Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 2:02am
A Buddhist zendo with Jewish dharma
Column: Spiritual Psychology
Imagine devout Jews with skull caps and prayer shawls davening (praying) at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and others in synagogues chanting ancient prayers that worship and honor their beloved Hashem (G-d) and Torah (five books of Moses).
Now picture a Japanese Buddhist Zendo (meditation hall) with devotees sitting in silence on carefully arranged zafus (cushions) facing a blank wall and alternating sitting meditation (zazen) with silent walking meditation (kinhin).
Judaism dates back 5,758 years and arose out of a nomadic desert tribe. Zen Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century CE from China and traces its origin to the Buddha a thousand years earlier who was raised in a region immersed in Indian Hindu culture.
On the face of it, Judaism and Zen would seem to have little in common. Not so, according to Dr. Brenda Shoshanna, who has seamlessly integrated the two into her life and spiritual practices. She insists that Judaism and Zen practice have deep connections — and she has persuasive facts and personal experiences to back that up.
Psychologist and psychotherapist Dr. Brenda Shoshanna is the author of several books on Zen philosophy and practice including "Zen Miracles: Finding Peace in an Insane World" and "Zen and the Art of Falling in Love," and has been a Zen practitioner for over 30 years. She has studied and sat with great Zen masters (Roshis) in the United States and Japan. She is also an observant Jew from an orthodox background. For a number of years she hosted a "Kosher Zendo" in her home on Long Island. Since moving back to Manhattan seven years ago, she has opened her apartment to regular Zen meditations (zazen sittings) in her "Gateless Zendo." Periodically she also leads lengthier sesshins (meditation sessions) running for a few days to a week. I've attended many of the sittings and sesshins, and they have become an important part of my spiritual practice. Last week at her two-day pre-Rosh Hashanah sesshin she combined zazen with Torah teachings that emphasized the underlying meanings of the Jewish High Holy Days that resonate with Zen.
In her forthcoming book, "Jewish Dharma (The Authentic Practice of Judaism and Zen)," which will be published in April 2008 by Perseus Books, she elaborates in great detail the ways in which Jewish and Zen practice enrich, illuminate and challenge one another, and how they can heal your life. The work explores the different ways in which Judaism and Zen address the primal questions that drive our lives, such as loneliness, restlessness, hopelessness, compulsions, misunderstandings, love, family relationships, parting and sorrow.
Since we are now entering the "Days of Awe," that sacred 10-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I asked Dr. Brenda Shoshanna to spell out what she touched on in our sesshin: "The practice and principles of Zen training are deeply applicable to Rosh Hashanah and serve to enhance and illuminate the deeper meanings and practices of the Jewish New Year."
Q. Brenda, aren't the High Holy Days mostly about repentance? How does that relate to Zen?
A. Yes, Rosh Hashanah is a time for repentance — but also for return. Teshuvah, the Hebrew name for repentance, also means to return to the source of your being. This is precisely what we do in our hours of silence during zazen. We turn away from the phenomenal world, with its endless demands and distractions, and return to the essence of ourselves and G-d.
Repentance includes not only returning to the Source, but also becoming aware of our sins (or errors), both intentional ones and unintentional ones, feeling remorse for them and making the necessary corrections.
In zazen practice we naturally and inevitably become aware of all that is going on within, often feel sorrow and remorse, and through the cleansing process of sitting, breathing and awareness, correction naturally arises.
Q. In the Rosh Hashanah service there's a great deal of emphasis on praising G-d — or what you have referred to as "The Coronation of the King." But Zen is non-theistic, so how do the two fit?
A. A main theme of Rosh Hashanah is to declare G-d King over us — to declare and affirm that we are G-d's subjects and servants. The question of what it means to truly serve G-d is like a Zen koan (a statement that defies rational understanding) that we sit with continually. By practicing zazen we give up our egoistic ways of being, our selfish needs and desires and become simple — we surrender to our true nature. Zen does not speak or theorize about G-d, but instead directs us to experience G-d directly, to "taste for ourselves and see that G-d is good."
