e l o ca t i o n s t h ey l iv ed i n , t h e n am es o f t h e i rg u r u s an d t h e t an t r a s t h ey p r ac t i s ed . T h e v a l i d i t yo f t h e s e f ac ts i s , in m an y ca s e s, u n c e r t a i n .

T h e s eco n d l eve l o f m e an i n g i n t h e s e s t o ri e s i st h e d i d ac t i c . F o r i n s t an ce , K a r n a r i p a i s t o l d b y h isg u r u t h a t h e s h o u l d n o t r e ce i v e t a s t y f o o d a s h i sa l m s ; h e s h o u l d o n l y accep t a s m u ch f o o d a s w i l lf i t o n t h e p o i n t o f a n eed le . T h e l e s s o n f o r K a r -n a r i p a an d f o r r e ad e r s o f h i s s t o r y is t h a t t an t r i cd i sc ip les shou ld p rac t ice aus ter i t i es . Th is l eve l o fm ea n i n g i s c a r r i ed i n t h e s t o r i e s b y t h e o v e r t m ea n -i n g o f t h e w o r d s an d s y m b o l s .

I n m an y s t o r i e s , I c an n o t s ay h o w m an y , t h e r ei s em b ed d ed a d eep e r l ev el o f m ean i n g w h i ch i s ex -p ressed in sandhabhasa, ' i n t en t i o n a l l an g u ag e ' o r' en i g m a t i c l an g u ag e ' , w h i ch i s u s ed t o o b s cu r e t h et r u e m e an i n g f o r t h e u n i n i t i a t ed w h i l e d ec l a r i n g i tfo r the in i t i a tes . Such symbols in the s to r ies seemt o m e a n o n e t h i n g , b u t t h e y r e a ll y m e a n s o m e t h i n ge l s e . A f t e r r e ce i v i n g N ag a r j u n a ' s d i e t a r y ad v i ce ,K a r n a r i p a r e t u r n s f r o m b eg g i n g w i t h a p an cak ep i led wi th sweets on the t ip o f h i s need le . Th iss eem s t o b e an i r o n i c j o k e p l ay ed o n h i s g u r u b yh is benefac to r s . However , a t a deeper l eve l whichI w i l l a t t em p t t o i n t e r p r e t b e l o w , t h e p an cak e o na need le i s a symbol r epresen t ing the f ly agar icm u s h r o o m . A f t e r a l l, w e s h o u l d n o t ex p ec t p rac t i -t i o n e rs o f t an t r a o r a l ch em y , k n o w n f o r t h e i r v o w so f s ec r ecy , t o r e l a t e a s t o r y o f t h e w o n d e r f u la l ch em i ca l e l i x i r w h i ch g r an t s en l i g h t en m en t ,w h i l e p l a i n l y an d o p en l y s t a t i n g t h e i d e n t i t y o f t h esecre t essen t ia l ingred ien t .

I t w o u l d b e d i f f i cu lt t o d e t e r m i n e t h e d eg r ee t ow h i ch t h e s e l eg en d s accu r a t e l y r ep o r t t h e ev en t s i nthe l ives of the siddhas. I t co u l d b e s a i d t h a t t h i sco l l e c t i o n w as i n t en d ed a s a d i d ac t i c p a r ad i g m o ft h e v a ri e t y o f p a t h s o n w h i c h h u m a n b e in g sw a n d e r i n s a m s a r a a n d t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g p a t h sw h i c h le a d t h e m t o e n l ig h t e n m e n t . K a r n a r i p a w a sa l s o k n o w n a s A r y ad ev a . T h e ev en t s i n h i s l i f e a st o l d b y A b h ay ad a t t a a r e v e r y s i m i l a r t o t h o s ed e t a i ls g iv en b y t h e T i b e t an h i s t o r i an s B u - s t o n a n dT a r an a t h a , b u t a l l o f t h e s e au t h o r s a r e a l s ou n an i m o u s i n t h e i r e r r o r o f co n f l a t i n g t h eb i o g r ap h i e s o f t w o A r y ad ev as , w h o l i ved f iv e cen -tu r ies apar t .

A s I h av e n o ex p l an a t i o n m y s e l f , I w o u l d l o v e t o

k n o w w h y t h e r e l i g i o u s u s e o f a p s y ch ed e l i c m u s h -r o o m i s , a cco r d i n g t o m y i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , a t -t r i b u t ed t o t w o B u d d h i s t s a i n t s , o n e a 2 n d - ce n t u r yM a d h y a m i k a d i al e c ti c ia n a n d t h e o t h e r a 7 t h-c e n t u r y V a j r a y a n a a d e p t , b o t h h a v i n g t h e s a m en a m e . T h e l e g e n d o f K a r n a r i p a w a s o b v i o u s l yc o m p o s e d b y a p r a c t i t i o n e r , p r o b a b l y a n a c c o m -p l i shed p rac t i t ioner , o f A m a n i t a a l ch em y , b u t ,u n l e s s th e l eg en d s a r e t r u e , t h e r ea s o n s f o r co n n ec -t i o n o f t h a t t r ad i t i o n w i t h t h e l i v e s o f t h eA r y ad ev as a r e n o t s o o b v i o u s .I r e a l i z e t h a t I c an n o t , b a s ed o n t h eh a g i o g r a p h i e s b y A b h a y a d a t t a , B u - s t o n a n dT a r a n a t h a , p r o v e t h a t A m a n i t a a l c h e m y w a s p r a c-t i s ed b y t h e s p ec i f i c p e r s o n s n am ed A r y ad ev a .How ever , even i f i t were t rue tha t these s to r ies a r ea l l eg o r i ca l p a r ad i g m s h av i n g n o o t h e r h i s t o r i c a lv a l u e , w h a t w o u l d r em a i n w o u l d b e a r eco r d o fa n o n y m o u s V a j r a y a n a B u d d h i s t t a n t r i c a d e p t su s i n g p s y ch ed e l i c m u s h r o o m s , u n d e r c e r t a i n c i r -cu m s t an ces , t o b eco m e en l i g h t en ed .3.2. Siddha tradition

T h e siddha t r ad i t i o n f l o u r i s h ed i n I n d i a f r o m t h e8 th - to the 12 th -cen tu ry . In p lace o f in te l lec tua lan d acad em i c e f f o r t s , i t em p h as i zed t h e d ed i ca t edp r ac t ic e o f T an t r i c m e d i t a t i o n u n d e r t h e g u i d an ceo f an acco m p l i s h ed g u r u w h i ch w o u l d r e s u l t i n t h ep r ac t i t i o n e r ' s a t t a i n m en t o f t h e G r ea t S ea l ( S k t .mahamudra-siddhi, Tib . phya g rgya chen po ' i dngossgrub pa) . T h i s w as t h e ex p r e s s i o n u s ed t o r e f e r t ot h e s t a te o f en l i g h t en m en t t h ey a t t a i n ed t h r o u g ht h e i r v a r ie t i es o f t an t r i c m ed i t a t i o n .

T en o f t h e siddhas w e r e m o n k s o r y o g i n s w h oh a d n o t f o u n d r e a l i z a t i o n t h r o u g h m o n a s t i c a n ds ch o l a s t i c en d eav o r s . O t h e r s l a ck ed co n ce r n f o rr ea l i z a ti o n o f t h e D h a r m a u n t i l e ach o f t h emreache d a c r i si s in h i s o r her l i f e. Th ey fo un d gurusw h o s h o w ed t h em t h e m ean s t o f r ee t h em s e l v esf r o m t h e s n a r e s o f samsara, i . e . ' to ob ta in the sid-dhi o f M aham udra ' . T h es e m ean s w e r e t h e p r ac -t i ces o f t an t r ic med i ta t ion , o f ten spec i f ica l lyad ap t ed b y t h e i r g u r u s t o m a t ch t h e s p ec i f i c p r o -b lems o f the i r l i f e c r i ses . However , in the case o fK ar n a r i p a / A r y ad ev a , i t s eem s t h a t m an y i n i t i a -t i o n s b y v a r i o u s m as t e r s co u l d n o t b r i n g r ea l i z a -t i o n t o h i m , i n s p i te o f h i s au s p i c i o u s b i r t h an d h i sex ce ll en ce in B u d d h i s t a cad em i c s t u d ie s . H e n eed -


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102 S. Hajicek-Dobberstein/Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118ed to drink an alchemical elixir to allow realizationto arise in him.3.3. The story o f the siddha Karnaripa

This Mahasiddha Karnaripa, whose story isnumber eighteen in the Stories o f the Eighty-FourSiddhas, is actually two different persons whosebiographies are conflated and undifferentiated inTibetan sources. No distinction is made in worksattributed to Aryadeva in the Tibetan canon, al-though the subject of any of the works usually fallsinto the area of study of one or the otherAryadeva.The Sanskrit name Aryadeva appears as 'Phags-pa-lha in Tibetan; Cheng t'ien (translated) or T'ipo (transliterated) in Chinese; and as Shoten(translated) or Daiba (for Deva) in Japanese.These are usually translated as 'Sublime god'(Malalasekera, 1966, p. 109). I will offer an alterna-tive translation below. For reasons which aregiven in his biographies, overtly as a cover storyand covertly as encrypted tantric secrets, he is alsoknown as Karnaripa or Kaneripa. Alternativerenderings are most likely due to scribal errors. Inthe text of the story of Karnaripa which I havetranslated, his name is given as 'Kartaripa' in thefirst two references, there after being given as'Karnaripa' seven times, 'Aryadeva' also beingused four times, and 'Mig-gcig-pa' being used onetime. Fig. 1 is a reproduction of the text which ap-pears on ft. 96-102 of Grub thob brgyad bcu rtsabzhi 'i ch os skor, (Chophel Legdan, 1973) alsoreproduced in Robinson (1979, pp. 335-337).The '-pa' suffix to the Sanskrit is an abbrevia-tion for '-pada', an honorific affix. The 'Karnari-'part of his name has been considered to be ofuncertain translation, although it must derive from'kana' (Monier-Williams, 1899, p. 269) which is theSanskrit equivalent of his Tibetan name Mig-gcig-pa, 'One-eyed'.The first Aryadeva was the most eminent disci-ple of Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamikaschool of Buddhism. He lived in India in the 2ndcentury C.E.The second Aryadeva was the disciple of the Va-jrayanist Mahasiddha Nagarjuna who had severaldisciples counted among the eighty-four siddhas.Aryadeva II lived in India in the 7th- or 8th-century C.E.

