Jewish Approaches to God (Part Four) … Buddhist Jews
Posted by mysterysolvedwithmessiahjesus on May 15, 2008
There is a joke floating around the internet about a stereotypical Jewish mother flying to Tibet, traversing over mountains, and walks into an Ashram in order to say three words to the guru, “Sheldon, come home!”
Now the idea of finding compatability in Buddhism and Judaism is as oxymoronic as a “Rolling Stop.” However, there is a growing number of Jewish folks out there who are not only exploring but also embracing Buddhism (JuBu[s] as they are often called) while attempting to maintain their Jewishness (you can even purchase a Passover Haggadah for Jews and Buddhists online), including such Hollywood stars as Goldie Hawn and Robert Downey, Jr.
So what is it about Buddhism that attracts so many searching Jews to embrace the lotus position? What is missing in modern Judaism that compels a large number of Jewish people to adopt a belief as summarized by Mary Wakefield, “[that] it is easier, they promise, to find the meaning of life in athetistic meditation than in a relationship with an omnipotent Creator”? (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/77/story_7787.html)
To understand the answer to that question one must first have a basic understanding of Buddhism and then examine the history of the JuBu(s). First, just what is Buddhism (see links below for more information)? That is often as hard to define as understanding the words being said in most people’s mantra.
Ultimately Buddhism denies the existence of a real or separate God apart from humanity. Humans can achieve nirvana or for the lack of a better word ”godhood” when they get in touch with the internal “light which animates us.” This lack of a belief in a personal God is exceptionally attractive for those Jewish folks who would claim the mantle of atheism or agnosticism but still crave a sense of spirituality.
Buddhism also emphasizes that suffering can be understood if humans overcome personal cravings which cause us pain. Understanding suffering, even if it is based on the most shallow of concepts, is desirable especially in light of the 2000+ years of suffering that the Jewish people have endured. Therefore, Buddhism at its most basic level appeals to those Jewish people who are angry at God over suffering but still seek for an answer to the why of suffering.
The connection to Buddhism and the Jewish people date all the way back to 1893 when Charles Strauss became the first Buddhist follower in the United States. Today 1/3 of Western Buddhists come from Jewish backgrounds. The growth of Buddhist Jews came to prominence during the Beatnik days of the 1950s and the counterrevolution days of the 1960s, including perhaps the most famous JuBu Alan Ginsberg and JuBu dabbler David ben Gurion
So how can believers in Jesus reach out to Buddhist Jews with the truth of Jesus the Messiah. First, I think that you have to approach them with an understanding of why they are rejecting the traditional Judeo-Christian view of God. The Holocaust rocked the theological foundations of many Jewish people and so a philosophy that teaches that suffering can be understood and God can be rejected is immensely appealing.
Second, understanding this background a believer in Jesus must approach a Buddhist Jew as one would approach any Jewish person. By illustrating the truth that God himself felt our pain and suffering so much that He came to the earth to understand our suffering and experience the true suffering of the cross for our sins, our loss, our pain, and our suffering (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Third, we must break the stronghold of the teaching of the untouchable nature of God advocated by Maimonides. Jewish people want to belief that God cares for their condition and will reject one who does not. The God of Maimonides is the one they are rejecting and not the God that we as believers know cares for our souls and our humanity. God the Father must be reintroduced to Buddhist Jews and all Jewish people in order for them to return to Him through Messiah Jesus, the son of God.
For more information on Buddhist Jews go to:
May 15, 2008 at 9:18 pm
i belive we will see more of this like the current composition religions of Zen-Christianity, Paganinsm-Quakerism, Muslim-Episcopal, Wiccan-Methodist, and Voodoo-Roman Catholicisom The Sikh faith also allows for the combination of faiths until they are almost gone in America. With the buffet religion metality where we pick out what we like ant leave what we don’t we end up with this. i appreciate you brining this up and making us aware. It is sad that we want to be so “spiritual” in our society instead of faithful to the Cross.