Well, the Zen people feel that that’s just a bit too much. And the way they come on is: they’re ordinary. And they say: when two Zen masters meet each other on the road, they need no introduction. When thieves meet, they recognize each other instantly. So they don’t say anything, don’t make any claims. As a matter of fact, so far from making claims, all good Zen masters say they have not attained anything, they have nothing to teach, and that’s the truth. Because anybody who tells you that he is in some way leading you to spiritual enlightenment is just like somebody who picks your pocket and sells you your own watch. Of course, if you didn’t know you had a watch, that might be the only way of getting you to realize!
I don’t think that LSD is an automatic psychotherapy at all. It needs—if you’re going to use it for that purpose—you need psychotherapy in the ordinary way along with it. LSD is simply an exploratory instrument, like a microscope or a telescope—except this one’s inside you instead of outside you. And according to your capacity and knowledge you can use a microscope or a telescope to advantage. So, in the same way, according to your capacity and your knowledge you can use an interior instrument to your advantage, or just for kicks. But when these people, you know, really feel threatened by this thing, they start sending around messages and public utterances which sound exactly as if they had taken LSD, had had a bad trip with it, and were coming on paranoid.