A detailed examination of the conflatedbiographies and the canonical works attributed to'Aryadeva' appears in Malalasekera (1966, pp.109-116) (This source does not refer to TheStories of the Eighty-Four Siddhas). I have begunan examination of the works of both Arydevas,their gurus and fellow disciples, in search of fur-ther references to their use of psychedelicmushrooms. However, as of this writing, I havebeen limited to finding such references in theirTibetan hagiographies and have been surprised tofind evidence linking both o f the Arydevas and thelater Nagarjuna and some of his tantric disciples tothe use of psychedelic mushrooms.What follows is my translation of the story ofArydeva from The Stories o f the Eighty-Four Sid-dhas, with my interposed interpretations of thesandhabhasa. The reader might enjoy a preliminaryreading of the story itself by skipping over the in-terpretive sections.3.4. Karnaripa' s m iraculous birthIn order to avoid interrupting the story after thevery first line, I shall do so even before the storybegins. In the Buddhist view, there are four kindsof births (or rebirths) which result in existence inthe world of living beings. These are birth throughheat and moisture for plants and lower life forms,birth from egg for oviparous life forms, birth fromwomb for viviparous life forms and miraculousbirth for beings from higher realms who appear inthe world of living beings in human form in thecenter of a lotus blossom, uncontaminated bypassage through a womb. Karnaripa and twoother siddhas, Pankaja and Sakara, are describedas being miraculously born. The story of Sakaracontains some symbols that may be references toAmanita muscaria and these will be discussedbelow.In many cultures, mushrooms themselves wereconsidered to be miraculously born, due to theirmysterious, apparently seedless generation.Wasson (1971, p. 184) explains the significance ofthe name of the deity Aja Ekapad who appears inthe Rg Veda closely associated with Soma. Aja'un-born' and Ekapad 'single foot' refer to themushroom's miraculous birth and the monopodstem upon which it stands. Karnaripa's miracu-lous birth is one of several clues to his connection


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S. Hajicek-Dobberstein Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118

97

' ' ' >'r/ ~ x ~ ~ r/ 4. /

t ~ ~ : ~ r ' ~ ' - , '~ r ~ ~ ' ~ ~ ~ . ~ , ~ ~ I ~ ,,~ e~ .~ ,~ ,~ . ~ , ~ , ~

~ o`b ~ ' ~ , ~ " " d ,~ ' ~ . ~ ' . ~ - ~ ~ r ~ " ~ . - , r ~ r ~ , ~ , , : ~ s , ~ ~ ~ # ~ . ~ * - ~ - " ~ _ ~ , ' - < ~ , ' ~ - v ~ , ~ - ~ ' f ~ I

.~ V~ '~ ~ ,< ~ - '~( 5~ '~ ~~ ~' ~ -~,~ -~ .~ '.~ 'x a]'~ nl'~ C~ 'N nl~ l'r- 4'~ ' t,x ~ ~ r ~ ' ~ / ~ ' ~ r 4 ' ~ N ~ t ' N . ~ - ~ Z q ~ . ~ N . , z ) ~ t N ~ r ~ . ~ r r 4 ~ . ~ . ~ , ~ r ~ r . ~ . . . .. . I

~') , ' " ~ -- -- -)~ '" ~ X2' - '~ I "~ ~(~-~ 'a ' '~ '~ '~ ~ ra~l"~w.~ ~ l ' '~e ' ' ' l ~ " / r

Fig. I . Th e S to ry o f th e S id d h a Ka rn a r ip a f ro m T h e Sto r ie s o f th e E ig h ty - fo u r S id d h as b y Ab h ay ad a t ta ( c a . I I0 0 C .E .) . Co u r te syo f Dh a rma Pu b l i sh in g .

103

w i t h t h e m u s h r o o m , t h o u g h n o t t h e m o s t p e r -suasive.3.5. The story of Mahasiddha Karnaripa

Of th e fo u r way s o f b i r th , h i s was mi racu lo u s . He wen taway to g lorious Nalanda college . He became principal ofa l l mo n k s . Th e re w e re o n e h u n d red - th o u s an d sch o la r s . A1-

th o u g h h e r eq u es ted in s t ru c t io n f ro m man y mas te r s ,r e a l i z a t io n d id n o t a r i s e . He h ea rd r ep o r t th a t Mas te rNagarjuna resided around the southern regions. Specia lf a i th an d ad h e ren ce a ro se in h im . H e en te red o n th e ro adand went.

A t th e sh o re o f a g rea t o cean , Su b l ime Man ju s r i h adt ran s fo rmed h imse l f in to a f i sh e rman l iv in g th e re . Ka r -n a r ip a saw h im , b o wed an d o f fe red h im a mandalaand sa id ,


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104 S. Hajicek-Do bberstein / Journal of Ethnopharm acology 48 (1995) 99- 118'Because it is reported that Master Nagarjuna lived aroundthe southern regions, Oh Honored One, please show me theroad'. The fisherman said, 'He resides inside that thickforest over there practising alchemy'. Having been in-structed thus, Karnaripa went there. He saw the masterdwelling there, collecting alchemical materials and prep ar-ing them. Karnaripa bowed, made a prayer, respectfullyasked to be accepted as a student; his request w as granted.He was given initiation and instruction in the mandalao fGuhyasamajaand sat in meditation before the master.No t very far from tha t forest was a city. Both master andpupil went there for alms. K arna ripa received very deliciousalms, while the m aster received alms that were not delicious.The m aster said, 'Because this food of yours was giv en bylustful women, it is not delicious. This obtaining ofdelicious food by you is not good, so do n ot collect it on atree leaf, but receive it on the poin t of a needle'. D oing so,Karnaripa took a s ingle piece of rice pulp and ate it .In the morning, women made wheat cakes, put variouskinds of delicious food on a cake, put it on the point of aneedle, and brought it to Karnaripa, who brought it to hislama. Nagarjuna ate it and said, 'Wh at did you do to receivethis?'Karnaripa said, 'Doing just as my lama said, your w or-ship, I received this'.'Well then do not go to the city; stay at home'. Nagarjunasaid.

3.6. Delicious food, pancake on a needleA c o m m o n e p i t he t f or S o m a i n t h e R g V e d a i s

madhu, ' h o n e y , s w e e t n e s s , d e l i c i o u s , i n t o x i c a t i n g ' .Amrta, o r N e c t a r o f t h e g o d s , i s i d e al i z e d as t h em o s t d e l i c i o u s f o o d a n d d r i n k . T h e ' v e r y d e li c i o u sa l m s ' t h a t K a r n a r i p a r e c e i ve d m i g h t b e a r e f e re n c et o t hi s a m b r o s i a . T h e i m a g e o f t h e w h e a t c a k e o nt h e t i p o f a n e e d le w i t h d e l i c i o u s f o o d o n t o pr e p r e s en t s t h e f l a t t e n e d c a p o f t h e m u s h r o o m o nt h e t o p o f i ts s ta l k , f l ec k e d w i t h w h i t e r e m n a n t s o fi t s ' u n i v e r s a l v e i l ' .

A t t h i s p o i n t i n t h e s t o r y N a g a r j u n a t h i n k s t h a tt h is ' d e l i c i o u s f o o d ' ( o n t h e d i d a c t i c o r sandhabasal ev e l? ) i s n o t g o o d f o r K a r n a r i p a , w h o e a t s i n s t e a d' a s i n g l e p i e c e o f r i c e p u l p ' ( T i b . 'bras chan). I nM o n i e r - W i l l i a m s ( 1 8 99 , p . 1 2 4 9) u n d e r soma, a f t e rt h e p r i m a r y d e f i n i t i o n s o f g o d , p l a n t a n d d r i n k , w ef i n d 'somam-rice p u l p ' . H e r e t h e t r u e n a m e o f t h ee l ix i r S o m a m a y b e e n c r y p t e d i n a T i b e t a n -S a n s k r i t p u n .

H a v i n g b e e n a d v i s ed b y N a g a r j u n a t o s t a yh o m e :

Karnaripa did so, but when he stayed, a tree goddessbrought much delicious food into the house and actuallyshowed him her form. She bowed and conversed with him.

He received her alms and brought them to his lama whosaid, 'Where did you obtain things like this?'Karnaripa said, 'It was brought by a tree goddess'.In order to test if this were true, the sublime master went tothe tree possessed of the goddess, looked at it but did notactually see the form o f the goddess. He saw her arm u p tothe shoulder.

3.7. The tree goddessA l t h o u g h t h e e x a l te d , s a c r e d s t a t u s o f t he b i r c h

t r e e a n d t h e c e n t r a l r o l e s i t p l a y e d i n t h ec o s m o l o g y a n d s h a m a n i c r i t es o f t h e S i b e r i a n a n dA l t a i c c u lt u r e s w e r e w e ll d o c u m e n t e d i n m a n y e x -a m p l e s c o m p i l e d b y H o l m b e r g ( 1 9 27 ) a n d E l i a d e( 1 9 6 4 ) , t h e r e a s o n w h y t h e b i r c h i s t h u s r e g a r d e da s th e T r e e o f L i f e i s n o t g i v e n b y e i t h e r a u t h o r . I ti s g i v e n b y W a s s o n ( 1 9 68 , p p . 2 1 6 - 2 1 8 ) .

T h e b i r c h t r e e (Betula s p . ) i s t h e p r e f e r r e dm y c o r r h i z a l s y m b i o n t o f t h e p s y c h e d e l i c m u s h -r o o m Amanita muscaria, a n d t h e p r e f e r r e d h o s t o ft h e s h e l f f u n g u s Fomes fomentarius, w h i c h w a sb o i l e d a n d d r i e d t o f o r m p e r f e c t t i n d e r t o c a t c h as p a r k f o r m a k i n g f ir e s. T h e s e t w o m a g i c s u b -s t a n ce s w e r e f o u n d g r o w i n g o n o r b e l o w t h e b i r c ht r e e w h i c h w a s t h e r e f o r e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t t r e ei n t h e c o s m o s . H o l m b e r g ( 1 9 2 7 , p. 3 5 0 ) g i v e s aM o r d v i n t a l e o f a g i a n t b ir c h t r e e g r o w i n g o n a h i l li n t h e d e p t h s o f t h e f o r e s t , a t r e e w i t h g i a n t l e a v e sa n d b u d s , r o o t s w h i c h r i n g r o u n d t h e e a rt h , a n db r a n c h e s w h i c h s u r r o u n d h e a v e n . A t t h e r o o t o ft h i s b i r c h i s a s p r i n g , r o o f e d o v e r w i t h c a r v e db o a r d s a n d w h i t e s h e et s , o n i t s e d g e a r e d w o o d e nc a n c o n t a i n i n g a s w e et h o n e y d r i n k . T h e c a n h a sa s i lv e r l a d l e d e c o r a t e d o n t h e b o t t o m w i t h t h e s u na n d t h e m o o n , t h e h a n d l e w i t h s m a l l e r s t ar s . A st h e s u n m o v e s i n t h e h e a v e n s , t h e h a n d l e o f t h el a d l e t u r n s w i t h i t.

