That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist
by Sylvia Boorstein
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sylvia BoorsteinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-02-11
ISBN: 0060609583
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: HarperOne
Book Reviews of That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist
Book Review: Working Too Hard To Make Buddhism and Judaism Appear Compatible
Summary: 3 Stars
Sylvia Boorstein was raised Jewish in a loving home, in a Jewish neighborhood, in a family that was mostly non-religious. From those roots, Dr. Boorstein tells us that she retained warm feelings for Judaism as an adult.
In this easy-reading book, she tells her story of becoming a Buddhist meditation teacher who also has a Jewish identification and practice, each religion's worldview informing the other. And while it may seem as if Dr. Boorstein has successfully integrated the two spiritual paths, in my opinion only those whose knowledge of Judaism is limited to its superficial look and feel will accept this conclusion. Someone who is familiar with its deeper content will recognize that she has failed in this, and sits primarily in the Buddhist world, tailoring her Judaism to a Buddhist worldview.
Although her personal Jewish practice has grown over the years, (at the time she wrote this book she and her husband were members of a Conservative Jewish congregation), what Dr. Boorstein teaches is Buddhist Vipassana meditation. It's not Jewish meditation nor is it meditation based in Jewish tradition or practice. It's Buddhist meditation that lives within the Buddhist world of Dharma rather than the Jewish world of Torah, with all the Buddhist cultural values and emotional connections inherent in it.
In some ways, Vipassana meditation can be consonant with Jewish practice. In some ways it can't. Much of Buddhism is not compatible with Judaism -- for example, Buddha as a supernatural god (the Vairocana "Cosmic" Buddha, as described in the Lotus Sutra) simply doesn't work within Judaism. There are many other examples.
If you want to learn to meditate as a Jew, this book will not teach you how -- you'll have to look elsewhere. If you are not Orthodox, a good start might be found at Rabbi Alan Lew and Norman Zoketsu Fischer's Makor Or center in San Francisco. (Have a look at Rabbi Lew's books here on Amazon.) If you're Orthodox, finding yourself a teacher will be a bit more challenging.
But if you (a Jew) need to meditate and have no other choice but to learn from our Buddhist brothers and sisters (including Sylvia Boorstein), first find yourself a Jewish teacher who will teach you the basics of Judaism. Without knowing about Judaism and developing well-formed Jewish convictions, it's all too easy to compromise or lose your Judaism in the process of learning Vipassana (and other) meditation practices.
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