Buddhism and Judaism
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Since the 20th century, Buddhism and Judaism have become associated with one another due to the common religious overlap in
Since most Buddhists do not consider the
Similar beliefs
Historically, Judaism has incorporated the wisdom of alien religions that do not contradict the Torah, while rejecting
Reincarnation
Many modern schools of Judaism have had a longstanding acknowledgement of a concept similar to
The practice of conversion to Judaism is sometimes understood within Orthodox Judaism in terms of reincarnation. According to this school of thought in Judaism, when non-Jews are drawn to Judaism, it is because they had been Jews in a former life. Such souls may "wander among nations" through multiple lives, until they find their way back to Judaism, including through finding themselves born in a gentile family with a "lost" Jewish ancestor.[8]
Meditation
Many young Israelis are drawn to the appeal of Buddhist meditation as a means to alleviate the violence and conflict witnessed in their everyday lives, and explain the Jews' longstanding history of persecution.
Karma
Many Jews believe in a concept similar to the Buddhist interpretation of the karmic balance, known as middah k’neged middah (measure for measure).[13] Evil deeds were believed to be repaid with misfortune, while good deeds brought rewards.[14]
When bad things happened to good people, both Jews and Buddhists interpret it as a test of faith, an indication of suffering or imbalance in the wider community, or the result of the individual unintentionally causing harm through careless words.[15] Although Buddhists believe that this was part of the natural order, Jews believe that God, as the creator of the universe, was responsible for setting these events in motion.[16]
Five precepts
Both Judaism and Buddhism forbid murder, adultery, theft, and bearing false witness. In Buddhism, these comprise four of the
The fifth Buddhist precept discourages intoxication, which has elements of
Bodhisattvas
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is an enlightened person who has put off entry to paradise in order to help others gain enlightenment.[19] Jews and Buddhists frequently regard the Prophets of the Old Testament as similar beings to the bodhisattvas because they too delay entry to the afterlife until they have completed their mission of saving the children of Israel during times of persecution.[20][21]
The similarities between bodhisattvas and prophets is particularly appealing for
See also
References
- ^ Exodus 20:4-6
- ^ Is Buddhism kosher
- ^ Was Jesus Buddhist?
- ISBN 0765760835
- ^ Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs & Rituals, By George Robinson, Simon and Schuster 2008, page 193
- ^ "Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity", p. 104, by B. Alan Wallace
- ^ "Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism", p. 190, by J. H. Chajes
- ^ Jewish Tales of Reincarnation, By Yonasson Gershom, Yonasson Gershom, Jason Aronson, Incorporated, 31 Jan 2000
- ^ CJ News
- ^ Jewish meditation
- ^ Huff Post
- ^ Jewish learning
- ^ Sefaria
- ^ Jewish karma
- ^ Tablet Mag
- ^ Divine providence
- ^ SMP resources
- ^ Proverbs 23:20
- ^ Bodhisattvas
- ^ The prophet and the bodhisattva
- ^ Buddha and Moses as primordial saints
- ^ Biblical reincarnation
- ^ Christ's past lives
- ^ Jesus as a Bodhisattva
- ^ The nonwestern Jesus
- ^ Brill journals
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0060645748
- ISBN 978-0609610213
- ISBN 978-1568713564
- ISBN 978-0060609580
- Drescher, Frank (2017), Jewish Converts to Buddhism and the Phenomenon of "Jewish Buddhists" ("JuBus") in the United States, Germany and Israel, Grin Publishing, ISBN 9783668514034
- Lew, Alan (2005), Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life, ISBN 978-0316739108
- Musch, Sebastian. Jewish Encounters with Buddhism in German Culture. Between Moses and Buddha(1890-1940). Palgrave 2019. ISBN 978-3-030-27468-9.
- Musch, Sebastian. “Judaism and Buddhism.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Jewish Studies. Ed. Naomi Seidman. New York: Oxford University Press.[1]