T h e ' r e d c a n ' c a n b e i n t e r p r e t e d a s t h e r e dAmanita a n d t h e ' s w e e t h o n e y d r i n k ' a s t h ep s y c h e d e l i c e s se n c e . T h e ' l a d l e ' is a l s o t h e m u s h -r o o m ; i t s c a p i s a r e d s o l a r d i s k b y d a y a n d s h i n e ss i l v er l i k e a l u n a r d i s k i n m o o n l i g h t . B e f o r e t h ew h i t e f l ec k s - - r e m n a n t s o f t h e u n i v e r s a l v ei l - -a r e w a s h e d o f f th e c a p , t h e y a r e t h e s t a r s i n t h e s k yt h a t t u r n a s t h e s t e m i s t u r n e d . S i m i l a r s u b s t a n c ef o r m s t h e r i n g a r o u n d t h e s t em .

H o l m b e r g ( 1 9 2 7, p . 3 5 1 ) a l s o r e t e l l s s e v e r a lY a k u t l e g e n d s o f t h e T r e e o f L i f e . I n o n e t a l e , ' t h eF i r s t M a n ' a p p r o a c h e d t h e m a g n i f i c e n t tr e e t o a s k


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S. Hajicek-Dobberstein Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118 10 5w h y h e h a d b e e n c re a t e d . F r o m a n o p e n i n g i n t h et r u n k t h e r e ap p ea r ed a f em a l e , v i si b le o n l y t o t h ew a i s t , w h o t o l d h i m h e h ad b een c r ea t ed t o b e t h ef a t h e r o f t h e h u m an r ace . I n a v a r i an t o f t h i s s t o ry ,' t h e W h i t e Y o u t h ' p r a y e d t o t h e ' H o n o r e d H i g hM i s t r e s s ' , t h e s p i r i t o f t h e T r ee o f L i f e , t o b eg r a n te d t h e c o m p a n i o n s h i p o f a w i f e a n d o t h e rh u m an b e i n gs . T h e t r e e c r eak ed an d f r o m u n d e r i t sroo ts the t r ee sp i r i t a rose up to her wais t . She ap-p ea r ed a s a m i d d l e - ag ed w o m en w i t h g r av e ey es ,f l o w i n g l o ck s an d n ak ed , s w e l l in g b rea s t s w h i chs h e o f f e r ed t o t h e Y o u t h . H e d r an k h e r m i l k an df e l t h i s p o w er s g r o w a h u n d r ed f o l d .

W asson (1968, p . 214) sees the t r ee godd ess wh oap p ea r ed f r o m u n d e r t h e r o o t s a s t h e Am an i tamuscaria; her swel l ing b reas t s he sees as the mu sh-r o o m , h e r m i l k a s t h e p s y ch ed e l i c e ss en ce.I n an o t h e r Y ak u t t a l e , t h e tr e e g o d d es s i s c a l l edK i b a i - K h o t u n , t h e g o d d e s s o f B ir t h a n d F a t e . T h eY u k a g h i r c a l l t h e m u s h r o o m s can-pai, ' t r ee g i r l '( W as s o n , 1 9 6 8 , p . 2 7 2) . C o m m o n e l em en t s o f th e s eSiber ian s to r ies a re : a sacred t r ee , a godde ss o f thet ree w h o ap p ea r s o n l y u p t o h e r w a i s t f r o m t h e t r e eo r i t s r o o t s, t h e s w e l l in g b r ea st s o f t h e g o d d es s a n dh e r m i l k o f k n o w l ed g e an d s t r en g t h , an d a l ak e o rs p r i n g u n d e r t h e t r e e .

T h i s t r e e g o d d es s f r o m S i b e r ian l eg en d s ap p ea r si n t h e s t o r y o f K a r n a r i p a i n S o u t h - E as t I n d i a . S h ed o es n o t ap p e a r t o h i m a s a l eg en d a r y f i g u re f r o ma f a r aw ay l an d , s h e ap p ea r s t o h i m i n p e r so n . S h es h o w s to h i m h e r t r u e f o r m a n d b r in g s h i m ' m u c hd e l i c io u s f o o d ' . N ag a r j u n a c o u l d o n l y see h e r a r mu p t o t h e s h o u l d e r ; h e s aw t h e m u s h r o o m s t i ck i n go u t o f t h e g r o u n d b u t n o t t h e g o d de s s .

Wasson observes (1968 , p . 218) tha t the sacredt r ee an d t h e t r e e g o d d es s w e r e ap p a r en t l y ab s en tf r o m t h e V ed i c S o m a s y m b o l s y st em . T h i s ab s en cesugges t s tha t the A m a n i t a a l c h e m y t r a d i t i o n w h i c hN a g a r j u n a a n d K a r n a r i p a p r a c t i s e d w a s s e p a r a t ef r o m t h e V ed i c S o m a t r ad i t i o n , o r t h a t s u ch a s ep -a r a t e t r ad i t i o n w as s y n t h es i zed w i t h t h e S o m at r ad i t i o n b y t h e B u d d h i s t a l ch em i s t s . N eb es k y -W o j k o w i t z (1 9 56 , p p . 5 3 9 - 5 5 3 ) g i v e s ex am p l e s o ft h e m a n y s i m i l a ri t ie s b e t w een S i b e r i an s h am an i s man d ' t r ad i t i o n s an d r i t e s t h a t ap p ea r t o b e s u r -v i v a l s o f an ea r l y T i b e t an s h am an i s m . ' I f , i n t h ed i s t an t p a s t , s o m e ex ch an g e o f s h am an i c p r ac t i c e sd i d o ccu r b e t w een S i b e r i an , M o n g o l i an an d

T i b e t an p eo p l e , i t i s u n l i k e l y t h a t an e l em en t a s i m -p o r t an t a s t h e Amani ta muscar ia w o u l d n o t b e ap a r t o f t h a t ex ch an g e . I w i ll d is cu s s b e l o w a ce r t a i ngoddess wh o wi ll be l inked wi th the f ly agar ic , w hos eem s t o ap p ea r i n t h e S i b e r i an an d T i b e t an p an -t h eo n s , b u t n o t i n I n d i an t r ad i t i o n .T h e r e i s ev i d en ce t h a t t h e b i r ch a s t h e S ac r edT r ee w as n o t o v e r l o o k ed i n I n d i a . I n M o n i e r -Wi l l i ams (1976 , p . 51) we f ind , among thes y n o n y m s f o r ' b i r ch ' , m ahausadham ' g r ea t d r u g ' .A l t h o u g h t h e b i r ch i s r eg a r d ed i n s o m e s y s t em s o fh e r b a l m ed i c i n e to h av e s o m e m i n o r u s e f u l p r o p e r -t ie s, t h e s e w o u l d b y n o m ean s q u a l i f y t h e b i r ch t r e ei t s e lf a s a ' g r ea t d r u g ' . I t s eem s m o r e l i k e ly t h a t t h eg r ea t d r u g w as t h e Amani ta muscar ia , t h e s y m -b i o n t o f t h e b i r ch .

C o o m ar as w am y ( 19 7 1, p p . 3 2 - 3 3 ) ag r ee s t h a tt r ees and t r ee de i ti es p layed an ins ign i f ican t par t int h e R g V e d a a n d A t h a r v a V e d a , b u t h e s a y s ,' T h e re i s n o m o t i f m o r e f u n d a m e n t a l l ych a r ac t e r i s t i c o f I n d i an a r t f r o m f i r s t t o l a s t t h eni s t h a t o f th e W o m a n a n d T r e e '. S o m e o f h i s ex -amples even inc lude a ha l f - seen f igure in the t r ee .I n o t e t h e s i m i l a r i ty to s u ch f i g u r e s f r o m t h eS i b er ia n m y t h s a n d f r o m K a r n a r i p a ' s s t o r y , b u t Ico u l d f i n d n o o t h e r i m ag es f r o m t h e f l y ag a r i cs y m b o l se t in a n y o f C o o m a r a s w a m y ' s e x a m p le s .A g en ea l o g y o f t h e s e m y t h o l o g i e s i s n eed ed . T h eg o d d es s w h o a p p e a r e d t o t h e B u d d h a b e n e a t h t h eT r ee o f E n l i g h t en m en t i s w o r t h i n v es t i g a t i n g f o ran y p o s s i b l e co n n ec t i o n w i t h t h e A m a n i t a b i r chgoddess .

A s w e r e t u r n t o t h e s t o r y o f K a r n a r i p a , N ag a r -j u n a i s t r y i n g t o co n f r o n t t h e t r e e g o d d es s .

T h e m a s t e r s ai d t o h e r, ' Y o u a c t u a l l y s h o w e d y o u r f o r mt o m y s t u d e n t , w h y d o y o u n o t s h o w i t t o m e ? '

F r o m t h e t r e e a r o s e a v o i c e l i k e t h i s , ' O b v i o u s l y y o uh a v e n o t a b a n d o n e d a p o r t i o n o f y o u r d e f i l e m e n t ; y o u r s t u -d e n t h a s e n t i re l y a b a n d o n e d h i s d e fi l e m e n t , s o h e sa w m e ' .T h u s s h e s p o k e .

A t t h a t , t h e m a s t e r a n d s t u d e n t c o n f e r r e d . T h e y s a i d ,' W e n e e d t o e a t t h e a l c h e m i c a l m e d i c i n e ' . T h e m a s t e r g a v ei t to A r y d e v a w h o w a s c a ll e d K a r n a r i p a . H e h i m s e l f a l s oate i t .

3.8. Karnaripa AryadevaT h er e i s n o ex p l an a t i o n g i v en f o r K a r n a r i p a

h av i n g an o t h e r n a m e ' A r y ad e v a ' , w h i ch f i rs t ar i se s


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10 6 S. Hajicek- Dobberstein / Journal of E thnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118

i n t h is s t o r y a t t h e p o i n t o f t h e d r i n k i n g o f t h ea l ch em i ca l e l i x i r . ' A r y ad ev a ' an d i t s T i b e t aneq u i v a l en t ' P h ag s - p a - l h a a r e u s u a l l y t r an s l a t ed a s' S u b l i m e g o d ' . H o w ev e r , t h e i n i t i a l e l em en t s o ft h e s e n am es m ay b e i m p l i ed g en i t i v e s ( f o rA r y a n a m d e v a a n d ' P h a g s - p a ' i - l h a ) w h i c h w o u l dt r an s l a t e a s ' G o d o f t h e A r y an s ' , a p e r f ec t ep i t h e tf o r S o m a w h o w as , o f co u r s e , a g o d o f t h e A r y an s .T h e m e a n i n g o f ' K a r n a r i p a ' , a s w i l l b e s h o w nb e l o w , is m o r e d e f i n i te l y co n n ec t ed w i t h S o m a .

