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The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Re-Discovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India

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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.

At first I couldn't get into this book. I'm Jewish by culture and ethnicity, but never saw much of spiritual value in the Jewish religion I had been raised in. And while I like much of what the Dali Lama does and says I couldn't see spending hours reading about his meeting with a bunch of Rabbis. Dull. It seemed like the author was just a middle aged Jewish intellectual with an identity crises -- and I have better things to do than hang around with people worrying about "who they really are."

To make a short story shorter, I'm delighted I hung in there to see what happened.

It's about the interchange that took place (about 7 years ago) when a group of Rabbis were invited to visit the Dali Lama. He wanted to hear from them how Jews had managed to preserve their religion and culture during thousands of years of exile from their homeland and despite persecution. The paralells to his people's current situation are obvious, and why he'd be interested is therefore obvious. What wasn't obvious was how the interchange effected the Jews who participated -- nor the conflicts between the flavors of Judaism (which I never expected could be interesting or enlightening.

I have more appreciation for Judaism, Buddism, and the author than I ever expected. It turned out to be a can't put down read.

Alex Censor

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.

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.

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.

It's clear that Kamenetz himself learned a lot during the events he writes of, and the book makes it possible to ride on his shoulders through that both the meeting between the Dalai Lama and a delegation from across the spectrum of Judaism and his digestion of those events afterwards. The book is centered more on Judaism than about Buddhism, and covers issues such as the principles of Kabbalah in an authentic, nontrendy form and how it fits into mainstream Judaism; the commonalities and differences between Jewish and Buddhist views of the world; the failures of current Jewish religious education, and the effects of the Holocaust on modern Judaism (not just the people killed, but ho it has changed the focus of the religion). It addresses some of the same concerns about assimilation as Anne Roiphe's Generation Without Memory, but by contrasting Judaism to Buddhism and examining some of the people who are in a spectrum between the two ("JuBus") comes closer to finding some answers.

This is a journal of a journey the author took as scribe to a delegation of Jewish leaders to the Dalai Lama of Tibet. These leaders covered a broad spectrum of Jewish beliefs and denominations. This is evident in their questions as much as in their various affiliations. The visit merely touched upon the many similarities between certain Tibetan Buddhist (Vajrayana) and Jewish beliefs. It was oriented more towards beliefs than practices except in the area of particular interest to the Dalai Lama: how Judaism and the Jewish community survived centuries of exile. This is an obvious question considering the recent exile of the Dalai Lama from Tibet due to the Chinese takeover of his country. As a scribe and not a knowledgable participant, Kamenetz cannot and generally does not analyze similarities and differences--he's not well qualified to do so as he readily admits. While in summary, it may appear that Judaism and Vajrayana are vastly different (and in some ways they are), if one separates the Jewish representatives' views and compares each one to the Dalai Lama's, a different picture emerges. The more traditional or orthodox or literalist views are essentially antithetical to the Vajrayana, but the mystical ones have much in common with it. Since the discussion was shared amongst the Jewish representatives, the more mystical representative (and one wonders how mystical he actually is) only had a limited time for discussion/presentation. Thus, the similarities were only touched upon. I would suggest that this is a fine introduction to these similarities, but since it only scratches the surface, further study is required. The high philosophical, esoteric, and metaphysical views of the two are frequently quite close. For example, as opposed to what some of the Jewish leaders may say about reincarnation, the Jewish mystical tradition (i.e. Kabbalah) affirms reincarnation (it's call Gilgul). So, in fact, a literal read of this book can be quite misleading. Don't be fooled. The diversity of views within Judaism is far larger, I believe, than that within Vajrayana--and Vajrayana had the Rime movement which drew the views closer together in recent decades. It is unlikely that such will occur in Judaism due to the differences in literalist and representational views of Jewish revelation. It is strongly advised that the reader pursue studies in both Kabbalah and Vajrayana (preferably Dzogchen and/or Mahamudra) to realize the depth and breadth of the similarities.

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!

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.

This is a good story. The author is like a "straight man" who brings out the flavor of the humorous, eccentric, and poignant personalities with whom he interacts, like rice that gives curry flavor. The overlapping themes of this book, refugee peoples meeting and finding commonality, Jewish intellectuals seeking to join universal truths to particular traditions, mysticism and the search for meaning, are individually interesting even for someone (like myself) who is neither Jewish nor Buddhist. ("I am human, and nothing human is strange to me" -- my excuse for giving my two bits.) The themes also blend well into a fascinating narrative.

There were points at which I wished the author had thought to ask more probing questions. For example, the spokesman for the Tibetan government said that if people mix religion and politics, they are the greatest enemy of their own religion. One would have liked to have someone ask him how this applies to the idea of the Dalai Lama, which has traditionally been about as close a fusion of church and state as you can get. Kamenetz also accepts the usual black hat -- white hat stereotype of the relationship between Tibet and China. In that long dance, however, it has often been the Tibetans who trod on Chinese feet, rather than the other way around.

One rabbi compares the Tibetan kuten, or spirit medium, to the Old Testament prophet. To me, having seen videos of possession in the Tibetan and Chinese traditions, and spirit possession itself in the Chinese tradition, this seems a facile and mistaken comparison. But such parallels add to the story Kamenetz is telling, and he accepts them with little, if any, critical examination. Perhaps one problem is he does not know the orthodox tradition well.

Allen Ginsburg sarcastically notes, at one point, that in Asia "They have the intelligence to realize there's no God." Kamenetz is fair-minded enough to find this "insulting." But here again, a little more knowledge of Asian religion would have been helpful. Ginsburg was even more wrong than he was rude. Hardly a country in Asia lacks a strong tradition of a High God like Yahweh in many ways.

That's a problem with spiritual tours of this sort. One needs to be leery of generalizations about Asian religion made by anyone who has not learned the languages and lived among the people for a long time. Otherwise what you meet is not the other religion itself, but your own culture's projections of the good or bad it would like to see in "the other."

I enjoyed this book for the light it shed on contemporary Jewish thinking, and for the story itself. But when I want to know what Tibetan Buddhists think, I read the Dalai Lama. Or better yet, I sometimes suspect, his mother.