Get Drunk. Stay Drunk.

"You'll never have a hangover if you don't sober up."
Buddhists see life as suffering and meditation as a way to relieve/release suffering. As you might expect, The Chemical Buddha's approach was different. He was in favor of avoiding any and all pain as often as possible. He taught that emotional, physical and spiritual pain could all be avoided indefinitely with the right cocktail of chemicals. Of course, there are other physical costs. Not to mention the eventual tolerance to anything you're taking, and the withdrawals and cravings. But to The Chemical Buddha that just meant the student hadn't reached enlightenment yet. He always did have an answer for everything.
What causes you pain in your life?
What do you do to avoid it?
How does avoiding it work? Does it make the pain go away?

High Enough for Ya?

"Some speak of a Higher Power. I know there is a Higher Dosage."
As an enlightened being, The Chemical Buddha was often asked his thoughts on the idea of a higher power. Usually, TCB would reply with a question of his own, "Higher than what?" Partially because he was confused how much higher people wanted their power to be. The whole concept of higher power was beyond him. Plus, he figured if such a thing actually existed, he would find out sometime in the future. However, in the here and now, he knew there was such a thing as a higher dosage (which led him to today's teaching). When he was completely wasted, he wondered if there was a relationship between a higher power and a higher dosage. Eventually, he came to know that a higher dosage would lead him to a higher power (if one existed).
How much time do you spend thinking about the here and now?
How much time do you spend thinking about the future?
How does planning for the future keep you from enjoying the here and now?
How does enjoying the here and now keep you from planning for the future?

Soul Fire

"While the fire within may burn brightly, a match works better for lighting a one-hitter."
Central to The Chemical Buddha's belief system was the thought that we were all enlightened. Most of us just needed some outside help. (Or just needed to ingest some outside help.) While TCB was often criticized for not following the teachings learned over thousands of years of meditative practice, nothing could be further from the truth. He just thought he could add his own twist to boost everyone's consciousness. He saw his charge as evolving meditation and Buddhism. Since the beginning of time everything has changed. His brand of Bud-dhism seemed like the next step combining what Buddha started 2,500 years ago that the hippies tweaked in the late 1960s. If he got laid and was able to cash in along the way, all the better.
How have you changed during your life?
How have you stayed the same?
Are you the person you want to be?
What needs to change in your life to become that person?

Candy Man

"The journey to Nirvana weaves in and out of rehab."
Before you head out on your journey of enlightenment through pharmaceuticals, you should know it is a difficult path. You, much like The Chemical Buddha, may doubt your path and decide you're tired of sleeping outside, having sex with strangers to score drugs, not bathing, and alienating everyone who ever came into contact with you. It's during those dark times, you might decide to get your shit together by going to rehab and cleaning up. Whatever your personal journey, The Chemical Buddha found his wove in and out of various detox centers. Fortunately for all of us, he was committed to his path and found everything he needed to eventually find Nirvana.
Are you committed to your path?
What do you try to distract yourself with from your true path?
And what do you need to do to stay on it?

What was the Question?

"Drugs are rarely the answer, but they'll help you forget the question."
Later in The Chemical Buddha's life, he thought that maybe, just maybe drugs weren't the answer to all his problems and questions about life. But to seriously consider that thought may have required him to undo the years of work he had invested into his path and teachings. So he figured there must be a way out of this setback. After thinking about it for at least several seconds, he realized that he couldn't remember his questions, or better yet, his problems. (Truth be told, he couldn't even remember his own name and address). So maybe drugs were actually a help after all? After this profound insight, The Chemical Buddha taught (and smoked, injected, fucked, and drank) with a new verve.
What are you using to distract yourself from the big issues in your life?
What reality are you avoiding?
If you are avoiding something, why?
Do you think avoiding it will make it go away?