T h e n K a r n a r i p a s m e a r e d t h e e li x ir o n a d e a d t r e e , c a u s -i n g l e a ve s to g r o w . T h e m a s t e r s a w t h a t , l a u g h e d a l i t tl e ,a n d s a i d , ' S i n c e y o u s m e a r m y e l i x ir o n t h e t r ee , b r i n g m ye l ix ir , co m e! ' So K a r n a r ip a s a id , ' I f y o u w i s h , I w i l l g iv e i t ' .

He p u t h i s o wn wa te r [ i . e . , h e u r in a t ed ] i n to t h e f u l lw a t e r p o t a n d s t i r r e d i t w i t h a s t i c k s o t h a t i t b e c a m e a p o to f e li x ir . H e w e n t s t r a i g h t t o h i s m a s t e r a n d o f f e r e d i t. T h em a s t e r s a i d n o t h i n g t o t h i s . H e s p r i n k l e d i t o n a d e a d t r e ew h i c h g r e w l e av e s. T h e r e u p o n t h e m a s t e r e x a m i n e d w h e t h e ro r n o t r e a l i z a t i o n h a d a r i s e n i n h i s s t u d e n t .

3.9. Magic urine elixirO f a l l t h e p l an t s i n t h e w o r l d u s ed b y h u m an s t o

a l t e r th e i r m i n d s ( I i n c l u d e n o t j u s t t h ep s y ch ed e li c s b u t a l s o t h e s t i m u l an t s , co g n o d i s l ep -t ics , narcotics , etc.) , Amani ta muscar ia i s the on lys u ch p l an t k n o w n t o h av e t h e f o l l o w i n gcharac ter i s t i c : i t s ac t ive cons t i tuen t , muscimol , i sp a s se d t h r o u g h t h e h u m a n b o d y w i t h o n l y a s m a llp a r t o f th e d o s e d e s t r u c t i v e l y m e t ab o l i zed , s o t h a tt h e u r in e o f t h e m u s h r o o m e a t e r c o n t a i n s e n o u g hm u s c i m o l t o b e e f f ec ti v e l y r ecy c l ed f o r u p t o f iv em o r e i n t o x i ca t i o n s . T h i s q u a l i t y o f t h e f l y ag a r i cwas known to i t s user s in S iber ia (Wasson , 1968 ,p . 2 5) an d t o s o m e I n d i an s o f N o r t h A m er i ca( K e e w a y d i n o q u a y , 1 9 7 9 , p p . 2 9 - 3 1 ). W a s s o n(1968 , pp . 25-34) c la ims to have d i scovered ev i -d en ce i n t h e R g V ed a t h a t t h e V ed i c p r i e s t s w e r eaw ar e o f t h e p o t en cy o f t h e S o m a- d r i n k e r ' s u r i n e .T h i s p o t en cy o f th e u r i n e o f t h e f l y ag a ri c e a t e r i st h e p r o p e r t y t h a t w i l l i d en t i fy an y u n i d en t i f i edd r u g w h i ch a l s o h a s t h i s ch a r ac t e r i s t i c .

T h e p o t e n c y o f K a r n a r i p a ' s u r i n e i sd em o n s t r a t ed b y i t s r ev i ta l i z a t i o n o f t h e d ead t r eeo n w h i ch N ag a r j u n a s p r i n k l ed t h e u r i n e . T h i s w ast h e s a m e e f fe c t p r o d u c e d w h e n K a r n a r i p a s m e a r e dN ag a r j u n a ' s a l ch em i ca l e li x ir o n a d ea d t r ee . A l s o ,i n th e w o r d s o f t h e s t o r y , ' H e p u t h i s o w n w a t e r

in to a fu l l po t . . , so th a t i t beca me a po t o f e l ix ir ' .T h e u r i n e d o es n o t m e r e l y s h a r e s i m i l a rcharac ter i s t i cs w i th the e l ix i r , i t i s the e l ix i r .A n d t h en , b y o b s e r v i n g t h e s i n g l e f ac t t h a tK a r n a r i p a ' s u r i n e h ad t h e s am e e f f ec t o n t h e d eadt r ee a s h i s a l ch em i ca l m ed i c i n e , N ag a r j u n a d e t e r -m i n ed t h a t r e a l i z a t i o n h ad a r i s en i n h i s s t u d en t .T h i s is a n u n u s u a l m e t h o d f o r a T a n t r i c B u d d h i s tm as t e r t o t e s t t h e a t t a i n m en t o f h i s st u d en t .

T h es e r e f e ren ces t o t h e p o t e n t u r i n e o f th ed r i n k e r o f t h e a l ch em i ca l m ed i c i n e a r e v e r y s t r o n gev idence tha t the f ly agar ic was an essen t ia l ingre-d ien t in the e l ix i r .

T h e s t o r y d o e s s a y t h a t K a r n a r i p a u r i n a t e d ' i n t oa fu l l wa ter po t (chu rdzam gang g i nang du rang g ichu btang)'. I t s eem s n eces s a ry t o a s k , w h y d o es h eu r i n a t e ' i n t o a f u l l w a t e r p o t ' ? T h e ' f u l l w a t e r p o t 'm i g h t b e a r e f er en ce t o t h e ' f u l l v e s se l ' o r ' b r i m m -ing vesse l ' ( pum a gha ta ), ' t h e c o m m o n e s t o f a l l In -d i a n s y m b o l s o f p l e n t y ' ( C o o m a r a s w a m y , 1 9 71 , p .4 0 ) . A n d a l s o ' w h en s o m a i s r ep r e s en t ed i n a r t , i ti s as a fu l l vesse l ' (Co om aras wa m y, 1979 , p . 40). I sK a r n a r i p a ' s u r i n a t i o n i n t o t h e f u l l w a t e r p o t an -o t h e r T i b e t an - S an s k r i t p l ay o n w o r d s w h i ch r e f e rt o S o m a o r i s th i s j u s t a m ean i n g l e s s co i n c i d en ce?3.10. Laughter

I m u s t d i s cu ss t h e o ccu r r en ce o f N a g a r j u n a ' sl au g h t e r i n t h e s t o r y , o ccu r r i n g a f t e r t h ey d r i n k t h ee l ix ir . H is l augh te r migh t sugges t the e l ix i r has ex -h i l a r a t i n g e f fec t s, i n ad d i t i o n t o i t s r e j u v en a t i n g e f -f ec t s an d i t s u n ex p l a i n ed p o w er s t o cau s e' r e a l i z a t i o n ' t o a r i se . T h i s o c cu r r en ce o f l au g h t e r i so n e o f o n l y f o u r o ccu r r en ces o f l au g h t e r i n a l le i g h t y - f o u r b i o g r ap h i e s , an d p o s s i b l y t h e o n l y o n eof i t s k ind , i .e . eupho r ic , exh i la r a ted laugh ter .

I n h i s o w n l eg en d , Siddha V i r u p a l au g h s ' t w e lv ew r a t h f u l l au g h s ' t o s u b d u e a l eg i o n o f w i tch es w h ow er e t r y i n g t o k i l l h i m . T h i s i s l au g h t e r o f a d i f -f e r en t s o r t . I n t h e s t o r y o f Siddha B h u s u k u , t h ek i n g a n d t h e p e o pl e l a u g h a t B h u s u k u b e c a u s e h eh a d b e e n a l a z y b u m a n d y e t s t o o d b e f o r e t h e m t olec tu re them. Th is i s c lear ly der i s ive laugh ter .

F i n a l l y , i n t h e s t o r y o f S iddha N a g a b o d h i , h i st e ach e r N ag a r j u n a ( ag a i n ! ) l au g h s a t h i m w h en h es ee s N a g a b o d h i h a s p r o d u c e d h o r n o n h i s h e a d b yt h e p o w er o f m ed i t a t i o n . T h i s l au g h t e r co u l d b es een a s m i l d l y d e r i s i v e o r am u s ed , o r l au g h t e r o f


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S. Hajicek-Dobberstein / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118 10 7

satisfaction, but not of exhilaration. In any case, italso occurs in the context of a story with san-dhabhasa elements referring to the use of Amanitamuscaria. I will return to a discussion of the storyof Nagabodhi below, after the material onKarnaripa-Aryadeva.

H a v i n g u n d e r s t o o d t h a t r e a l i z a t i o n h a d a r i s e n i n h i s s tu -d e n t h e s a i d , ' D o n o t s t a y i n samsara'. A t t h e i n s t a n t o fh e a r i n g t h a t , K a r n a r i p a p r e p a r e d t o d e p a r t t o t h e s k y .T h e r e w a s a w o m a n f r o m a m o n g t h o s e m e n t i o n e d b e f o r ew h o p a i d h e r r e s p e c t s t o t h e m a s t e r a n d f o l l o w e d a sa t t e n d a n t .

T h e m a s t e r s a i d , ' W h a t d o y o u d e s i r e t h a t m a k e s y o uo n e w h o p a y s h e r r e s p e c t s t o m e ? '

T h e w o m a n s a i d , ' B e c a u s e I d o n o t n e e d a n y t h i n g e ls ea t a l l , b e c a u s e I a m a f o l l o w e r f r o m a t t a c h m e n t t o y o u r e y e ,1 n eed y o u r ey e ' .T h e m a s t e r p l u c k e d o u t h i s r i g h t e y e , g a ve i t t o h e r a n dt h e r e b y b e c a m e k n o w n i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s a s A r y a d e v a , t h eO n e - e y e d .

