Zen & the Art of the Vape

[Thulium]

In order to keep the use of personal vaporizers legal, what is to stop us from claiming protection under the First Amendment as a religious sacrament? The Church of Scientology managed to get their use of the Hubbard Electrometer past the FDA by establishing it for religious purposes and including a label.

The E-Metercigarette is not medically or scientifically useful for the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of any disease. It is not medically or scientifically capable of improving the health or bodily functions of anyone.

Compatible with the tenets of Zen Buddhism promoting peace and tranquility, Wicca (It harm less, so mote it vape?), smoking is Haraam in Islam, using smoke from incense is integral to many Christian sects but holiness doctrines based on the body as a temple should encourage people to replace smoking with harm-reducing vapor.

Personally, I really find there is something deeply spiritual about the use of vapor. The ritualistic nature of smoking as a habit is almost religious naturally, but when you switch to vaping instead there is a potential for the connection to the user to run even deeper. When e-smoking/vaping, a spiritually minded person can feel an additional sense of connection to their environment, a clear focus on improving their life by reducing pollutants to their own body as well as to their family and environment.

Religion has impacted technology and technology has carried religion into the modern era: The harp and sitar have been replaced by the guitar and amp, the hymnal is replaced by the projector, incense has been replaced by Febreze, etc. Priests, rabbis, prophets, native chieftains, witches and wizards have long used pipes and burners to invoke spiritual experiences, should not the right to replace these practices with ones that are safer be protected as a freedom of religion?

I'm curious if anyone here has personal examples of how they have used personal vaporizers with religious intent or effect?

 

[Dredbull]

An issue with it as I can see it via a semi Buddhist point of view.
It is an introduction of a toxin or toxins into the body, but also man made instead of natural substances.

I would love to hear about it from a devote Buddhist tho.

 

[boondongle]

Keeping in mind that I'm not a lawyer, simply an educated person with an interest in the issue of religious protection, here's what I think you'd need in order to have vaporizing protected under a "vaporizing church" or something:

1. Church documents that demonstrate a belief in a supreme being, religious discipline, rituals, and tenets to guide daily existence.
2. Proof of sincerity of intent (and courts have gone to great lengths to investigate such claims).
3. A community of believers (a local, real-world community, like a neighborhood group, not a collection of individuals online) that practice the religion

If you have all that, then you can likely win a court case if and when one of your members is charged with something that is considered part of your church's sacraments. But even if you have all that, the court can still decide not to rule in favor of your church if the state has "a compelling interest" in stopping your practices.


On the other hand, if you're talking about shoehorning vaporizing into an existing religion, I'd guess that you'd need a statement from the leaders of that religion to confirm that they consider vaporizing to be part of their religious practices. Like I said, I'm just guessing there, but that seems likely. Otherwise, we'd have every Christian pothead in the country citing Genesis to demonstrate protection.

 

[rothenbj]

Keeping in mind that I'm not a lawyer, simply an educated person with an interest in the issue of religious protection, here's what I think you'd need in order to have vaporizing protected under a "vaporizing church" or something:

1. Church documents that demonstrate a belief in a supreme being, religious discipline, rituals, and tenets to guide daily existence.
2. Proof of sincerity of intent (and courts have gone to great lengths to investigate such claims).
3. A community of believers (a local, real-world community, like a neighborhood group, not a collection of individuals online) that practice the religion

If you have all that, then you can likely win a court case if and when one of your members is charged with something that is considered part of your church's sacraments. But even if you have all that, the court can still decide not to rule in favor of your church if the state has "a compelling interest" in stopping your practices.


On the other hand, if you're talking about shoehorning vaporizing into an existing religion, I'd guess that you'd need a statement from the leaders of that religion to confirm that they consider vaporizing to be part of their religious practices. Like I said, I'm just guessing there, but that seems likely. Otherwise, we'd have every Christian pothead in the country citing Genesis to demonstrate protection.

Your post gave me a good laugh and I had visions of Jim and Tammy Faye reuniting to raise out of the ashes and be reborn again in the house of vaping.

 

[boondongle]

Your post gave me a good laugh and I had visions of Jim and Tammy Faye reuniting to raise out of the ashes and be reborn again in the house of vaping.

Hah! That is a funny image.