Q. Judaism prescribes specific acts of repentance. Does Zen include anything comparable?
A. The Gates of Repentance (Sharei Teshuvah) describe different practices involved in repentance. These are all integral aspects of Zen practice as well. For example:
In Jewish practice, pride is considered one of the worst sins. There are many means provided for giving up pride and living a life of true humility.
Zazen practice naturally produces humility and simplicity. As we sit, ego dissolves and we continually experience our oneness with all beings.
In Jewish practice we are told to confess our errors.
In zazen we cannot help but see what we have done, right and wrong. We constantly confess our errors to ourselves and relinquish them.
Jewish practice calls for taking new actions for the New Year that correct past misdeeds.
While we sit in zazen and focus within, our actions naturally shift as we become kinder, more giving, less defensive and more available.
Q. What about judgment? On Rosh Hashanah "The Book of Life" is opened, and it is closed on Yom Kippur, sealing one's fate for the year. Does Zen provide a window of opportunity for turning life and fate around?
A. Jewish practice emphasizes that along with the judgment (din) that Rosh Hashanah brings, there is also the gift of forgiveness and mercy. By doing true repentance, not only are our sins erased, but if teshuvah is done genuinely, our former sins are transformed into mitzvahs — into light, blessings and love. Through zazen practice, as well, we turn poison into medicine; we take that which is negative and bitter, and it becomes fertilizer for developing wisdom and kindness of heart.
Zen practice views our fate to be the result of our own karma, cause and effect, similar to Judaism in that we plant the seeds ourselves from which consequences grow. In Judaism, we pray for mercy and forgiveness. In Zen practice, as we sit and present ourselves to the Absolute, awareness itself cleanses our lives and karma.
During Rosh Hashanah we are instructed to say to all we have interacted with in the previous year, "If I have done anything to hurt you this year, please forgive me." This practice of mercy and forgiveness allows us to humble ourselves and to clear relationships.
As we practice zazen and see and release that which is painful and difficult, a heart of forgiveness and kindness arises. When we forgive others, we can more readily forgive ourselves. In zazen practice we say that errors we have made have arisen from lack of consciousness and awareness. We can only behave on the level of awareness we occupy. In order to remedy this, we practice zazen daily, to become always more mindful, aware and awake.
The ultimate purpose of Rosh Hashanah is to cling to G-d and erase all obstacles to our doing so. In zazen practice too, we practice deep concentration and oneness with our Source.
Q. You have artfully integrated Jewish and Zen practice. But would other Jews find aspects of Zen practice or philosophy troublesome or even antithetical to Judaism.?
A. This is a profound question. In order to answer it, we must first understand the individual's view of Zen and Judaism. The essence of Zen is not antithetical to anything. In fact, it illuminates and strengthens all it comes into contact with. However, Zen can be practiced in many different ways; for some, it includes a great deal of Buddhist ritual, which can be antithetical to Judaism, and could drive observant Jews away. My original teacher, Soen Roshi, always said that Zen was not a religion, but a practice. We practice with our own nature and make ourselves into fitting vessels to approach whatever it is we undertake. When one sits deeply, the warmth, aliveness, kindness and clarity that comes can then be applied to appreciating and understanding Judaism more deeply and practicing the mitzvahs (numerous commandments) with the love and kavanaugh (dedication, intention) they truly deserve. One does not then approach Judaism in an automatic manner, but with freshness and a true heart.
Our center for Jewish and Zen practice is called The Mishkan. Historically, the Mishkan was the temporary tabernacle the Jews carried with them while in exile in the desert. It is said that when they prayed in it, the spirit of G-d was present. We sit to make our lives into a Mishkan, so that everyone we encounter will be uplifted and inspired.
Dr. Brenda Shoshanna's work is at the forefront of genuine spirituality that can heal a deeply troubled world. Her emphasis on the principle of "the return to our true nature" points to the consciousness within, where differences dissolve and we are all One.
For more information about Dr. Brenda's Shoshanna's Jewish/Zen practice center, The Mishkan, go to her blog, or send her an email at {email topspeaker@yahoo.com}topspeaker@yahoo.com{/email}.
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches psychology and leads the Spiritual Forum at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. His book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" will be published by Rowman and Littlefield in October 2007. His email address is {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr.