3.11. The single eyeOne of the many descriptions and epithets ofSoma that Wasson interpreted as derived from thecharacteristics of the Amanita muscaria was 'theSingle Eye'. The mushroom, at one stage of de-

velopment, looks something like a bloody humaneye-ball plucked from the socket and thrown onthe ground. Wasson (1968, p. 46) cited five dif-ferent lines of the Rg Veda connecting Soma withthe image of 'the Single Eye'.Working with Ruck, Wasson (1986, pp. 60-67)explained both the myth of the 'Shade-foot' people(Gr. Sciopedes) or 'One-leg' people (Gr. Monocoli)(who were said to leap about on a single, powerfulleg when not resting on their back in the shade oftheir single foot), and the myth of the Cyclopes, theone-eyed people, as legends derived fromcharacteristics of the Amanita muscaria. The VedicAja Ekapad, 'Unborn Single-foot' referred toabove reflects the same characteristics.Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1956, p. 122) provides alist of several one-eyed, one-legged, one-wingeddeities who have 'a physical anomaly typical ofmany of the ancient Tibetan divinities'. Included isthe goddess Ral-gcig-ma (Skt. Ekajati or Ekajata)who has but one foot, one breast, one tooth, onetuft of hair and one eye with which she surveys thepast, the present and the future, i.e. 'the three

times' (1956, p. 34). Also given for comparison(1956, p. 539) are the similar Siberian demons:Anakhai, a one-eyed demon of the Buriats; Arsariof the Chuvashes, who has only one hand, leg andeye; and the initiatory demon of the Yakutshamans who has only one arm, leg and eye.According to Dowman (1985, p. 121), Ekajata isnot documented as an indigenous Indian deity.Bharati (1975, p. 38) suggests that Ekajata was aTibetan import or reimported to India, citingBhattacharya's translation of the colophon ofSadhanamala no. 141, which describes an Ekajatasadhana: 'restored from Tibet by Arya Nagarjuna'(Bharati, 1975, p. 74). He is probably referring tothe Ral pa gcig ma'i sgrub thabs by Nagajuna,which has such a colophon (bsTan 'gyur, Peking#4340, vol. 81, pp. 9-10). It would be interesting todiscover why this single-eyed goddess/demonseems to be shared by Siberians and Tibetans, butnot Indians.According to the legends, Karnaripa had butone eye because he gave one away. Although therecipient of the eye varies in different sources(compared below), in each version Karnaripa justplucked out his own eye to give away. This eventis not worked smoothly into the story lines -- itjust happens abruptly -- and there is no elabora-tion of the reasons why his eye was needed.On the historical level, these legends might bethe folk-history generated to explain the attributedlack of an eye by both the Mahasiddha AryadevaII and also by his predecessor Arydeva I. Materialin a Chinese source (Nanjio, 1883, no. 1462),recorded by Kumarajiva in the 5th century beforethe time of Arydeva II, makes it clear that his pre-decessor also was described as having only one eye(Malalasekera, 1966, p. 111).What could the didactic significance o f this partof the story be? I asked a Tibetan lama informantwhat the meaning of the eye plucking could be. Hesaid that Karnaripa was practising the paramita ofgiving or generosity. Thus, it must seem to onewho must guess without the benefit of other cluesfrom the symbol system of Amanita muscaria usein Siberian shamanic, Vedic, Buddhist and Ger-manic (see below) traditions.'The Single Eye' is both an epithet of Soma andof Karnaripa, who is not merely connected with


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108 S. Hajicek-Dobberstein / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118t h e m u s h r o o m ; h e s h a r e s t he n a m e o f t h e m u s h -r o o m , h e i s e q u a t e d w i t h t h e m u s h r o o m . T h ed e e p e r m e a n i n g o f h i s h a v i n g t h e m u s h r o o m ' sn am e an d t h e g i f t o f h i s ey e i s, a s y e t , u n k n o w n t ome.I n t h e sMa n dpyad yan lag brgyad pa ' i shying po ' i'grel pa las sman gyi ruing gi rnam grangs,t r ans la te d and ed i te d by Dash (1987, p . 353), therei s l i st ed an h e r b a l m ed i c i n e o f u n k n o w n b o t an i ca liden t i ty ca l led somaksi , ' e y e o f s o m a ' ( t h e s et r an s l a t i o n s a r e m i n e ). S y n o n y m s o f th i s m ed i c i n eare g iven as maha gulma, ' g r ea t c l u s t e r o f t r e e s ' o r' g r ea t t u m o r ' o r p o s s i b l y ' g r ea t m y r o b a l an ' , o r i nMo nier -W i l l i ams (1899 , p . 795) maha gulma isg i v en a s ' t h e S o m a p l an t ' ; a l s o maha gara, ' g r ea td r i n k ' o r ' g r ea t p o i s o n ' ; a l s o candra taru, ' m o o nt r ee ' o r ' b r i g h t t r e e ' ( ' b r i g h t ' i s t h e m ean i n g o f t h eP r o t o - I n d o - E u r o p e a n b i r c h w o r d *bherH-g-o-)(Fr iedr ich , 1970 , pp . 27-29 ) ; an d dvija priya , givenin Monier -Wi l l i ams (1989 , p . 506) as 'dear to aB r ah m an , A r y an , t h e s o m a p l an t ' . T h i s l i s t o fs y n o n y m s f o r t h e u n i d en t i f i ed d r u g somaks i p r o -v i d e s , a t l e a s t , an o t h e r co n n ec t i o n b e t w een S o m aan d ' t h e S i n g l e E y e ' .C a n d r a n a n d a n a , w h o c o m p i l e d t h i s p h a r -m aco p o e i a , w as a K as h m i r i s ch o l a r ( D as h , 1 9 8 7 ,p . v ii i ) wh o be long ed to a per iod p r io r to 1013C .E . w h en R i n - ch en - b zan g - p o t r an s l a t ed h i sw o r k s i n t o T i b e t an . I t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o s ay h o wm an y , i f an y , o f t h e K as h m i r i o r T i b e t an p h y s i -c i an s w h o r ead t h e s e r e f e r en ces t o t h e d r u gsomaks i a c t u a l l y u n d e r s t o o d t h e m e a n i n g o f i t sn am es a n d r ea l ly k n ew w h a t i t w as . I f t h e l i n eag eo f t h i s s ec r e t k n o w l ed g e w e r e b r o k en , t h en t h et r ad i t i o n w o u l d b e p a s s ed d o w n l i k e a r i d d l e t h a tn o o n e k n e w t h e an s w er t o , l i ke t h e s t o r y o f SiddhaK a r n a r i p a .

Aryadeva Karnaripa practised the instructions of LamaNagarjuna so the stains of his mind were cleansed and hismental continuum was liberated. At the instant of merelyhearing the words of his lama, he levitated to the height ofseven palm trees into the sky. He taught the Dharma tomany beings so their mental continuums were made com-pletely mature.While the lama sat below him, he pointed his feet intothe sky. By facing down, he folded his hands and boweddown to his lama. He levitated up into the sky and the godsabove caused a rain of flowers. He disappeared intosuchness.The End

3.12. L ust ful wom en-sky journey-anointingT h er e w as s o m e i m ag e r y i n K a r n a r i p a ' s s t o r y

t h a t I ex am i n ed w i t h i n co n c l u s i v e re s u l ts . I w asc u r io u s a b o u t t h e ' l u s tf u l w o m e n ' (bud med chags)w h o g av e K a r n a r i p a t h e ' d e l i c i o u s a l m s ' . T h eym a y b e r e l a t ed t o t h e d r y ad o r t r e e g o d d es s o f f e r-t i l i ty (Sk t . vrksaka) w h o a p p e a r s a s a v o l u p t u o u sb eau t y , s can t i l y c l o t h ed , em b r ac i n g t h e t r e e t i g h t -l y , am o r o u s l y w r ap p i n g o n e l eg a r o u n d t h e t r e et runk l ike a v ine o r lata, ' b o t h ' c r eep e r ' o r ' v i n e ' ,a n d ' w o m a n " ( C o o m a r a s w a m y , 1 9 7 1, p . 3 2).S o m a w as r e f e rr ed t o a s a lata ( W as s o n , 1 9 6 8 , p p .97 , 98 , 103 ft . , 106-108 , l l0 , 123 , 125) . A lso , inS an s k r i t a s in E n g l i s h , th e t e r m ' h o r n y ' r e l a t e s t h ei m ag e o f t h e h o r n 'srnga' t o t h e e r o t i c s en t i m en t'srngara' (Mo nier -W i l l i ams , 1899 , p . 1087) . I w i l ld i s cu s s b e l o w t h e co n n ec t i o n o f t h e h o r n w i t h t h eAm anita muscaria.

I w as a l s o cu r i o u s ab o u t K a r n a r i p a ' s a e r o b a t i cm an o eu v r e s a t t h e co n c l u s i o n o f h i s s t o r y . S u ch' s k y - g o i n g ' i s n o t u n u s u a l f o r I n d i an y o g i n s , i n -c l u d i n g t an t r i c siddhas. I t is a ls o c o m m o n b e h a v i o rf o r s h am an s , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e o f S i b e r i an t r ad i -t i o n s . K a r n a r i p a ' s a s cen s i o n t o t h e h e i g h t o f ' s ev enpalm t r ees ' i s a c lose para l le l to the S iber ians h a m a n ' s j o u r n e y t h r o u g h t h e s e v e n h e a v en s a s h ec l im b s u p t h e s ev en n o t ch e d s t ep s i n t h e b i r ch p o l er ep r e s en t i n g t h e s ev en - b r an ch ed W o r l d T r ee(E l iade , 1964 , pp . 264, 270-279) . 'Os tya k andL a p p s h a m a n s e a t m u s h r o o m s w i t h s e ve n s p o ts t oen t e r i n t o t r an ce ; t h e L ap p s h am an i s g i v en am u s h r o o m w i t h s ev en s p o t s b y h i s m as t e r ' ( 1 9 6 4 ,p . 2 78 ). I i n t en d t o d o f u r t h e r r e s ea r ch co m p ar i n gB u d d h i s t t an t r i c c e l e s t ia l j o u r n e y s w i t h s h am an i cce l e s t i a l j o u r n ey s w i t h s p ec i a l a t t en t i o n t on u m er i ca l o r a r b o r ea l r e f e r en ces .F i n a l l y , I w o n d e r ed ab o u t t h e ' d ead t r e e ' o nw h i c h K a r n a r i p a ' s m e a r e d ' o r ' a n o i n t e d ' ( T i b .byugs, Das , 1902 , p . 924) the a lchem ical med ic ine .I t h i n k t h e d ead t r ee co u l d b e t h e n e u r o l o g i ca l n e t -w o r k t h a t h a s n o t ex p e r i en ced r ev i t a l i z a t i o n an dr ea l i z a t i o n , b y o n e m ean s o r an o t h e r . T h e u s e o fthe spec i fic verb 'byug i n s te a d o f a m o r e c o m m o n ,genera l verb l ike 'pu t ' (T ib . rgyab) cou ld be s ign i f i-can t . A cco rd ing to A l legro (1970 , p . 56) the s l imy ,s l ip p e ry m u s h r o o m t h r u s ti n g u p t h r o u g h t h e e a r t hw as s een a s t h e e r ec t p en is o f t h e F a t h e r G o dw h i ch h ad b een an o i n t ed o r ' ch r i s t en ed ' w i t hs em en an d s ex u a l f l u i d s , b eco m i n g ' C h r i s t o s ' t h e


