Much of the writings of the Christian mystics from the fifth/early sixth century, were to be found under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite. To say it was written directly by this person is unsure, as the medieval church established contact with Neoplatoism - the teachings of second century Egyptian Plotinus which the doctrine of Plato fused with the most important elements in the Aristotelian and Stoic systems and Eastern (Indian) speculations. Thus metaphysical thought was incorporated in Christian thinking.

Such eastern thought and meditation may have been with Jesus himself during his entire life, as the Jewish community was influenced by the Hellenization of the prior Babylonian and Persian rule. Those times of Christ's daily periods spent alone, along with long periods seem to suggest much more than simply prayer, but meditation. This also takes into consideration the later account of Luke's description of the 120 disciples at Pentecost in the upper room appearing to be more than sitting in prayer, but meditation in practice. (Mark 1:35; Acts 2)

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." (Mark 1:35)

In the publication entitled The Jew in the Lotus written by Rodger Kamenetz, both Jewish mysticism and Buddhism are comparatively studied in a personal account. In a review from amazon.com, given by Reviewer: khandro@videotron.ca, it states:

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.


UNDER CONSTRUCTION

More thoughts from Zen and the Kingdom of Heaven by Tom Chetwynd