Judaism and Asian Religions: Editor's Introduction

Judaism and Asian Religions: Editor's Introduction Judaism and Asian Religions: Editor's Introduction Harold Kasimow Grinnell College The Dalai Lama taught us a lot about Buddhism, even more about menschlichkeit, and most of all about Judaism. As all true dialogue accomplishes, this encounter with the Dalai Lama opened us to the otherfaith's integrity. Equally valuable, the encounter reminded us ofneglected aspects ofourselves, ofelements in Judaism that are overlooked until they are reflected back to us in the mirror ofthe Other. -Rabbi Irving Greenberg' This statement on the encounter between Judaism and Buddhism by one of the outstanding Orthodox rabbis of our generation helps us to understand the deep interest and fascination that many Jews have with Asian religious traditions, especially with Buddhist spirituality. The essays in this issue not only examine the interactions of Jews and members of Asian faiths, but they also reveal the diverse interests of American scholars involved in Asian studies. These articles, together with the books which are reviewed here, give us some of the most creative academic work on this subject by Jews and non-Jews.2 To my knowledge, Shofar is the first Jewishjoumal to devote an entire issue to the strong interest of American Jews in Asian religions. 'Quoted in The Dalai Lama: A Policy ofKindness: An Anthology of Writings by and about the Dalai Lama, ed. Sidney Piburn (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1990), p. 65. 2The reviews include some of the important books on this topic that have appeared in the last fifteen years. I also highly recommend the following recent books: Nonnan Fischer, Jerusalem Moonlight: An American Zen Teacher Walks the Path ofHis Ancestors (San Francisco: Clear Glass Press, 1995); Bernie Glassman, Bearing Witness: A Zen Master's Lessons in Making Peace (New York: Bell Tower, 1998); Rodger Kamenetz, Stalking Elijah: Adventures with Today's Jewish Mystical Masters (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997). For a Buddhist perspective on Western religions and interreligious dialogue, I would recommend the works of the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, the two most respected teachers of Buddhism in the West today. I particularly recommend the following: The Dalai Lama, The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings ofJesus, ed. Robert Kiely (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1996); Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Euddha, Living Christ (New York: Riverhead Books, 1995). For an extraordinary encounter between Buddhists and Christians, see Donald W. Mitchell and James A. Wiseman, eds., The Gethsamane Encounter: A Dialogue on the Spiritual Life by Buddhist and Christian Monastics (New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1997). 2 SHOFAR Spring 1999 Vol. 17, No.3 The interest in Asian spirituality shown by many Jews has evoked various reactions. For many Jews, any involvement with Eastern religions is very problematic. They believe that Jews should study only the Torah, claiming that it contains all the knowledge that a Jew should be preoccupied with. Exploring other religious traditions, even if undertaken to enrich one's own spiritual path, is seen to be against the will of God. The view that Jews are not permitted to become immersed in the study of texts that are sacred to other paths must be given consideration. In the Mishnah in Avot (5:26), Ben Bag Bag, a convert to Judaism, states, "Turn it [the Torah] over and turn it over, for everything is contained in it." However, the Jewish tradition is not monolithic. Throughout its history, Judaism has been open to a great diversity of theological views. As Arthur Green has recently pointed out, the Jewish tradition does not have an inquisitorgeneral. Some of its most influential teachers, ones who have profoundly enriched and shaped the Jewish tradition , were influenced by members of other faiths. These include Moses ibn Ezra, Moses Maimonides, his son Abraham Maimonides, Bahya ibn Pakuda, and, in our own time, Robert Gordis and Abraham Joshua Heschel. In the introduction to his work Duties of the Heart, Bahya ibn Pakuda writes: I quoted also the saints and sages of other nations whose words have come down to us; hoping that my readers' hearts would incline to them, and give heed to their wisdom. I quote for example the dicta of the philosophers, the ethical teachings of the Ascetics...