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S. Hajicek-Dobberstein Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118 109Anointed One. For a Sanskrit synonym, Monier-Williams (1899, p. 11) gives 'anti,... ointment...unctuous, smooth, sleek (membrum virile)' . Anoth-er Sanskrit synonym for 'smear, anoint', lip (1899,p. 902) gives us limpata, 'libidinous, lustful' (1899,p. 902), possibly meaning 'anointed with perfumedoils'. According to Tucker (1931, p. 13), the origi-nal ambrosia was neither food nor drink of thegods. It was 'unguent' of the gods, body fluidswhich worshippers smeared onto the fetish-stone(Gr. baetulos) (Tucker, 1931, p. 34). Allegro (1970,pp. 265-66) suggested a derivation of betula,'birch', from baetulos. The role of 'Anointing' inthe earliest religions needs research.4. Resu lts of the interpretation of the secret m eaning

I am sure that a number of apparent connec-tions I have suggested between the images in thestory of Aryadeva and the Amanita muscaria maybe coincidental and meaningless overlappings ofsymbols and epithets. A few of these meaninglesscoincidences are probable. However, a set of suchcoincidences would be improbable. The congruityof the set of symbols in the legend o f Arydeva andthe sets of symbols in the mythology of Amani t amuscaria from Siberian and Vedic tradit ions is toostrong to be a coincidence. It seems that there isenough evidence to conclude that the alchemicalelixir of these s iddhas contained the psychedelicmushroom Amanita muscaria: the references to apotion which provides both wisdom and magicallypotent urine, the references to the Single Eye, thereferences to the partial appearance of the goddessfrom the tree. These references must refer to theAmanita muscaria, as they do in other traditions.The other references to the 'miraculous birth', tothe 'delicious alms', to the 'wheat cake on the tipof a needle', to the 'rice pulp' somam, to the 'Godof the Aryans', to the 'full vessel', probably referto the mushroom, especially when considered inaddition to the first set of definite references. Themeaning of the secret language is obvious if onehas guessed the secret.Not so obvious is the information at the histori-cal and didactic levels of the sandhabhasa. In theseareas the legend presents many more questionsthan answers: what is the exact connection be-tween the psychedelic mushroom and the histori-

cal (?) persons Aryadeva (2nd cent.) andKarnaripa (8th cent.)? Why do they have an epi-thet of the mushroom as their proper names? Whatis the connection of the mushroom to the twoNagarjunas? If this alchemical practice really ex-isted, what was its source and its lineage of trans-mission? How long did the tradition remainunbroken? When was the last time the story ofKarnaripa was read by someone who understoodits secrets? What, if any, is the connection of themushroom with the G uhy asamaj a tantra intowhich Karnaripa was initiated by Nagarjuna? Inthe legend, the realization through alchemy seem-ed to be completely unrelated to the tantra.And in regard to considerations of didactic con-tent: Who should attempt to attain this alchemicalsiddM? And who should not? What is the nature ofthe practice and process? what results should oneexpect? What are the signs of development and at-tainment? What does one need to know to practicethis alchemy and where can one learn this? whatis the meaning of the gift of the eye? In Kar-naripa's story there is some obvious didactic intentin the sandhabhasa and I present my interpretationhere.At the beginning of the legend, Karnaripa isdescribed simply as the principal of one hundredthousand monks at Nalanda college. His highdegree of intellectual attainment and the instruc-tions he received from many masters were not suf-ficient for him to experience realization. WhenManjusri, the God of Wisdom, appeared to him asa lowly fisherman, Karnaripa's undefiled visionallowed him to see through the god's appearanceand recognize him. This same undefiled visionallowed Karnaripa to see the tree goddess in hertrue form, although he did not realize the truenature of her gifts of alms, i.e. the potential valueof the psychedelic mushroom. In contrast we haveNagarjuna who recognized her alms as the essen-tial alchemical elixir, but could not see the trueform of the tree goddess.

The meaning of this seems to be that, to obtainthe siddhi, one needs both to have entirely aban-doned one's defilements (evidenced by Kar-naripa's miraculous birth, scholastic attainmentsand his instant recognition of Manjusri and thetree goddess) and also to have knowledge of theidentity and the potential virtues o f the alchemical


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11 0 S. Hajicek ~Dobberst ein / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118elixir (evidenced by Nagarjuna 's recognition of thegifts of alms, and his knowledge of its manner ofpreparation, consumption and of its effects). Thisinterpretation seems to conform smoothly to Kar-naripa's spiritual development in the story, but anevaluation of Nagar juna 's role presents somequestions.

Is his recognition of the signs of attainment dueto his personal experience or to teachings he hadreceived? How has his failure to abandon entirelyhis defilements affected his ability to obtain thissiddhP. How has he deserved the title of 'Master'while retaining these defilements? The substance ofthe dialogue between Karnaripa and Nagarjunaon questions like these would be most interestingto read; however, we have only their simple con-clusion: 'We need to eat the alchemical medicine'.By testing the magic power of Karnaripa 's urineafter they drink the elixir Nagarjuna determinesthat realization has arisen in his student. He knowsthat Karnaripa, through the intuitive insight hehas experienced, needs only to hear his teacher'swords in order to leave samsara behind.

The legend adds that Karnaripa then practisedthe instructions of his teacher so tha t the stains ofhis mind became pure and his mental continuumwas liberated, this happening after he had alreadyentirely abandoned his defilements and afterrealization had arisen. These may be references todifferent, specific stages of attainment. Kar-naripa 's further practice of his teacher's instruc-tion and the rest of the story might be an additionto the original legend added by the compiler in hisstylistic homogenization of the conclusions of thelegends.4.1. Aryadeva's legend by Bu-ston and TaranathaTwo other sources of 'biographical' material onAryadeva and Nagarjuna are the works of Bu-ston(14th century) and Taranatha (1608). I made myown translations of some of this material which Iwill summarize and analyze.Bu-ston's account of 'the teacher Aryadeva'begins with his miraculous birth from a lotus flow-er in Simhala (Sri Lanka) where he was adopted bythe king. When he grew up he became a student ofNagarjuna and became learned in all branches ofscience and all Buddhist and non-Buddhistphilosophical systems.

After this brief introduction, Bu-ston seems tobegin to focus on the main event in his account,Aryadeva's defeat of the heretic. A non-Buddhist(Sivaite) teacher named Matrceta, who had donemuch damage to the Dharma, came to Nalanda tocontest the Buddhists there. They sent a messageto summon Nagarjuna, but Aryadeva came in-stead to convert Matrceta. This seems to set thestage for the great contest, but that event is barelymentioned in the rest of the story, which I translateunabridged:

W h e n A r y a d e v a w a s c o m i n g , a t r e e g o d d e s s b e g g e d f o ro n e o f h i s e y es , a n d h e g a v e h e r o n e e y e . T h e n , w h e n h e h a dd e fea t ed t h e h e re t i c , i t w as sa i d , 'Th i s o n e -ey ed o n e , w h a tsort i s he? ' [Aryadeva] sa id ,

' S i v a h a s t h ree ey es y e t h e can n o t see rea l i t y .In d ra h a s o n e t h o u san d ey es b u t h e can n o t see rea l i t y .A ry ad ev a h a s o n l y o n e ey e ; w h a t ev e r h e i s ,H e see s t h e rea l i t y o f a l l t h e t h ree w o r l d s ' ,(Bu-ston , 1971, f . 834 , I . 3 -5)

It is added that Matrceta converted to Bud-dhism and became a great pandi t .Bu-ston then gives a list of the works written byAryadeva, drawing no distinction betweenAryadevas I and II.Again, it is uncertain whether the attribute of

miraculous birth in Bu-ston's retelling was in-tended by the original composer of that element ofthe legend to be taken as a hagiographic detail ormore specifically as a sandhabhasa reference to theAm ani ta m uscar ia.Bu-ston has Aryadeva giving his eye to a treegoddess. It is uncertain whether this detail of thestory, i.e. the tree goddess, originated in the legendof the second century Aryadeva or the eighth cen-tury Aryadeva. It may be impossible to decidewhich symbols referring to the mushroom werecontributed to the conflated legend in reference toAryadeva I or Aryadeva II, or which symbols wereoriginally and intentionally shared by bothlegends.

The Single Eye was shared by both Aryadevas.A Chinese source (Nanjio, 1883, no. 1462) explainsAryadeva's epithet of Kanadeva, 'One-eyed God'saying he gave his eye to Mahesvara, after the pre-vious day plucking an eye from a golden statue ofthe god (Malalasekera, 1966, p. l 1 ). This refer-ence proceeded the time of Araydeva II who was


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S. Haj icek-Dobberste in / Journal o f Ethnopharmac ology 48 (1995) 99-1 18 I 11

also famous as Karnaripa, Mig-gcig-pa, 'the One-eyed'. Even if this symbol in the conflatedbiography belongs only to the legend of AryadevaI, then other symbols suffice to link Aryadeva II aswell to the Amani ta muscar ia .Bu-ston's short account does manage to includethree images from the A m a n i t a symbol set: the mi-raculous birth, the gift of the single eye, and thetree goddess. He also provides us with Aryadeva'sown answer (he writes) to the question, 'Who orwhat is this one-eyed Aryadeva?' The actual inter-rogative in the Tibetan text is not simply 'who'(su)or 'what' (cO but ci'dra meaning 'like what?' or'what sort?' (Das, 1902, p. 695).

Aryadeva's reply is both informative andevasive. He says that , whatever he may be, his sin-gle eye sees all of real ity, the reality unglimpsed bythe three eyes of Siva or the thousand eyes ofIndra. He seems to be saying that his own identityis unimportant, except for his Single Eye of omnis-cient vision. If my interpretation of this san-dhabhasa is correct, Aryadeva says that the visionprovided by the psychedelic mushroom is far supe-rior to the vision of the supreme deities of hereticalreligions (he did not compare himself with theBuddha).

I have the feeling that many scholars of Bud-dhism will find it easier to believe in psychedelicdrug use by the Tantric Aryadeva and Nagarjunathan by their Madhyamika predecessors. It mustbe remembered, though, that besides being thefounders of the Madhyamika tradition, bothNagarjuna I and Aryadeva I were credited withbeing masters of all branches of science and allforms of orthodox and heterodox philosophicalsystems which should have included alchemy.