Now picture a Japanese Buddhist Zendo (meditation hall) with devotees sitting in silence on carefully arranged zafus (cushions) facing a blank wall and alternating sitting meditation (zazen) with silent walking meditation (kinhin).
Judaism dates back 5,758 years and arose out of a nomadic desert tribe. Zen Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century CE from China and traces its origin to the Buddha a thousand years earlier who was raised in a region immersed in Indian Hindu culture.
On the face of it, Judaism and Zen would seem to have little in common. Not so, according to Dr. Brenda Shoshanna, who has seamlessly integrated the two into her life and spiritual practices. She insists that Judaism and Zen practice have deep connections — and she has persuasive facts and personal experiences to back that up.
Psychologist and psychotherapist Dr. Brenda Shoshanna is the author of several books on Zen philosophy and practice including "Zen Miracles: Finding Peace in an Insane World" and "Zen and the Art of Falling in Love," and has been a Zen practitioner for over 30 years. She has studied and sat with great Zen masters (Roshis) in the United States and Japan. She is also an observant Jew from an orthodox background. For a number of years she hosted a "Kosher Zendo" in her home on Long Island. Since moving back to Manhattan seven years ago, she has opened her apartment to regular Zen meditations (zazen sittings) in her "Gateless Zendo." Periodically she also leads lengthier sesshins (meditation sessions) running for a few days to a week. I've attended many of the sittings and sesshins, and they have become an important part of my spiritual practice. Last week at her two-day pre-Rosh Hashanah sesshin she combined zazen with Torah teachings that emphasized the underlying meanings of the Jewish High Holy Days that resonate with Zen.
In her forthcoming book, "Jewish Dharma (The Authentic Practice of Judaism and Zen)," which will be published in April 2008 by Perseus Books, she elaborates in great detail the ways in which Jewish and Zen practice enrich, illuminate and challenge one another, and how they can heal your life. The work explores the different ways in which Judaism and Zen address the primal questions that drive our lives, such as loneliness, restlessness, hopelessness, compulsions, misunderstandings, love, family relationships, parting and sorrow.
Since we are now entering the "Days of Awe," that sacred 10-day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I asked Dr. Brenda Shoshanna to spell out what she touched on in our sesshin: "The practice and principles of Zen training are deeply applicable to Rosh Hashanah and serve to enhance and illuminate the deeper meanings and practices of the Jewish New Year."
Q. Brenda, aren't the High Holy Days mostly about repentance? How does that relate to Zen?
A. Yes, Rosh Hashanah is a time for repentance — but also for return. Teshuvah, the Hebrew name for repentance, also means to return to the source of your being. This is precisely what we do in our hours of silence during zazen. We turn away from the phenomenal world, with its endless demands and distractions, and return to the essence of ourselves and G-d.
Repentance includes not only returning to the Source, but also becoming aware of our sins (or errors), both intentional ones and unintentional ones, feeling remorse for them and making the necessary corrections.
In zazen practice we naturally and inevitably become aware of all that is going on within, often feel sorrow and remorse, and through the cleansing process of sitting, breathing and awareness, correction naturally arises.
Q. In the Rosh Hashanah service there's a great deal of emphasis on praising G-d — or what you have referred to as "The Coronation of the King." But Zen is non-theistic, so how do the two fit?
A. A main theme of Rosh Hashanah is to declare G-d King over us — to declare and affirm that we are G-d's subjects and servants. The question of what it means to truly serve G-d is like a Zen koan (a statement that defies rational understanding) that we sit with continually. By practicing zazen we give up our egoistic ways of being, our selfish needs and desires and become simple — we surrender to our true nature. Zen does not speak or theorize about G-d, but instead directs us to experience G-d directly, to "taste for ourselves and see that G-d is good."
Q. Judaism prescribes specific acts of repentance. Does Zen include anything comparable?
A. The Gates of Repentance (Sharei Teshuvah) describe different practices involved in repentance. These are all integral aspects of Zen practice as well. For example:
In Jewish practice, pride is considered one of the worst sins. There are many means provided for giving up pride and living a life of true humility.