Self-Taught Chemist

"Chemically enhance your reality."
The Chemical Buddha watched a lot of TV. One of the things he learned from some science show on TV was that our interaction with the world was based on the chemicals in each of our brains. And that so-called 'crazy' people have a slight imbalance that causes them to see the world slightly differently than 'sane' people do. To him, this was just another reason to show that he was on the right path. A TV show couldn't be wrong could it? Especially one with a bunch of scientists that used words with more than one syllable. This also gave TCB a quick retort to people who called him a lush, burnout or stoner, When he heard these things The Chemical Buddha would reply that by altering his chemical make-up he wasn’t running from reality, but merely enhancing it to make it more tolerable and interesting.
Is there an area in your life that could use some outside help to make it better?
What one thing would you change about your life?
How could changing that one thing effect everything?

Problems are my Problem

"My problem isn’t drugs. My problem is sobering up."
The Chemical Buddha was known to drink until black out, getting stoned until he drooled, and ODing several times. And while TCB recognized that he had a problem, he always vehemently denied that his problem was ever drugs. In fact, he saw sobriety as his problem. As in it was hard for him to sober up. He also noted that they while there were support groups for alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, etc, there weren't any sobriety support groups. So The Chemical Buddha was doomed to have no one to do a intervention about his sobriety. And we're not sure if he ever had a sober day in his life.
What parts of your life are you couching in a way that's more convenient for you and easier for you to swallow?
What 'truth' do you need to really face?

Hitting the Pipe

"My monks are meth heads. My nuns are crack whores. My monasteries are drug houses."
The Chemical Buddha had a pretty realistic understanding of who his followers were: people who were willing to strip away everything to see what remained. They were not distracted by the material trappings of life and did not strive to have the new car or big house. (Unless, they needed to raise cash. Then they wanted it so they could sell it for drugs.) In general, he found them to have a simple view of life with basic priorities like food, shelter and toilet paper. And while most of society shunned his followers, TCB welcomed them with open arms (as long as he didn't have anything of value on his person).
Who do you dismiss based on their appearance?
What judgments do you have about people who are different then you?
Would you describe most of your friends as similar to you or different than you?

God = Dog

"I appreciate any religion that uses drugs during its ceremonies."
One of the things that The Chemical Buddha appreciated about most major religions is they all had some way for people to get fucked up/feel different. (He would have said all religions, but quite frankly he wasn't very familiar with Buddhism, let alone any other religion.) TCB found it funny that for humans to have a 'spiritual' experience, they had to feel different than human. This made him wonder if animals (since they weren't human) felt a spiritual connection we didn't. Then he noticed that dog was god spelled backwards. Coincidence? He didn't think so. Which is why he always prayed to dog god.
Do you believe in only what you see or do you think there is more?
What is your relationship to the people and things around you?
Do you look at the world with a sense of awe and appreciation or as something to be navigated through?

Running on Empty

"Alcoholics never have alcohol."
Today's insight was something The Chemical Buddha experienced in his early childhood. While his parents were drug addicts and drunks, within 45 minutes of them getting home from the liquor store (or dealer), everything was gone. They drank whatever they had. While his mother was a sex addict, outside of TCB's dad she never had sex with the same person twice. As a result, The Chemical Buddha was a 'use it till it’s gone' sort of guy. Believe us, you couldn't show up at his house expecting to find anything to drink, smoke or eat. Even if you brought your own stuff with you, he would quickly use whatever was within arm's reach. One time, while I was using the bathroom, he even drank the rest of my beer.
What is your philosophy? Do you save for a rainy day? Use what you have? Or does it depend upon what it is?
What do you save? What do you use up?

Focus on Focusing

"Sometimes you just have to pick a side and rub."
Early posts have spoken at length about the size of The Chemical Buddha's endowment. But despite it all, he accepted that he had what he had and didn't worry too much about it. Although he did recognize it as a short-coming, he wasn't too proud to seek advice on what to do. One of the best things anyone told him was to not worry about reaching everything. Just focus on one thing and make the most of it. While the person giving the advice intended for TCB to focus on his partner, The Chemical Buddha instead choose to focus on the tip of his dick. Although he did take this insight and apply it to other parts of his life. Eventually narrowing down all of the things he was involved in to pot, sex and Twinkies. Not only was he able to give those three things more of his attention, but it made it incredibly easy to Christmas shop for him.
How often do you focus on one thing?
How often is your attention scattered across multiple things?
Which do you find works better?
What prevents you from focusing on one thing?
What prevents you from seeing a multitude of things?

