Rating: 
Summary: a good magazine piece turned into a so so book
Review: A mildly interesting narrative of a few Jews taking a field trip to India. But I didn't learn as much about Buddhism as I thought I would; perhaps Kamenetz should have discussed the basic ideas of Buddhism in more detail. For example, sometimes he suggests that Buddhism doesn't really take a position on deities, their existence etc. (which is what I had always thought, and which explains how you can be both Jewish and Buddhist) and at other times he refers in passing to Buddhist "deities" (implying that Buddhism is somehow polytheistic). So which is true? Kamenetz doesn't explain.
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Summary: Good, but...
Review: I read this book twice, and in the intervening years I had learned more about Jewish mysticism and meditation. As a result, I got a lot more out of the book the second time around. I suspect I would find it even better if I knew more about Buddhism. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, one of the Jews who met with the Dalai Lama, perhaps summed up what was most important about this meeting between two ancient religions: "All religions," he said, "not just Judaism, are now being placed in a new situation. At first I thought the culture was forcing us. But I've come to believe this pluralism is God's will. Can you learn to propagate your religion without using stereotypes and negative images of the other? If we can't. all religions will go down the tubes-and good riddance-because we're a source of hatred and demolition of other people."
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Summary: Buddhism and Judaism make history!
Review: In 1990 Kamenetz, Marc Lieberman (a Jewish Buddhist - JUBU) and a group of distinguished personalities from the spectrum of Jewish religion (Reconstructionist and Orthodox rabbis, rabbis active in Jewish renewal, and professors of religious studies) went to Dharamsala for a four day meeting with the Dalai Lama. The latter had made the invitation in order to better understand the Jewish faith and learn the techniques of survival in Diaspora. This book must be viewed from three different perspectives. First there is the dialogue among the Jews, which clearly points out the discrepancies between the different denominations. Second, the dialogue between the Jews and Tibetan Lamas and monk with the objective in mind of exchanging information, getting to know each other, pinpointing differences and similarities. And last, but not least, the interaction between the author and the two sets of dialogues, which will open a new perspective in his life: rediscovering his Jewishness through mysticism. The participants were able to find areas of common interest such as practice of meditation, visualization, the intensive use of debate and study of ancient texts, the Kabalah as a parallel of Buddhist mysticism, the mandala and the sephirot. There are also significant differences: Buddhism does not accept the concept of a Creator, and God is viewed as Trugh, Reality or Emptiness; for Buddhism there is reincarnation, in Judaism it is a one-life-time-experience; Judaism is family-oriented, Buddhism is monastic. The author comes to the realization that modern Judaism has been drained of its ancient spirituality by means of increasing secularism. Like in any major religion the tension between the "exoteric" (accessible to every practitioner) and the esoteric (restricted to a few members) is taking its toll by depleting the mystical elements embedded in spiritual traditions. Because of this vacuum present in Judaism a signifant number of Jews have gone in search of further "fulfillment," finding in Buddhism the roots of Jewish mysticism. The Dalai Lama offers his piece of advice: "Open the doors and open them wide!" There is the need to reinforce the importance of revival of Kabalistic mystical teachings and practice of meditation. The lesson of survival in exile applies both to the troubled individual and the troubled nation. This book is fantastic reading; it makes you wish you had been present at this historical, enlightening meeting.
Rating: 
Summary: A Spritual Rediscovery
Review: In 1990, Rodger Kamenetz, a secular Jew and English professor at Louisiana State University, accompanied a group of eight Jewish leaders to Dharamsala, India, where the Dalai Lama lives in exile. This book, published in 1994, describes that interfaith dialog as well as his many interviews later with Jews who practice Buddhism, including Alan Ginsberg and Ram Das. The Dalai Lama was particularly interested in how the Jews survived as a people in Diaspora during their thousands of years in exile. Tibetan Buddhists, now expelled from their homeland are facing the same dilemma. The Jews were particularly interested in what the attraction was for modern Jews in Buddhism because there have been so many who have seemed to abandon their Jewish heritage. The author writes well, so well in fact that he took me deeper into concepts than I have ever been before. There are a lot of facts in this book and a lot of theology. I have no background in philosophy, theology, mysticism, meditation or any spiritual practices. And yet I was able to follow most of it. The Jews and Tibetan Buddhists have some things in common. Their monks study sacred texts and practice debate. There are some ancient words that are common to both religions. And on a deep spiritual level, they both practice meditation and visualization. The differences are vast though. The Jewish tradition is rooted in the family. The Tibetan in a monastic tradition. The Jews believe there is one lifetime. The Tibetans believe in reincarnation. When the question of the holocaust came up, the Tibetan answer was that it was karma for something bad they did in their past lives when they might or might not have necessarily been Jews. The Jews were shocked by this. They felt it was blaming the victim. The big issue in the book was about spirituality, however. Modern Judaism is based on customs and traditions and ethnic identity. It is not based on the essence of spirituality which is reached in prayer, meditation, chanting and communication with something much deeper than self, and -- ultimately -- results in enlightenment. I read this book slowly, each paragraph bringing up ideas I had never even knew existed before. It was an experience in itself to share the journey with the author who did painstaking research to pull this little gem of a book together. Recommended for someone who wants to do some deep thinking about spirituality and its place in the modern world.
