The Jew in the Lotus

by Rodger Kamenetz
Harper, San Francisco, 1994

Reviewed by Andrew Rader

Don't walk -- run fast to your favorite book store and get this very readable and tantalizing account of the historic meeting between the Dalai Lama and a group of prominent Jews.

There is certainly something that hits home for many of us in The Jew in the Lotus. On one level, Rodger Kamenetz is a journalist reporting to us about the historic meeting between the Dalai Lama and a group of Jewish leaders which took place in Dharamsala, India, in the fall of 1990. On another level, it's the story of a typical assimilated Jew with a Reform/Conservative upbringing being brought to a greater understanding and connection to his own spirituality via the exchange between the Buddhists, Jews, and Jewish Buddhists (JuBus). Interspersed with the reporting of the actual meetings between this diverse group of Jews -- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and Renewal -- are stories and interviews of the JuBus he meets in Dharamsala and back in the USA.

It is no strange coincidence that Jews figure prominently in the Western Buddhist scene. Folks such as Ram Dass, a.k.a. Richard Alpert, Allen Ginsberg, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Thubten Chodren, Sylvia Boorstein, Stephen Levine, Jack Kornfield, Surya Das, a.k.a. Jeffrey Miller, Sam Bercholz, and Bernard Glassman, to name just a few, are all well-known Jewish Buddhists. Some of them tell their stories in this book.

There is also the self-examination that is revealed by the author as he is transformed during his week in India. There was for him a discovery of what the traditions share, such as belief in angels and reincarnation. The palpable warmth, laughter, respectful debate and mutual regard that permeated the week-long sessions with the Dalai Lama revealed to Mr. Kamenetz how much each tradition has to offer the other and the world at large.

The meetings came about when the Dalai Lama expressed a desire to learn from Jews "their secret" of survival in exile. The Tibetans, since the Chinese invasion in 1950, have been experiencing a holocaust and exile of their own. Now faced with a struggle to maintain their religion and culture in diaspora, the Dalai Lama perceived an opportunity to learn from experts on the subject. He was also aware of the disproportionate number of Jews among Jewish Buddhists. There is obviously a strong connection between these two traditions.

Needless to say, not everyone from the Jewish side applauded the effort. An influential New York Jewish paper criticized the two orthodox representatives, Dr. Blu Greenberg and her husband, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, for "consorting with idol worshippers." Kamenetz laments that many Jews are of the opinion that all Eastern religions are cults. "Moonie, Hare Krishna, or Buddhist -- what's the difference?" Even the author had some of these stereotypes when he arrived in India with the delegation. Once in Dharamsala, he began to meet JuBus who were not the walking zombies he had imagined but were articulate, deeply spiritual, well-grounded individuals who had for various reasons (which he discusses in the book) found Judaism lacking and ended up searching elsewhere. The path for many of them was similar: Hebrew school, Bar-Bat Mitzvah or confirmation, then somehow not seeing an active spiritual practice within the Reform or Conservative congregations within which they were raised.

What came out during the encounter was that although Judaism has a rich tradition of mysticism, meditation and prayer, it was for various reasons suppressed, neglected, and shoved aside while the political, cultural and assimilationist attitudes became more prominent. In Buddhism the mystical, meditative and esoteric practices are prominent and accessible. In the past 30 years it has become much easier to find a Lama willing to share openly, with a dedicated student, traditionally secret teachings, than it is to find a Rebbe forthcoming with Kabbalah. This is perhaps because over 80% of the Kabbalists are believed to have perished during the Holocaust.

The dialogue brought up many issues for the delegation. The Dalai Lama asked how achieving the state of Israel has changed the liturgy. Now that we were technically not in exile, how does the 2000-year-old mantra "Next year in Jerusalem!" retain its meaning? He wanted to know how the Diaspora Jews differ from those that are in Israel. How does Reform Judaism offer Jews traditional teachings and retain its spiritual heart? How does Orthodoxy apply to the reality of 20th- or 21st-century life?

The issues the Dalai Lama raised are issues he faces with his own people in exile: what to keep and what to discard. Today we are faced with spiritual crises in Judaism that may contain the seeds for a vibrant renewal of Jewish life. It may not look like a 19-century shtetl, but it may bring Jews to a point where Judaism again becomes central for us in our daily lives on all levels of existence -- physical, moral, emotional, and spiritual.

In the end what matters is how a tradition can teach us what we need to know. How to be a mensch, how to be kind to one another. This is the value of any tradition. And if one learns how to do this using different methods and becomes a wise and loving person, then that person's path is valid and useful.

There is an old Hassidic tale that Kamenetz shares. A young man journeyed to meet his great Rabbi. Upon his return, he was asked if he went to study Torah. No, he replied, he wanted to see how his Rabbi tied his shoes. This is what Kamenetz wanted to discover about the Dalai Lama, how he tied his shoes. He came away with the impression that he had met a compassionate, humble, wise and humorous individual who has deep concern for his people and their future. In short, an übermensch. Gandhi, another great "Rabbi," taught over and over again that his life was his message. As Jews, we must realize that a Jewish teaching need not necessarily come from a Jewish teacher.

The Jew in the Lotus opens up the question of what is a valid spiritual path for a Jewish seeker in a way that many of us can relate to. I can't wait until the movie version comes out!

— from our November 1994 Newsletter

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