The beautifully illustrated book Zig Zag Zen chronicles the interrelationship between Buddhism and psychedelic drugs. While at first this may seem an unlikely pairing (given that one of the precepts prohibits intoxication), there is a fascinating concordance. First, the brain state the Buddha was likely in sitting under the Bodhi tree may have been neuro-physiologically similar to the brain states found by people ingesting LSD or sacred plants such as peyote cactus, psilocybin mushrooms, and ayahuasca root. Many future Zen leaders experimented with these consciousness-altering drugs and later turned to Zen as a way to stabilize the experience that opened to them with the drugs. However, these same teachers do not advocate the use of psychedelic compounds as a path to liberation. Stephen Batchelor confirms that “It is undeniable that a significant proportion of those drawn to Buddhism and other Eastern traditions in the 1960s (including the present writer) were influenced in their choice of religious orientation by experiences induced by psychoactive substances such as marijuana and LSD.”