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Summary: Dialogue between Jewish scholars and the Dalai Lama in 1990.
Review: Kamenetz, Rodger. The Jew in the Lotus. HarperSanFracisco, 1994. This wittily titled book resulted from a dialogue between the HH Dalai Lama in Dharmasala and a group of American Jews, mostly rabbis, in the fall of 1990. They had been invited to offer insights on how the Jews have preserved their culture through repeated adversities from the destruction of the Babylonian captivity through the destruction of the second Temple by the Roman and the horror of the Holocaust. By 1945, 2/3 of Jews had been eradicated from the face of the earth and among them, as Kamenetz points out, 3/4ths of the teachers and mystical masters. This fact has left a great hole in the fabric of Judaism so that the person who is in search of Jewish profound teachings has had to go to other traditions in order to satisfy this need. The first of the members of the group, Nathan Katz, gave a presentation on contacts between the Hindu/ Buddhist and Jewish traditions. On p. 69 we learn of the Sanskrit words found in the (Hebrew) text of the Torah. We hear of the Hebrew manuscripts in Tibetan monasteries in Kucha, Mongolia. He points out that the concept of shunyata appeared in the West in the zero of mathematics. Al-Buruni, the Muslim philosopher of the 9th century had drawn the parallel between shunyata, the unpronounceable Name and also, Aum. He also reminded HH that the Jews were the first refugees (in 70 CE) to find a refuge in India. It was probably news, when this book came out in 1994, for a great many Jewish Buddhists (aka JUBUs) who in many Dharma centres make up 30% or more of members, to learn that there is a Jewish tradition of visualization, meditation and other such practices. Most had heard of the kabbalah but they also knew that its study was supposed to be limited to adult married men. Rabbi Zalman Schachter's presentation reveals what he perceives to be similarities between its teachings and vipassana meditation. He points to the Name AinSof (without end) as also known as Ayin or Void (p.86). From the mandala of the ten Sephirot through the idea of four worlds; from the angelology inherited by Jews from the Arabs through the symbolism of the two sexes, we see that tantrayana and mystical Judaism have a language and many techniques in common. A fascinating section of The Jew in the Lotus is derived from talks the author had with such people as Ven.Thubten Chodron, Alex Wayman, Charles Rome who was secretary to Chogyam Trungpa R., Allen Ginsberg, Ram Dass and many other prominent Jewish practitioners. Among non-Jewish Westerners who appear are Robert Thurman and Richard Gere. The author, a poet, writes of his own voyage of discovery, too; of his relationship to his Jewishness, of his discovery of India and the inclusiveness of its culture despite its current infection by fundamentalism. ( The Ayodhya incident was just about to happen as the group departed). Though the author was introduced mainly to the monastic Gelug lineage, he is aware that, currently the most prominent, it is not the only one. He sees in the plight of the Tibetan people some parallels with the Jewish diaspora and shows us the Dalai Lama's concern over the tendency to assimilation of Tibetans born outside their homeland. This book will be of great interest, certainly, to all Jews who are Buddhist practitioners and their concerned family members, but also to all readers interested in mystic traditions particularly those who have sympathy for the cause of Tibet.
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Summary: Jews & Buddhists finding common ground
Review: My friend Sue recommended this book to me. We have had many conversations about her life as a Jew in America. We've talked about and explored the differences in how we were brought up and our approaches to life because of our religions. She thought Kamenetz's ecumenical experience in India would appeal to me. She was right. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
In so many ways, the world and worldview of Buddhism and Judaism seem so different as to be unbridgeable. Yet there is something that exists in Buddhism to draw so many Jews to the mystical life found in Tibetan Buddhism. Ram Dass and Alan Ginsberg are only two of the most famous Jews who found spiritual solace by moving from Judaism to Buddhism. After making that observation, a group of Jewish rabbis travelled to Dharamsala, India to visit and engage in dialog with the Dalai Lama.
It was October 1990. India was in the midst of one of the recurring dramas of confrontation between Hindus and Muslims. The rabbis made their way through some tense military scenes to get to Dharamsala. There they found a community of exiles, a community not unlike that Jews had been experiencing for hundreds of years. This theme of commonality was to come up over and over again as the Dalai Lama looked to his Jewish visitors for keys to maintaining an identity after fleeing his country and the Chinese invaders.
Through conversations with the Dalai Lama, the rabbis, accustomed to their differences, were forced to look at themselves anew and examine some of their most cherished beliefs. For many it was a life-changing experience.
It's a fascinating read and a great journey. For us non-Jews and non-Buddhists, Kamenetz offers a though-provoking look at ecumenism among two faiths that would seem to have little in common.
