Portrait of a Poison: Datura in Buddhist Magic
Journal of Contemplative Studies July 23, 2025 Samuel M. Grimes
The psychoactive plant Datura metel appears in premodern South Asian texts, particularly in tantric Buddhist (Vajrayāna) yoginī tantras, where it is used in instructions for magical acts (ṣaṭkarman). The plant's material potency as a dangerous poison, well established in Sanskrit medical literature, gave it a magical potency that made it a favored ingredient in hostile magic rites (abhicāra). The paper argues that the line between material and magical is an inappropriate distinction when examining these tantras, and that the most responsible approach to psychotropic plants in premodern cultures is to examine what actors from that culture said about the plant rather than relying on modern knowledge of its effects.