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Zen Judaism Christopher L Zen Judaism Christopher L. Schilling Zen Judaism The Case Against a Contemporary American Phenomenon Christopher L. Schilling Tokyo, Japan ISBN 978-3-030-71505-2 ISBN 978-3-030-71506-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71506-9 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover pattern © Melisa Hasan This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To Daniel PREFACE Zen is a form of Buddhism that evolved in China and later fourished else- where, especially in Japan, where it acquired its name.1 The term derives from Chinese Chán, a form of the Sanskrit dhyanā , which usually gets translated into English as “contemplation,” “meditation,” “liberation,” or “trance.” Zen Buddhism is sometimes described as the Chinese “revolt,” or interpretation, of Buddhism as it is more a product of Chinese thought than Indian. Contemporary Judaism, especially in America, is going through some sort of re-interpretation, or “revolt,” as well. While Judaism in America is turning increasingly into a do-it-yourself religion, more and more practitioners incorporate mindfulness meditation to their personal discovery and practice of Judaism which Chapter 1 explores. Chapter 2 sheds light on psychedelics which are sometimes described as some kind of Zen-like trance.2 Zen Judaism explores the science behind these develop- ments and the implications they have on contemporary Jewish life. While all branches of contemporary Judaism are transforming, an exploration of how this is taking place, and which concepts are getting “smuggled in,” seems even more necessary. In the West the term “Zen” has often been subject to bastardization and has taken on a more colloquial meaning which, while derived from Zen Buddhism, bears an increasingly tenuous connection to it.3 From meditation to psychotherapy, yoga, music, the arts of war, spas, and inte- rior design, Zen increasingly stands for anything in relation to inner aware- ness, self-focus, or self-transformation. It is therefore more a refection of Western, even Orientalist imagination, than of Zen Buddhism itself. Zen increasingly indicates minimalism, simplicity, and elegance in vii viii PREFACE contemporary Western societies. It is (primarily) in this sense of the term that I include it in the title, and to describe a contemporary Jewish- American phenomenon. (The expanded use occurs in Buddhist contexts as well and sometimes takes on an interreligious character, such as “Zen Catholic.”4) Unfortunately, Judaism is becoming more and more a tool to “Zen out” or to refect on oneself. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Being more self-aware—more zen—might make one become more peace- ful or calm. But when people talk about “being Zen” or “getting Zen,” they most probably mean being accepting and grounded in the here and now, not looking back, not looking forward, enjoying the spirituality of “being just me.” This minimalistic stripping off of everything outside, to simply focus on oneself instead of the community, is a deeply un-Jewish approach to life. Mindfulness meditation and psychedelics are problematic because this Zen approach to Judaism is happening at a moment of chronic narcissism, an epidemic of loneliness and increased levels of anxiety in Western societies as well as a decline of American Jewry. Describing this development as “Zen Judaism” also fts well given Zen’s emphasis on the non-verbal search for truth.5 What Zen Buddhism and psychedelic experiences seem to have in common is a sense of wisdom not really being possible to put into words, as if truth and ultimate reality lie beyond the symbolic thinking of words. But Judaism is highly grounded in words to interpret reality. And this is what this book does. Tokyo, Japan Christopher L. Schilling NOTES 1. The samurai who came in contact with Zen after it arrived in Japan in the thirteenth century were at frst unsure about the Chinese character for it, and often confused Zen with a similar character meaning “loincloth.” See: Trevor Leggett (2003 edition). Samurai Zen – The Warrior Koans, Routledge, pp. 57–58. 2. For a description of the combination of psychedelics and Buddhist practice in America, see for instance: Douglas Osto (paperback edition 2019). Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America, Columbia University Press; For a collection of essays and conversations on psychedelics and spirituality by prominent American Buddhists see: Allan Hunt Badiner and Alex Grey (eds.) and Stephen Batchelor (foreword) (2015, 2nd edi- PREFACE ix tion). Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics, Synergetic Press; Moreover, the popular American Buddhist magazine Tricycle wrote: “Roshi Joan Halifax, the founder and abbot of Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was one of them [Americans drawn to Buddhism through experiences with entheogens]. Many of her peers, she said, graduated from psychedelics because they were dedicated to cultivating a mental stability and insight through meditation alone.” See: Lefferts, Gabriel. “Psychedelics’ Buddhist Revival.” Tricycle, August 17, 2018. https://tricycle.org/trike- daily/psychedelics- buddhist- revival/. Access date: January 20, 2021. 3. One can chart the development of the term’s expansion in contemporary English. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defnes it as “a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition” while defning “Zen-like,” an adjective, as “characteristic of Zen Buddhism; calm, mentally focused, or meditative.” See Concise Oxford English Dictionary. 2008. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 1678. The Cambridge Dictionary expands this, listing Zen as: “(noun) - a form of Buddhism, originally developed in Japan, that emphasizes that religious knowledge is achieved through emptying the mind of thoughts and giving attention to only one thing, rather than by reading religious writings”; and “Zen (adjective) - relaxed and not worrying about things that you cannot change: Don’t worry about doing the right thing with your baby - be more zen about it and you’ll be happier.” See: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ dictionary/english/zen (access date December 6, 2020). 4. We see such wordplay in Buddhist venues as well. They themselves often play with the term. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, for example, runs arti- cles on “Zen Catholic” or “Latter-Day Zen.” See: https://tricycle.org/ magazine/zen- catholic/; https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/mormon- zen/. Contributors to Tricycle have included the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Stephen Batchelor, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, among many others. Academic examples include: Brian Victoria, The Zen of Hitler Jugend, The Asia-Pacifc Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, Number 2; and William Bodiford, Zen and the Art of Religious Prejudice: Efforts to Reform a Tradition of Social Discrimination, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 1996 23/1–2. Seeing Zen simply as a Buddhist religious term is historically inadequate. Sōtō Zen temples during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867/1868) in Japan have, for example, served as registration offces of the entire Japanese population, pharmacies, and in other social functions. See for instance: Duncan Ryuken Williams (2009). The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Sotō ̄Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan, (Buddhisms: A Princeton University Press Series). It is, therefore, not just possible, but at times even necessary, to speak of Zen, or “Buddhisms,” in academic settings other than Buddhist/ religious studies. x PREFACE 5. Even the confusion of Zen with loincloth mentioned in endnote 1 has been, at least in one instance, noted by Trevor Leggett in Samurai Zen (pp. 57–58), taken as an opportunity to teach. The story is of a man named Morikatsu and his visit to a Zen master at that time: “‘That stupid crowd at Kamakura don’t know how to write the name of our sect with the proper character, but get it mixed up with the character for ‘loin-cloth’. They’re an odd lot.’…The attendant was distressed that people should thus casually degrade the word Zen, and mentioned the matter to the teacher, who laughed and said: ‘Loin- cloth is indeed the great concern of our Zen gate, and those Kamakura sol- diers must not be condemned for lack of learning. What gives the life to men is the power of the front gate (of men and women), and when they die, it ends with the (excretion at the) back gate. Is not this life-and-death the great concern of our Zen gate? And what contains the organs of life and death is the loin-cloth. If you penetrate into that which contains both, you will know where life comes from and where death goes to.
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