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Summary: Great Book on Judaism and Buddhism
Review: Roger Kamenetz, a poet and professor of English Literature at Louisiana State University appeared at the Borders Bookstore in my neighborhood. To prepare for his visit, I re-read perhaps his best book, The Jew in the Lotus. The book is a journal about his travels with six prominent American and Israeli Jews to Dharmsala, India to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama. As I perused the eloquently written text, a key question kept entering my mind. Why are so many individuals from North American Jewish backgrounds interested and involved in Tibetan Buddhism? The persons whom Kamenetz meets and observes in Dharmsala are impressive people. They are not "flakes" looking to join a cult. They are educated and intelligent individuals searching to live a more authentic spiritual life. They speak respectfully, often affectionately about Judaism and their Jewish upbringing. They did not find answers, however, to their spiritual quest within their own ancestral faith. They found answers, or at least a direction to search for answers, within Tibetan Buddhism. In interviews with JUBU's (the vernacular term used for Buddhists from Jewish backgrounds,) Kamenetz hears repeatedly that "Judaism is not an accessible faith tradition." The JUBU's acknowledge the profundity of wisdom found in Judaism. Many even talk on a sophisticated level about how compelling certain teachings found in Jewish texts and observances can be. They find Buddhist teachings, meditations, and practices, however, easier to learn and integrate into their lives. Buddhism and Judaism are each religions that posses a sacred literature that is written in a language foreign to English speaking people. Both ancient literatures speak of events that occur in a historical context that also is foreign. Why do JUBU's find Buddhism more accessible? Perhaps accessibility derives from the fact that the Dalai Lama and his cadre of fellow monks live monastic lives. Without the conventional demands of family, Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leaders offer guidance and attention to the individual at a level of intensity that most American Jews do not experience interacting with rabbis, teachers, and other communal leaders. Perhaps economics is another factor. The American Jewish community in so many ways has priced the middle class out of active participation in American Jewish life. When one adds up the cumulative costs involved for a family to affiliate, to be a "good Jewish family" it becomes clear that many Jewish organizations and institutions are un-open and non-accessible to many American Jews. Perhaps many JUBUs come from families where parents simply could not financially afford to educate their minds or nurture their souls in the positive experiences that Jewish involvement offers. Regardless of the reasons, and I am sure that there are many more American Jews could add to the list, the existence of a large and increasing number of JUBUs should be a sign of concern. American Jews pride themselves on running institutions and organizations that meet the needs of Jewish families and provides a sense of community to the individual. Are American Jews doing enough to make Judaism as a way of life meaningful and worthwhile to the individual living in the contemporary world? The existence of a large JUBU community suggests a challenge that American Jews can do a better job in this important area. In addition to The Jew in the Lotus, Kamenetz is also the author of hundreds of poems and essays plus three other books titled Stalking Elijah, The Missing Jew: New and Selected Poems, and his most recent publication the lower case jew. Elliot Fein teaches Jewish religious studies at the Tarbut V'Torah School in Irvine, California.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful prose by a poet
Review: The Jew in the Lotus is a poetic look at a multi-cultrual deligation of Jews and their 1990 pilgrimage to the Dali Lama's exiled group in India. Kamenetz explores the long lost spiritual/meditational side of Judaism, and the many parallels between the Jewish exile from Jerusalem after the destruction of the Temple circa 500AD, and the Buddhists' recent exile from Tibet.
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Summary: Intelligent dialogue in the context of comparative mysticism
Review: This book is a welcome addition to the collection of any serious student of religion as well as to anyone wishing to gain a fuller knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism or mystical Judaism. Based on a series of conversations between the Dalai Lama, Jewish Buddhists, Buddhist Jews (this will all become clear...), and various rabbis, this work offers a non-threatening, intelligent examination of the underlying spiritual principles of Judaism and Tibetan Buddhism. Simply being introduced to these concepts through smart, interesting, nonacademic writing is a joy, but especially fascinating are the implications of what the two traditions involved in the book's dialogues can learn from one another. Kamenetz and his colleagues suggest that Judaism, especially in the 20th century, has almost completely lost touch with its underlying spiritual principles and has become a mere social and ethnic comfort. Borrowing from Tibetan Buddhism's vigorous and well-preserved mystical traditions, the author and others about whom he writes suggest a reinvigorated 'hallowing of the everyday', much like Buber's (theoretical) view of Hasidism. In turn, Tibetans can certainly take a few cues from Judaism on how to preserve their culture in exile and how to integrate traditional practices into an encroaching global culture. Informative and easy to read: a great book!
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Summary: Religious pluralism for the Alabama Baptist
Review: This book is very well written and interesting from beginning to end. It educates the reader about both Buddhism and Judaism and has a little glossary at the back to help with the foreign terms. A new way of thinking abt religious pluralism is presented that the entire world would do well to adopt. That perhaps this pluralism is God's will and we should overcome our stereotypical notions of other religions to grow closer to God. I found the Dalai Lama's sense of humor to be very entertaining and would like to learn more about him.
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