Q&A

"It’s called being stoned because you have the IQ of a rock.”"
Some teachers get questions like, "Why are we here?" and "What’s the meaning of life?" In addition to those, The Chemical Buddha also got, "Why do they call it being stoned?" Of course, the people who asked those questions were usually stoned out of their fucking gourds, so it didn't really matter what his reply was, they would just giggle. And because he was stoned, he would just giggle too. Boy those were good times. Just so you know, his answer to, "Why are we here?" Is "Where else should we be?" Or "Why not?" And his answer to "What’s the meaning of life?" was "To live." Now granted, these weren't the greatest answers in the world, and he may have actually said some other things, but we were stoned most of the time we were around him.
What are the big questions you ask about your life?
How satisfied are you with your answers?
Why are you here?
What’s the meaning of your life?

Drug War Veteran

"Looks like poverty and drugs are winning the war."
The Chemical Buddha was occasionally a student of popular culture. (Especially the drugs part of American culture.) TCB noticed that at various times America has declared wars on certain parts of our culture. In the 1960's it was poverty. In the '80's it was drugs. So far, despite the billions of dollars spent, it would appear we're losing the war. Which means we either need to surrender or find a new way to go about it. Like giving people the support they need to actually change their lives. (Of course, we digress and may even be high right now.) At one particularly weird period of his life, TCB considered himself a war veteran. He saw every drug he took as another bullet in the war on drugs. A bullet that could have easily taken out someone else. So he literally saved lives by sacrificing himself. Of course, it could have just been that he was looking to get veteran's benefits out of the government.
Do you stand up for ideas and/or yourself or go with the flow?
What would it take for you to make a stand for something?
If you're not already doing it, how do you think it would feel to fight for something? And what would you fight for?

Back in the High Life Again

"If you're not high on life, I've got something that'll help."
The Chemical Buddha was all about enjoying the moment. He subscribed to taking life's highlights and making them even higher. In fact, he found, with the right 'state' of mind, even mundane things like doing the dishes could be enjoyable. Although, with all of those pretty bubbles to watch, it might take forever to actually get the dishes clean. TCB was all about taking things to the next level. Including the crushing lows he experienced after coming down from life’s 'highlights.' He reasoned, why be depressed when you could be clinically depressed? As you'll see in the insight from June 22nd, to him, it was important to get the most out of everything.
Do you get the most out of life or do you hold a little bit back?
If so, what prevents you from fully stepping into life?
Do you have highs, lows or just try to keep everything on an even keel?
Do you consider a display of excessive emotion to be 'good' or 'bad'? If so, why?

Truly Truly

"Those unwilling to turn tricks for drug money are unwilling to experience their true self."
Part of each person's path is what they're willing to do to get what they want. The Chemical Buddha saw how some people were only willing to go after things that were easy. Typically, those people ended up living shallow, uninvolved lives filled with mortgage payments and soulless jobs. TCB believed those who were willing to follow their path into dark alleys and urine soaked bathrooms, would one day look in the mirror and not know who they were. It was then the first crack of dealing with harsh reality would bring about a truth unlike anything they had ever experienced. And point them towards their true nature and their true path. But The Chemical Buddha was really high at the time he said this, so who knows if it's actually true or not.
Do you feel in touch with reality?
What is your true nature?
Who do you think you really are?
What about yourself have you faced and what did you learn in that confrontation?