Zazen practice naturally produces humility and simplicity. As we sit, ego dissolves and we continually experience our oneness with all beings.
In Jewish practice we are told to confess our errors.
In zazen we cannot help but see what we have done, right and wrong. We constantly confess our errors to ourselves and relinquish them.
Jewish practice calls for taking new actions for the New Year that correct past misdeeds.
While we sit in zazen and focus within, our actions naturally shift as we become kinder, more giving, less defensive and more available.
Q. What about judgment? On Rosh Hashanah "The Book of Life" is opened, and it is closed on Yom Kippur, sealing one's fate for the year. Does Zen provide a window of opportunity for turning life and fate around?
A. Jewish practice emphasizes that along with the judgment (din) that Rosh Hashanah brings, there is also the gift of forgiveness and mercy. By doing true repentance, not only are our sins erased, but if teshuvah is done genuinely, our former sins are transformed into mitzvahs — into light, blessings and love. Through zazen practice, as well, we turn poison into medicine; we take that which is negative and bitter, and it becomes fertilizer for developing wisdom and kindness of heart.
Zen practice views our fate to be the result of our own karma, cause and effect, similar to Judaism in that we plant the seeds ourselves from which consequences grow. In Judaism, we pray for mercy and forgiveness. In Zen practice, as we sit and present ourselves to the Absolute, awareness itself cleanses our lives and karma.
During Rosh Hashanah we are instructed to say to all we have interacted with in the previous year, "If I have done anything to hurt you this year, please forgive me." This practice of mercy and forgiveness allows us to humble ourselves and to clear relationships.
As we practice zazen and see and release that which is painful and difficult, a heart of forgiveness and kindness arises. When we forgive others, we can more readily forgive ourselves. In zazen practice we say that errors we have made have arisen from lack of consciousness and awareness. We can only behave on the level of awareness we occupy. In order to remedy this, we practice zazen daily, to become always more mindful, aware and awake.
The ultimate purpose of Rosh Hashanah is to cling to G-d and erase all obstacles to our doing so. In zazen practice too, we practice deep concentration and oneness with our Source.
Q. You have artfully integrated Jewish and Zen practice. But would other Jews find aspects of Zen practice or philosophy troublesome or even antithetical to Judaism.?
A. This is a profound question. In order to answer it, we must first understand the individual's view of Zen and Judaism. The essence of Zen is not antithetical to anything. In fact, it illuminates and strengthens all it comes into contact with. However, Zen can be practiced in many different ways; for some, it includes a great deal of Buddhist ritual, which can be antithetical to Judaism, and could drive observant Jews away. My original teacher, Soen Roshi, always said that Zen was not a religion, but a practice. We practice with our own nature and make ourselves into fitting vessels to approach whatever it is we undertake. When one sits deeply, the warmth, aliveness, kindness and clarity that comes can then be applied to appreciating and understanding Judaism more deeply and practicing the mitzvahs (numerous commandments) with the love and kavanaugh (dedication, intention) they truly deserve. One does not then approach Judaism in an automatic manner, but with freshness and a true heart.
Our center for Jewish and Zen practice is called The Mishkan. Historically, the Mishkan was the temporary tabernacle the Jews carried with them while in exile in the desert. It is said that when they prayed in it, the spirit of G-d was present. We sit to make our lives into a Mishkan, so that everyone we encounter will be uplifted and inspired.
Dr. Brenda Shoshanna's work is at the forefront of genuine spirituality that can heal a deeply troubled world. Her emphasis on the principle of "the return to our true nature" points to the consciousness within, where differences dissolve and we are all One.
For more information about Dr. Brenda's Shoshanna's Jewish/Zen practice center, The Mishkan, go to her blog, or send her an email at {email topspeaker@yahoo.com}topspeaker@yahoo.com{/email}.
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches psychology and leads the Spiritual Forum at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is also the main United Nations representative for the Institute of Global Education that founded the Mucherla Global School in Mucherla, India. His book "Escape Your Own Prison: Why We Need Spirituality and Psychology to be Truly Free" will be published by Rowman and Littlefield in October 2007. His email address is {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr.