user16546: I was thinking about taking vows and I had a few questions:

does cannabis and magic mushrooms count as intoxicants?
does masturbation count as sexual misconduct?

if cannabis and magic mushrooms are in fact intoxicants, can I use them one last time before taking the vows. Just to have that experience one last time

user21800: Yes all drugs that affect the mind and causes heedlessness are intoxicants in both the most conventional sense as well as in Buddhist morality.
The issue here is to what point is heedlessness. If you do some study on this subject in suttas you may find out when you are high on cannabis your mind is not heedless. Mine was not when I used to smoke weed regularly but it impeded my meditation practice so i gave it up...eventually.
Essentially heedlessness means unable to control your mind and the defilements which in turn cause you to create negative causes.
Either way all drugs are a waste of time and are obstacles to meditation.
This is coming from someone who has taken loads of different drugs, used to bee a weed head and am still a boozer.
Masturbation is not sexual misconduct in of itself except for a monk as monks (are supposed to) refrain from all sexual activity.
The 2 issues here is your sperm retained is a powerful tool you can use to control your mind and meditation that you should not waste, and more importantly coveting another person is bad for your mind in helping you curb and control desire.
What is sexual immorality is coveting a non sexual object, so a child, a wife, or someone girlfriend or of course your own mother or sister. Gender swap roles if you are a female or homosexual of course. Covetousness is never good either way and I would suggest to only use certain people who you don't covet in your fantasies for only arousal to release or even porn just to arouse you for a release rather than watching it to sustain desire or entertainment.
Further more if at present you are unable to take solemn vows of refraining from intoxication and/or sexual misconduct, you can still take solemn vows of refraining from killing, lying, stealing and when you are truly able to keep to the vows of refraining from intoxication and sexual misconduct, then add them to your already established vows.
Start small if you need to, essentially it is all Sila, morality and a gradual practice of turning your mind from non virtue to virtue.

16546: <p>I was thinking about taking vows and I had a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>does cannabis and magic mushrooms count as intoxicants?</li>
<li>does masturbation count as sexual misconduct?</li>
</ol>
<p>if cannabis and magic mushrooms are in fact intoxicants, can I use them one last time before taking the vows. Just to have that experience one last time</p>
 21800: <p>Yes all drugs that affect the mind and causes heedlessness are intoxicants in both the most conventional sense as well as in Buddhist morality.
The issue here is to what point is heedlessness. If you do some study on this subject in suttas you may find out when you are high on cannabis your mind is not heedless. Mine was not when I used to smoke weed regularly but it impeded my meditation practice so i gave it up...eventually.
Essentially heedlessness means unable to control your mind and the defilements which in turn cause you to create negative causes.
Either way all drugs are a waste of time and are obstacles to meditation.</p>
<p>This is coming from someone who has taken loads of different drugs, used to bee a weed head and am still a boozer.</p>
<p>Masturbation is not sexual misconduct in of itself except for a monk as monks (are supposed to) refrain from all sexual activity.
The 2 issues here is your sperm retained is a powerful tool you can use to control your mind and meditation that you should not waste, and more importantly coveting another person is bad for your mind in helping you curb and control desire.
What is sexual immorality is coveting a non sexual object, so a child, a wife, or someone girlfriend or of course your own mother or sister. Gender swap roles if you are a female or homosexual of course. Covetousness is never good either way and I would suggest to only use certain people who you don't covet in your fantasies for only arousal to release or even porn just to arouse you for a release rather than watching it to sustain desire or entertainment.</p>
<p>Further more if at present you are unable to take solemn vows of refraining from intoxication and/or sexual misconduct, you can still take solemn vows of refraining from killing, lying, stealing and when you are truly able to keep to the vows of refraining from intoxication and sexual misconduct, then add them to your already established vows.
Start small if you need to, essentially it is all Sila, morality and a gradual practice of turning your mind from non virtue to virtue.</p>