A Drop on the Tongue

"Chemical Buddha Mind is just one hit away."
When students would ask The Chemical Buddha what it was like to experience Chemical Buddha Mind, he would start them out with a one-hitter. That’s because TCB believed getting too much knowledge too quickly could create all sorts of problems. For example, people could zone out or leave their families. Sometimes they sell all of their possessions and buy a bunch of drugs. At the very least, they'd start calling everyone dude and making hemp necklaces, bracelets and anklets in an effort to support their habit. The Chemical Buddha wasn't against any of these results. He just wanted to make sure they were open to suggestion (mainly his) before they went off and did something crazy. Once he could influence them, they could do any crazy ass stuff he told them to. I mean, they could do anything they wanted to.
How open are you to the suggestion of others?
Are you stubborn and follow your own path?
Are you led around by your nose?
Some mix of the two? What is the impact on your life?

If it Weren't for Bad Luck...

"The path to enlightenment includes several bad trips."
Like a lot of spiritual teachers before him, while The Chemical Buddha walked his path to enlightenment, he encountered some pitfalls. (That was mainly because he took some stuff that didn't agree with him.) And because of that he was unable to keep up with his enlightenment regimen. By our estimation, that means The Chemical Buddha attained enlightenment, 3 days, 5 hours, 56 minutes and 3 seconds later than he would have without wasting time on bad trips. Of course, there's no telling how many insights we wouldn't have gotten if he didn't wander off his path. So his loss was ultimately, our gain.
Do you see life as a series of problems or chances to learn?
Do you think things happen for a reason or happen at random?
What big lessons have your learned form things that seems like accidents/'bad' luck while it was going on?

Pssst. Hey Kid.

"Oxytocin is the original gateway drug."
The Chemical Buddha heard a lot about gateway drugs that were supposed to lead to harder and harder drugs and a life of hardship and addiction. However, TCB thought this was nothing more than a clever smokescreen by people who didn't want teens and kids to know the true source of their craving for connection: oxytocin. Before you Google oxytocin we'll tell you what it is (just in case Google disagrees with us). Oxytocin is the chemical that is released during skin to skin contact. And as psychological research has shown, baby monkeys will forego food for touch. I’m not sure, but that seems like a pretty big indication that oxytocin is an addictive drug. It was this line of thinking that lead The Chemical Buddha to debunk the myth that marijuana would open anyone to anything. We're born addicts.
What do you crave?
What has the impact of that craving had on your life? Would you define it as 'good' or 'bad'?

The Bad Side of Feeling Good

"You'll never have to buy a drink if you occasionally put a dick in your mouth."
There were times The Chemical Buddha cared a lot more about getting a drink than he did about his self-respect. So he would happily abandon his dignity to get what he wanted. Including sucking dick, letting someone pee on him, being punched, eating dog shit and a lot of other disgusting things the human brain can come up with to humiliate another person. He did it all just for one drink, toke or Twinkie. And we’re sure there wasn’t one time he felt 'bad.' To his way of thinking, the people who got enjoyment out of making him do demeaning things were the ones who should feel 'bad' about themselves. There’s no word whether they did or not. Although, years later, several videos of TCB's antics showed up on YouTube. So we’re guessing it didn’t bother them at all.
What have you given up to achieve what you want?
Do you miss it or do you think it was worth the price?
What are you prepared to give up to get what you want?

Surprise me! (Just Kidding.)

“Forget enlightenment, it's better to be unaware of how fucked up the world is.”
Once The Chemical Buddha became aware of all that is, he realized just how unjust and fucked up the world was. He learned there were people who got laid way more than he did. That had free and easy access to drugs. And, even more fucked up, that there were actually people who didn’t want to have sex or do drugs. Which literally caused him to have a heart attack. (His second one ever.) Once he learned all of this, he couldn’t get it out of his mind. Like trying to stuff a vacuum packed sleeping bag back into it’s original wrapper, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get it to fit without ripping something.
What things have you learned that have changed the way you see the world?
What would you have rather not learned? Why do you regret learning it? How did you react?
Do you like to know everything or be surprised? What’s the impact on you?