Taranatha 's account of Aryadeva begins with adiscussion of the circumstances of his birth,relating the royalty of his birth as verified by othersources, but discounting the miraculous form ofthe birth, which he seems to attribute to theTibetan people's fondness for rumours. He con-tinues with a short history o f Aryadeva's spiritualcareer, mentioning Nagarjuna's initiation ofAryadeva into alchemy. Then comes the mainevent of the legend, the debate with Matrceta. Themonks of Nalanda wrote a letter to summonAryadeva to the debate and tied it to the neck ofa raven (bya tog , also 'crow', both birds sharing

synonyms in Tibetan and Sanskrit) which hadcome out from the heart of a self-arisen stoneimage of Mahakala.Although the raven or crow has not yet beenrecognized as an element of the A m a n i t a symbolsystem, I could not dismiss that possibility withoutfurther investigation.The first connection I have found between theraven and the Amani ta muscar ia is in someSiberian (Koryak) folk tales (Wasson, 1968, pp.294-301) in which the hero 'Raven-man' shows hislove for eating fly agaric. Another Koryak story(Wasson, 1968, p. 268) connects the hero 'BigRaven' with the origin of the fly agaric. Big Ravenwas unable to lift the provision bag of a whale tohelp it escape when it had run aground. TheSupreme Being spat on the ground and the flyagaric appeared there from his saliva. Big Ravenate the mushrooms, began to feel gay, to danceand he helped the whale escape. Fly-agaric showedhim how the whale returned to his comrades, soBig Raven said, 'Let the wa'paq [Amani tamuscaria] remain on earth, and let my children seewhat it will show them'.

Another connection of the raven and the flyagaric comes from the Hindu Kush in the extremenorth-east region of Afghanistan. In regard tomodern use of the mushroom there, Wasson (1982,p. 601) cited an article from the Afghanis tan Jour-na l 6 [2], 1979 in which three old mountain-menreferred to their fly agaric as 'raven's bread'. Thisepithet, apparently unexplained in the article,received no further attention from Wasson.

Again we find possible connections between thecrow and the fly agaric in Monier-Williams (1899)where we find these entries: under kana, 'one-eyed.., kanas, a crow' (p. 269); ekaksha [eka 'one'ak sh i 'eye'], 'one-eyed... ekakshas , a crow' (p. 267).It is added that crows are supposed to only haveone eye which they move from one side to theother as required.

Also given under drona, 'a wooden vessel,bucket,...; a Soma vessel; a raven or crow;dronakaka a raven' (Monier-Williams, 1899, p.503). It is uncertain if this reference connects theraven specifically to the Soma bucket or merely toany kind of bucket.

Unless these examples are coincidences, it seemsthere has been some relationship between the


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112 S. Hajicek-Dobberstein Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118raven/crow and the fly agaric across much spaceand time. As for the details of this relationship, Ihave none. The raven, a carrion feeder with colorvision, would have noticed the bright-red Amanitalong ago and it would be known by now i f they en-joyed their 'raven's bread'.According to Taranatha, after he received themessage tied to the raven, Aryadeva went toNalanda with the aid of the object of swift trans-port (rkang mgyogs kyi rdzas). On the way, he meta woman of a non-Buddhist sect who needed theeye of a learned bhiksu as a ritual implement to at-tain her siddhi; so he gave her one of his eyes.'There he subdued the allies of the heretic[Matrceta] -- the sister pandita, the parrot, and thechalk -- by means of a shameless monk, a cat anda jar of black oil' (my trans.) (Taranatha, n.d., p.81). Some details of this tantric contest are addedin a version from oral tradition given by GesheWangyal (1973, pp. 49-50) in which Mahesvaraaided Matrceta in the debate by entering his bodyand empowering him to shoot all-destroyingflames from his forehead. Sarasvati (in place of the'sister pandita') aided him with beautiful and wisephrases. A pandit in the form of the parrot wouldwhisper advice in his ear. Siva wrote advice in thesky with the chalk (another version has the writingon a chalk board). Aryadeva countered by bring-ing a naked man (in place of the shameless monk)which caused Sarasvati to turn away, a cat whichjumped up and killed the parrot, and by spreadingvanishing oil in the sky (or on the chalk board) toerase the writing. He also brought a dirty bootwhich drove away Mahesvara.

As Taranatha continues, Aryadeva defeatedMatrceta three times and caught him when he triedto escape by flying away. Matrceta was later con-verted to Buddhism.

I could find no connection between the flyagaric and the allies of Matrceta, nor to the jar ofblack oil. Aided by Sanskrit glosses offered byLama Chimpa (1970, p. 125) I immediately cameupon two Sanskrit-Tibetan puns which connectthe mushroom with the shameless monk and thecat.In the Tibetan text, the dge bsnyen (Skt.upasaka, 'Buddhist lay worshipper ') is described asspyi brtol can, given in Das (1902, p. 807) as 'impu-dent, shameless, daring' or 'scurrilous, foul-

mouthed' deriving from gtol, 'to disclose' or rdol'to come out' and spyi 'general, public'. LamaChimpa offered as Sanskrit synonyms kakola,probably drawing on Mahavyutpatti #4863, 'spyirtol, kakola', which is given in Monier-Williams(1899, p. 268) as a 'raven'. Evidently the 'wild,wary and suspicious Tibet Raven becomes boldwhen scavenging around villages....' (Wilmore,1979, p. 156). This characteristic provides a punwhich invokes the shameless /raven/Single eye/Amanita muscaria symbol set.Aryadeva's cat, Tib. byi la, is another point inthe same equation. Sanskrit synonyms are vidala(Das, 1902, p. 888) and the same by Lama Chimpa,found in Monier-Williams (1899, p. 731) underbidala (= vidala) as 'a cat ... the eyeball'. This in-vokes the cat/Single eye/Amanita muscaria symbolset.4.2. The siddha Nagabodhi

Taranatha follows his story of Aryadeva withthose of three other disciples of Nagarjuna:Nagavyaha, Nagabodhi and Shingkhipa, allreceiving shorter entries than Aryadeva. It is men-tioned that Nagabodhi attained the siddhi ofalchemy (bcud len gyi dngos grub).The story of Nagabodhi given by Abhayadatta(Robinson, 1979, pp. 233-235) does not mentionalchemy (openly). In his version, the story openswith Nagabodhi, a thief, looking through a door atNagarjuna who is eating delicious food from agolden bowl.I see the reference to this meal as a possible ex-pression of the 'delicious food'/ambrosia/soma/Amanita set. Although I am unaware of a prece-dent, the 'golden bowl' would be a good descrip-tion of the partially opened mushroom cap, whichcan vary in color from deep red to light yellowthrough all shades of golden-orange.Nagarjuna, reading in Nagabodhi's mind his in-tention to steal, throws the bowl of food out of theroom at him, saying objects of desire, like allthings, are transitory phantoms of the mind, ableto be produced and destroyed by mental concen-tration. He instructs Nagabodhi to create, in placeof his desires, horns on his head, and bymeditating he does so. Realizing the emptiness ofall things, he attains siddhi.In Taranatha's version, elements of this story of


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S. Hajicek-Dobberstein / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-11 8 113

N a g a b o d h i a p p e a r i n t h e s t o ry o f t h e mahas iddhaS h i n g k h i p a , w h o i s d e s c r i b ed a s ' d u l l w i t t ed ' (blortul ba), s o d u ll w i t t ed h e co u l d n o t m em o r i ze ev eno n e v e r s e a f t e r m an y d ay s . N ag a r j u n a i n s t r u c t edh i m t o c r e a te h o r n s o n h i s h e a d b y m e d i t a t in g a n dl a t er , t o r em o v e t h e h o r n s b y m ed i t a t i n g . A f t e r i n -s t r u c t io n i n t h e S t ag es o f C o m p l e t i o n , S h i n g k h i p aa t t a i n ed t h e Mahamudra s iddh i . A l t h o u g h i t d i dn o t s eem a l i k e l i h o o d t o m e , I i n v es t i g a t ed t h ep o s s i b il i ty t h a t t h e i m ag e o f a h o r n , o r h o r n s , w asan ex p r e s s i o n o f A m a n i t a s y m b o l i s m .W en d y D o n i g e r O ' F l a h e r t y ( 19 81 , p . 2 6 3) r e f e rst o ' th e s h a r p - h o rn e d b u l l ' a s 'a c o m m o n m e t a p h o rf o r S o m a ' . H e r e , em p h as i s s eem s t o b e p l aced o nt h e h o r n s . F u r t h e r m o r e , i n M o n i e r - W i l l i am s(1976 , p . 51) as a sy no ny m for 'b i r ch ' we f ind srngi,a n d u n d e r srngaka w e f i n d ( M o n i e r - W i l l i am s ,1 89 9 , p . 1 0 0 8 ) ' a k i n d o f B e t u l a o r b i r ch t r e e '.W h a t i s t h i s co n n ec t i o n b e t w een b i r ch t r e e s an dhorns (Sk t . srnga)? I t h a s b e en p o i n t e d o u t ( L a m aC h i m p a , 1 9 7 0 , p . 1 2 7 ) t h a t t h e n am e S h i n g k h i p a i sce r t a i n l y d e r i v ed f r o m srngin, a t t e s t ed b y i t sT i b e t an t r an s l a t i o n rwa can ' t h e h o r n e d o n e ' .

I n D o w m an ' s v e r s i o n ( 1 9 8 5 , p . 3 5 0 ) t h e h o r n sp r o d u c e d b y N a g a b o d h i a r e r e d h o r n s ; n o r e a s o ni s g i v en f o r t h i s co l o r a t i o n w h i ch m a t ch es t h e f l yag a r i c . T h es e r ed h o r n s m ay l i n k N ag ab o d h i /S h i n g k h i p a t o t h e b i r ch t r e e an d t o t h e A m a n i t amuscaria. A n ev en w eak e r c l u e w as t h e ' d e l i c i o u sf o o d ' i n t h e ' g o l d e n b o w l ' o n w h i c h N a g a r j u n ad i n ed . I w o u l d n o t ev en m en t i o n t h e s e a s p o s si b l em u s h r o o m r e f e ren ces , ex cep t t h a t t h ey a r e f o l l o w -ed b y an a l m o s t c e r t a i n r e f e r en ce t o t h e A m a n i t amuscaria i n a n o t h e r w i s e e n ig m a t i c a d d e n d u m t ot h e s t o ry o f S h i n g k h ip a b y T a r a n a t h a . H e r e i s m yt r ans la t ion :

t i en t b e i n g s . Th i s d u l l w i t t ed o n e w h o a t t a i n ed siddhi w asca l l ed Sh i n g k h i p a , ' t h e h o rn e d o n e ' . (Ta ran a t h a , n .d . , p . 8 3 )

T h i s r e fe r en ce , w h i ch eq u a t e s t h e m ag i ca l l y p o -t en t u r i n e o f t h e siddha with the a lchemical e l ix i r ,m a y b e t ak en a s a r e f e r en ce t o t h e u s e o f A m a n i t amuscaria f o r r e a s o n s ex p l a i n ed ab o v e i n co n n ec -t i o n w i t h A r y ad ev a . A g a i n , t h e d i d ac t i c co n t e n t o ft h e s t o r y i s n o t s o o b v i o u s . I t i s u n ce r t a i n h o wm u c h o f t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n w a s i n t e n t i o n a l l y o b -s cu r e , an d h o w m u ch d e t a i l h a s b een l o s t d u e t ot h e en t r o p i c p r o cess o f o r a l t r ad i t i o n . T h e r e s eem st o b e a p a r ab l e r eg a r d i n g f l y ag a r i c u s e i n t h e s t o r yo f t h e H o r n e d - o n e , b u t m y a n a l y s i s o f t h e s t o r yg i v es m o r e q u es t i o n s t h an an s w er s .

