A lifelong practitioner and teacher of both Zen and Judaism, I am also a psychologist, who has constantly grappled with human needs, suffering, and the craving for meaning. The focus of my life has been to integrate the profound teachings of East and West and provide ways of making these teachings real in our everyday lives. An award-winning author, I have published many books on Zen and psychology, and have been the playwright in residence at the Jewish Repertory Theater in NY. Presently, I offer two weekly podcasts, Zen Wisdom for Your Everyday Life, and One Minute Mitzvahs. I also provide ongoing Zen talks both for Morningstar Zen and Inisfada Zen, workshops, and other talks for the community.
I wrote...
Jewish Dharma: A Guide to the Practice of Judaism and Zen
By
Brenda Shoshanna
What is my book about?
The practice of Zen and Judaism are like two wings of a bird. Both are needed to be able to fly. In our world where everything is in great flux, both roots and wings are necessary to live truly and fully. Both Jewish and Zen practices have enormous wisdom so relevant to our struggles today. Jewish Dharma shows how each practice illuminates, challenges, and enriches the other.
Zen is based on radical freedom, individuality, being in the present, and nonattachment. Judaism comes rooted in relationships, family, love, prayer to a Higher power, and the instruction to always remember. A Jewish heart is warm, giving, human, and devoted to family and friends. A Zen eye is fresh, direct, spontaneous, and planted in the present moment. Together they are like two wings of a bird, both are needed to be able to fly.
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The Books I Picked & Why
The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India
By
Rodger Kamenetz
Why this book?
While on a trip to Dharamsala, India, for a Buddhist–Jewish dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the author, Rodger Kamenetz, comes to understand the incredible connection between Buddhist and Jewish thought. Along the way he encounters many Jews who have become distanced from their roots and tradition, seeking meaning in other practices. Through the author’s amazing journey into Tibetan Buddhism, he is finally able to come to an appreciation of the power and beauty of his own Jewish practice and roots.
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Jewish Meditation Practices for Everyday Life: Awakening Your Heart, Connecting with God
By
Rabbi Jeff Roth
Why this book?
This approach to meditation includes the wisdom of Buddhism and Judaism as a way to learn from life experience. By combining these two traditions, Rabbi Roth presents a model that allows westerners―both Jews and non-Jews―to embrace timeless Eastern teachings and integrate them with Jewish practice as well.
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One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi
By
Alan Lew,
Sherril Jaffe
Why this book?
Like a Zen koan or a Jewish folk tale, One God Clapping presents a series of stories, each containing a moment of revelation that is never simple or contrived. This book is a bold experiment in the integration of Eastern and Western ways of looking at and living in the world.
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Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life
By
Alan Lew
Why this book?
Combining the teachings of Zen and Judaism Rabbi Lew creates a wonderful balance between stillness and activity. The book includes both Buddhist and Jewish teachings and addresses the pain and psychological issues we grapple with daily.
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Zen Judaism
By
Avi Sion
Why this book?
Zen Judaism is a frank reflection on the tensions between reason and faith in today’s context of knowledge. This book includes logic, ethics, philosophy, phenomenology and the need to inject Zen-like meditation into Judaism.
