I am in total agreement with the letter written by Michael Madrone regarding the name of the proposed cannabis shop in Sidney.
The fact that this company would even associate the majesty, power, and omniscience of Buddha with getting high shows the level of ignorance at work. Buddha forbid the use of mind-intoxicating substances. This is not based on a view of morality, but rather on the heart of his teachings, which is how to not get caught up in worldly ways of being, but rather transcend them, via skillful use of the mind. This obviously is antithetical to having a mind under the influence of substances.
Buddha taught that to search for happiness or escape suffering by looking for and clinging to experiences (and most especially those external) was not only unskillful, but also delusional in its premise that this would bring a permanent lasting desired outcome. Instead, clinging to any type of experience begets further suffering. Just look at our addiction problem in B.C. for a clear example of that.
Apart from that, I agree with the writer that we would not use other prophets’ names so inappropriately in our society. It is just plain distasteful.
Dawn Bertram
North Saanich