I f th e g o l d en b o w l o f d e l i c io u s f o o d i s a m u s h -r o o m r e fe r en ce , t h en N ag a r j u n a ap p ea r s t o b e t e ll -i n g N ag ab o d h i t h a t h e d o es n o t n eed t h i s m a t e r i a l ,h e o n l y n e e d s t he p o w e r o f m e d i t a ti o n . I f t h e h o r n so n t h e h ead a r e a m u s h r o o m r e f e r en ce , w h en h ead v i s e s h i s d i s c i p l e t o c r ea t e t h em , i s N ag a r j u n aa d v is i ng t h e u se o f m u s h r o o m s o r t h e u s e o fm e d i t a t i o n in p l a c e o f m u s h r o o m s ? H i s p o t e n tu r in e i s p r o o f th a t t h e H o r n e d - o n e h a d c o n s u m e dt h e f l y ag a r i c . W h en S h i n g k h i p a d o es n o t a ccep th i s m as t e r s g i f t o f t h e m ag i c p i l l s o f m e r cu r i a la l ch em y an d o f f e r s , i n r e t u r n , h i s m ag i c u r i n e , i s h es ay i n g t h a t h e d o es n ' t n eed i t b ecau s e h e can n o wd i s pen s e it , o r t h a t m u s h r o o m a l ch em y is s u p e r i o rt o m er cu r i a l a l ch em y , o r t h a t m ed i t a t i o n canc r ea t e p o t en t u r i n e?

A l t h o u g h I h av e t r i ed t o f i n d o t h e r ex am p l e s o fs u ch m ag i c u r i n e i n B u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r e , t h e o n l yt w o e x a m p l e s I n o w h a v e a r e i n A b h a y a d a t t a ' ss t o ry o f K a r n a r i p a a n d T a r a n a t h a ' s s t o r y o f th eH o r n e d - o n e , b o t h s t u d e n t s o f N a g a r j u n a I I.

Th en t h e mas t e r , t o g e t h e r w i t h h i s re t i n u e , p rac t i sedmercu r i a l a l ch emy fo r 6 mo n t h s . A f t e r su ccess w as a t t a i n ed ,w h en t h e p i l ls w e re b e i n g d i sp en sed t o each o f t h e d i sc i p le s ,h e [Sh i n g k h i p a ] t o u ch ed h i s h ead t o t h e p i l l , p u t i t d o w na n d t u r n e d a w a y . S o w h e n t h e m a s t e r a s k e d t h e r e a s o n , h es a i d, ' I h a v e n o n e e d o f t h is . I f t h e m a s t e r h i m s e l f w i s h e sso me t h i n g l i k e t h i s , p rep a re v e sse l s f i l led w i t h w a t e r ' .

A cco rd i n g l y , o n e t h o u san d g rea t w i n e v e sse l s w e re f i l leda n d t h e f o r e s t a p p e a r e d f i l le d w i th t h e m . H e p o u r e d a d r o po f h i s u r in e i n t o e a c h o f t h e j a r s s o t h a t a l l o f t h e m b e c a m et h e re su l t an t n ec t a r , t h e t ran sm u t a t i v e j u i ce . Mas t e r N ag a r -j u n a h i d a l l o f t h em i n an i n access i b l e c av e o f o n e s i d e o ft h a t mo u n t a i n . H e o f fe red a p ray e r t o b en e f i t a l l fu t u re sen -

4 .3 . Sakara and PadmasambhavaI h av e m en t i o n ed ab o v e t w o o t h e r s o f th e

e i g h t y - f o u r siddhas w h o a r e d e s c r i b ed a s l o t u s -b o r n . T h e siddha P a n k a j a w a s a l so b o r n o f a l o tu sb l o s s o m an d w as a l s o a d is c i p le o f N ag a r j u n a I I ,b u t h i s l eg en d h a s n o o b v i o u s s y m b o l s in co m m o nw i t h t h e m u s h r o o m t r ad i t i o n s . T h e ' r e a l ' i d en t it i e so f t h e siddhas P a n k a j a a n d S a k a r a a r e e v e n m o r eco m p l i ca t ed t o d e t e r m i n e t h an t h e i d en t it i e s o f th eA r y a d e v a s a n d N a g a r j u n a s . T h e s e m a t t e r s a r ed iscussed by Dowman (1985 , p . 266 and pp .344-346) . I w i l l l imi t my d iscuss ion to the


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114 S. H ajicek-Dobberstein / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48 (1995) 99-118similarities of the stories of Sakara by Abhayadat-ta (Robinson, 1979, pp. 227-230, ft. 276-283, pp.380-382) and o f Padmasambhava (Evans-Wentz,1954).

According to the legends, both individuals wereborn to heirless kings who had prayed for sons;both were born in lotus blossoms after their birthswere foretold in dreams; both abdicated to seekthe Dharma. In the remainder of the story ofSakara, aside from a reference to rice pulp ('braschan, somam?) , I have found no symbolicreferences to the mushroom but some familiar im-ages appear in the legend of Padmasambhava.To end the famine in his land, King Indrabhuti,who was blind, descended to the world of thenagas, to obtain from them the wish-granting gem.When it was given to him by the princess of thenagas, he wished for sight in one of his eyes and itwas granted. When he returned to his kingdom hefound the miraculously born Padmasambhavaseated in a giant lotus blossum, 'a fair, rosy-checked little boy' encircled by an aura, his facebeaded with perspiration. Upon hearing Pad-masambhava's first words, the king was no longerblind in his other eye (Evans-Wentz, 1954, pp.105-109).

Later in the story, Padmasambhava was sentinto exile and the king gave him the wish-grantinggem, but Padmasambhava returned it saying,'Whatever I behold is my wish-granting gem'.When the king extended his open hand to receiveit, Padmasambhava spat in the king's hand and thespittle instantly became another wish-grantinggem (Evans-Wentz, 1954, pp. 117-118). Here wehave two 'Single eye' stories united, one eye curedby the wish-granting gem and the other eye curedby the words of Padmasambhava.In Taranatha's story, the Horned-one returnedthe alchemical pills to Nagarjuna and offered hisurine as the equivalent. In this story, Padmasam-bhava returned the wish-granting gem to the kingand offered his spittle as the equivalent. The possi-ble connection of the psychedelic mushroom withthe wish-granting gem is worthy of fur ther exami-nation. Recall the Koryak tale cited above regar-ding the origin of Amani ta muscar ia from thespittle of the Supreme Being. I will give below an-other example of spittle which produces A m a n i t amuscaria.

The birth of Aryadeva is also mentioned in thelegend of Padmasambhava (Evans-Wentz, 1954, p.156), who was said to be present when Aryadevaappeared in a lotus blossom as a beautiful eight-year-old child with a perspiring face. I am not sureif this detail of a face beaded with perspiration isan intentional reference to the mushroom or areference to something else added by a later redac-tor. Possible referents of the beads of perspirationon the face are the white spots of the universal veilon the red ('rosy-checked') mushroom cap, or thestrong diaphoretic quality of the mushroom.Once again, in these legends o f lotus-born ones,we are given symbols which seem to be commonlyheld with the fly agaric symbol set, but the deeperdidactic content of these symbols is unclear. Thisopacity maybe the result of missing, mis-emphasized or rearranged details due to transmis-sion of the legends by uninformed non-practitioners, as in the interpretation of the storyof Karnaripa by Dowman and his lama infor-mants. Once the informed lineage was broken,those who passed down the legends of these Bud-dhist adepts could not correct erroneous vari-ances, lacking practical knowledge of the realmeaning of these legends.4.4. Aryadeva and OdinIn what at first must seem like a whopping non-sequitur, I wil l compare the Tibetan legends ofthese Buddhists with the legend of the chief god ofthe Germanic pantheon, Odin.In the prose introduction to the Eddic L a y o fGrimnir (also in the Gylfanning of SnorriSturluson), Odin is described as sitting in his highseat in Asgard, from where, with his single eye ofomniscient vision, he can see everything that hap-pens in all the three worlds of the Germanic uni-verse. I think it is no mere coincidence that thisdescription of Odin is the same as Aryadeva's self-description in Taranatha. Among Odin's manynames and attributes are Har and Bileyg, both 'theOne-Eyed'. Odin had but one eye because he trad-ed his other eye to Mimir, the owner of the well ofwisdom and understanding beneath the treeMimameith, 'Mimir's tree', often taken to be AskrYggdrasils, 'Ash of Odin's Steed', the World Tree.Mimir was the wisest of the Aesir, the race ofgods to which Odin and Thor belong, because he


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drank every day from his well of wisdom. Hedrank from the Gjallarhorn until Odin, in order toreceive a single drink from the well, pledged one ofhis eyes in return. After that, Mimir drank eachday from 'Odin 's pledge'. This imagery hasperplexed scholars of Eddic mythology who wereunaware of the 'kenning' of Amanita muscaria asthe Single Eye in other traditions.

Mimir was taken hostage by the Aesirs' foes, theVanir, who cut off his head. Odin smeared it withwort to preserve it and it could speak words ofwisdom in answer to his questions. In theSigrdrifumal v. 14-15, the Valkyrie Sigrdrifaspeaks of'min d runes' which Hropt (Odin) devisedfrom the 'sap which seeped in drops out ofHeithdraupnir's head, out of Hoddrofnir's horn',evidently referring to Mimir's head and horn(trans. by Hollander, 1962, p. 236 (who points outan intriguing lacuna in these verses)). 'Mimir' ap-parently means 'the Thinking One'. What is thissap which drips from his head or his horn to form'mind runes'?Another of Odin's names is Hrafna (Raven)-god. This name has been believed to relate his roleas War god to the ravens that haunt battlefieldsfeasting on the dead. It might also reflect the roleof Odin as Great Seer. Odin had two ravens Huginand Munin, 'Thought ' and 'Remembrance'

egyptians used to get high as part of rituals

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