 

[breakfastchef]

Thulium, I like how you think, but the 'cat is out of the bag'. The e-cig was developed to address the smoking issue. It provides nicotine to the user, thereby making it a drug delivery system by design. Some domestic hawkers of this product have made it impossible for any straight-up vendors to claim that this device is purely a substitute to smoking in venues where smoking is not allowed.

 

[Brachinus]

If that would work, there'd be a lot more Rastafarians in America than there are.

It's a nice dream, though.

 

[Thulium]

Thulium, I like how you think, but the 'cat is out of the bag'. The e-cig was developed to address the smoking issue. It provides nicotine to the user, thereby making it a drug delivery system by design. Some domestic hawkers of this product have made it impossible for any straight-up vendors to claim that this device is purely a substitute to smoking in venues where smoking is not allowed.

Well, I don't mean it to take nicotine usage the Rastafarian route necessarily, but using smoke and vapor is an established part of many religions, and eliminating the toxins of smoke and replacing it with antibacterial PG vapor infused with scents or appropriate additives (frankincense, myrrh, etc) could make rituals healthier and thereby holier by some measures.

Alternately, "new age" religions that emphasize moralistic humanism or spiritualists who avoid traditional religious rites could also adopt personal vaporizers as a path to enlightenment. First Amendment protection isn't going to make something legal that was previously illegal, but it could ensure that the state understands it has an interest in preserving the availability of personal vaporizers for personal or religious use.

The point being, if there is an overriding reason that e-cigarettes should be illegal, then freedom of religion wouldn't be enough to protect them. But since there has been no evidence showing that e-cigarettes constitute any significant threat to public health or safety, there is no legitimate justification for a ban.

 

[McWhat]

An issue with it as I can see it via a semi Buddhist point of view.
It is an introduction of a toxin or toxins into the body, but also man made instead of natural substances.

I would love to hear about it from a devote Buddhist tho.

There are many styles and philosophies in Buddhism. Smoking is a no no in all of them, I believe. Now, it's a bit complicated past that point, since Buddhism is more about spiritual growth and enlightenment than eternal risk or reward. I can't really speak toward any of the Zen style Buddhisms, but generally followers of Buddhism are held to a lower standard than the teachers/clergy. I know in Thailand monks aren't allowed to start smoking, but may continue to do so if they smoked when they became a monk. The "No Smoking" rule is actually aimed at Opium, but in modern times also includes everything else. So there's a bit of a sliding scale, with Opium being a bigger deal than a cigarette. It's mostly about leading a happy and healthy life. Obviously smoking isn't conducive to that goal. Now vaping may very well be allowable. Especially if it's toward the goal of quitting smoking. Or at least the goal of moving to a less harmful form of smoking. I have to be honest, I'm probably not enlightened enough to advise on this matter, and I'm biased.

 

[Dredbull]

Mcwhat that is why I brought it up.
Zen is a state of balance and enlightenment.

I do not know which path of Buddhism I follow nor have I devoted a huge chunk of time on it.
I tend to follow the basic precepts of yep there will be pain and yep it can be overcome.

As I said I follow a few basics not devoted even tho it interests me greatly. I always chat up the monks that come into my store, it trips me out to see em in the robes in a cell phone store.

 

[Ryle]

for what it's worth...

Seeing as I'm not a believer in any structured religion, I would happily join any religion that made the PV's legal (assuming I'm not required to speak with invisible people or do something that I would consider morally wrong or completely insane)

 

[Thulium]

for what it's worth...

Seeing as I'm not a believer in any structured religion, I would happily join any religion that made the PV's legal (assuming I'm not required to speak with invisible people or do something that I would consider morally wrong or completely insane)

It would make me so happy if we could get e-deathsticks added as a sacrament for the Jedi faith. Either way, I fully intend to get myself a matte black 510 with a purple LED and the letters "BMF" etched on the side.

 

[McWhat]

Mcwhat that is why I brought it up.
Zen is a state of balance and enlightenment.

I do not know which path of Buddhism I follow nor have I devoted a huge chunk of time on it.
I tend to follow the basic precepts of yep there will be pain and yep it can be overcome.

As I said I follow a few basics not devoted even tho it interests me greatly. I always chat up the monks that come into my store, it trips me out to see em in the robes in a cell phone store.

Since you solicited the opinion of a Buddhist in your earlier post I thought I would help out. I missed the part in Thulium's post where he equated vaping be "promoting peace and tranquility". I was taught "No drugs, not even Alcohol". Cigarettes/Nicotine is included in that precept, but generally not Caffeine. Addiction is not really compatible with leading a healthy and happy life. I have no idea what Thulium is referring to about Zen Buddhism being compatible with e-cigs, but as mentioned, I'm not a Zen Buddhist. As I said, there is a tenet about smoking and drug use, but you can break it and still be a Buddhist. Admittedly, vaping zero nic would be in line with the teachings as I know them, but still not an integral practice of a Buddhism.

BTW, the head of the Shao Lin temple in China has a pocket inside his sleeve for his cellphone, it's pretty amusing.

 

[Thulium]

I found this regarding Zen Buddhism and smoking: Buddhist Channel | Buddhism News, Headlines | Japan | Japan's Buddhist temples target smoking

Buddhist Incense-Sonae-ko

 

[McWhat]

That first link is interesting, it seems to imply that Japanese Buddhists follow the strict original teachings. I don't think it makes the argument that vaping is integral to the faith. One could make an argument that it does promote vaping from followers who smoke. You would just have to prove that e-cigs are safer than smoking, and more effective than an approved existing smoking cessation product. Which the FDA is currently arguing otherwise. I'm also not sure how how effective it would be since it appears that Japanese (Zen?) Buddhism doesn't disallow cigarettes. That second link is a bit of a stretch, as incense isn't that difficult to come across, and vaping is mostly odorless. At least the juice I've been vaping is mostly odorless, and disperses very quickly. Maybe we should just start our own sect of Buddhism.

 

[Dredbull]

I am all for the Techno Buddha, I cannot fathom a monk chilling in meditation and getting a cellphone call.
It brings several not good ideas into play on that.

 

[JustMeAgain]

Well, it's not exactly a religion based approach, but I've always wondered about the type of authority the FDA has on Indian Reservations.

 

[Mac]

This idea has been discussed on this forum before actually. I asked Sun what he thought and his answer was basically yeah it would have worked 2 years ago but with the pending court case it's too late. Although I am not sure he is right and still think it's worth a try. It doesn't seem likely. If the government is willing to lie on national television to support their facist agenda regarding e-cigs I doubt they have any interest in honoring our constitutional rights.

 

[sevryn999]

Monks can smoke, right?

 

[Smoking Guns]

Brand new Vaper here (as of last night).

My wife, while watching me vape for the first time, told me it looked very meditative and relaxing. It got me thinking very much along the lines of your post. I used to allocate 10-15 minutes every day for quite "contemplation", whereby I'd sit in a darkened room and stare into a candle and quite my mind. More often than not I ended up reflecting on spritual stuff, rather than actually meditate (thus the term contemplation, rather than meditation). Anyway, I think vaping go great with it-- I'm starting tonight.

In order to keep the use of personal vaporizers legal, what is to stop us from claiming protection under the First Amendment as a religious sacrament? The Church of Scientology managed to get their use of the Hubbard Electrometer past the FDA by establishing it for religious purposes and including a label.



Compatible with the tenets of Zen Buddhism promoting peace and tranquility, Wicca (It harm less, so mote it vape?), smoking is Haraam in Islam, using smoke from incense is integral to many Christian sects but holiness doctrines based on the body as a temple should encourage people to replace smoking with harm-reducing vapor.

Personally, I really find there is something deeply spiritual about the use of vapor. The ritualistic nature of smoking as a habit is almost religious naturally, but when you switch to vaping instead there is a potential for the connection to the user to run even deeper. When e-smoking/vaping, a spiritually minded person can feel an additional sense of connection to their environment, a clear focus on improving their life by reducing pollutants to their own body as well as to their family and environment.

Religion has impacted technology and technology has carried religion into the modern era: The harp and sitar have been replaced by the guitar and amp, the hymnal is replaced by the projector, incense has been replaced by Febreze, etc. Priests, rabbis, prophets, native chieftains, witches and wizards have long used pipes and burners to invoke spiritual experiences, should not the right to replace these practices with ones that are safer be protected as a freedom of religion?

I'm curious if anyone here has personal examples of how they have used personal vaporizers with religious intent or effect?