Tuesday - Feb. 14, 2017: Topic for the 1st Mini-Reader's Reflection-Response Essay @ 33 points DUE IN CLASS this Thursday 2/16:
"Life, Liberty [= Freedom], and the Pursuit of Happiness" is a principal phrase in the Declaration of Independence (1776, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, then edited by 5 Continental Congress colleagues, including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams) which affirms "these truths to be self-evident: that all men [= human beings] are created equal, that they are endowed [= provided/gifted] by their Creator with certain unalienable [= cannot be taken away] Rights, ... Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
On p. 56 of the chapter in ENM for this Thursday 2/16, the Dalai Lama echoes the above quotation in saying, "Freedom, in the sense of liberty to pursue happiness and express [hold/maintain/speak openly about] personal views [such as one's religious beliefs], contributes to our sense of inner peace." (bold-emphasis added by me)
In a minimum half-page, typed, double-spaced (longer if you wish) SUBJECTIVE Essay, compose your well-pondered thoughts in response to the following question derived from the above 2 quotations:
Based upon your individual life-experiences AS A MEMBER of the MSUM campus-community who takes classes like ours, has class/team-mates, friends, and teachers of culturally varied backgrounds, and lives in an ethnically pluralistic nation founded on the ideals/rights quoted above that may lead, says the Dalai Lama, to "inner peace," DO YOU THINK - OR NOT - 1) that RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY (= the co-existence of various faith-traditions) is respectfully acknowledged/supported, and 2) that RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY can contribute to inner peace/security for those persons who openly/freely profess their faith-beliefs within our secular society where "the free exercise [= practice] of religion" is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution?
In what you write and succinctly state in class (as we go around the room with everyone having her/his say), be as personal in your reflections as you wish. No judgment-call by me. Indeed, since (I affirm) all perspectives are created equal, all reflections will be read/listened to with appreciative respect.
P.S. I add that, in the chapter, the Dalai Lama emphasizes that "genuine happiness" and "inner peace" are, in a sense, two sides of the same coin = a life-dimension which itself is the fruit of "conduct inspired by the wish to help others" = ALTRUISM (a key-theme of his book) = our deeds/activities "motivated by concern for others." (p. 62) Another variation of the Golden Rule = be a good neighbor to your neighbor!
Reading-pages with themes/ideas to highlight in class on Thursday 2/25/13
TDD - CHAPTER 11: upper194-bottom195: "Mankind, however, is not merely ... The human project is inescapably a moral project. ... redeeming God.": compassion is the quintessential civilization-nurtured moral value
- mid-bottom199: "In the aftermath of ... but of faith.'": on toleration with a "religious underpinning" recognizing the individualized, moral voice of "liberty of conscience," which does not dictate to others which faith-path to live by and believe in
- mid200-top201: "I have argued ... find positive value in diversity ... The test of faith is ... recognize God's image ... matter to them also.": RJS elaborates on - and re-emphasizes - the IDEA "from within the great religions" that "God ... commands ... respecting diversity."
- upper202-top204: on the biblical and existential nature/significance of covenant: "With this I return ... transcending understanding." + upper205: "A covenant is ... are a part." + top206: "Covenants are ... of humanity."
- important paragraph: 206: "One idea links ... for diversity.": the theme of equality in the Book of Genesis & the Declaration of Independence
- mid206-bottom207: "One of the most ... the choice is ours.": on the nature of HOPE as "a human virtue ... with religious underpinnings" guiding us toward "a better world," ENLARGING ourselves through believing in "kinship ... empathy ... courage ..." to overcome "boundaries of estrangement ... the choice is ours."
- upper208-209end: "The question is ... of difference.": RJS's plea to recognize our global "interconnectedness" as a summons by God for us all to see in each "other a trace of the divine Other" - a recognition that enlarges one and all if we can "learn to live with diversity once we understand the God-given, world-enhancing dignity of difference."
TDD - CHAPTER 9: 161: quotation from Vaclav Havel (d. 2011), Czech writer & statesman, recipient of many awards: US Presidential Medal of Freedom, ... - anti-Soviet Communism - imprisoned ...
- top164-top167; "In no other sphere of current concern [= environmental issues: resources, population, ...] ... or despoil it.": RJS's presentation of the Bible's vision of humanity's relation with - role towards - Nature derived from the Book of Genesis
- upper170-upper173: "Constructing an ... have destroyed.'": RJS affirms that "the world's great faiths embody a sense of respect for nature, ... [a] counterbalance to the [exploitative, destructive] indifference ..." to Nature that has been prevalent since the 18th century. Rather, the "great faiths teach ... reverence ..., responsibility ..., and restraint ... ."
- upper173-mid175end: "The natural environment ... into friends?": What values might guide us in our relationship with Nature AND with our fellow global-citizens? The 6 C's summed-up on p.174. We need a "moral vision" sustained through "conversation" (175).
TDD - CHAPTER 10: title & quotation from Rabbi Nathan (in the Talmud): CONCILIATION responds to Ch. 9's closing question: how to show, and hopefully gain, another's good will - how to overcome distrust - how to pacify and remove hostility - how to be conciliated = to be in harmony and reconciled over differences with dignity so that relations are mutually beneficial: in a word, FORGIVENESS
- mid178-mid181: "Retaliation is ... us to forgive.": This is RJS's written expression at its best! His sentences in these few pages are succinct yet vivid with strong idea-punches = compelling eloquence: for ex., "More than hate destroys the hated, it destroys the hater." "Love distinguishes between the person and the deed." "Forgiveness means that we are not destined endlessly to replay the grievances of yesterday ... to live with the past without being held captive by the past." NOTE how RJS explains the related Hebrew words rachamim and rechem.
- mid185: on the significance of YOM KIPPUR = "Day of Atonement": "... forgiveness is integrated into ... not forthcoming." AND so, on p.186: Moses Maimonides (d. 1204) saw forgiveness without accusation & apology as "a sign of moral greatness" - even of "saintliness": READ "If someone is sinned against ... 'Do not seek revenge ... grudge' ... a person's heart ... human beings."
- bottom187-upper188: "How then is ... and its tasks." = "Justice and forgiveness go hand-in-hand" (186).
- upper-bottom190-end: "Forgiveness is the ability to ... with reconciliation.": RJS's eloquent, personal affirmation of the necessity for him as a Jew to obey God's demand "of me that I forgive others just as [I ask] God to forgive me."
READING NOTES to Rodger Kamenetz, The Jew in the Lotus - Chapters 14-23 (skip Ch. 16)
CHAPTER 14: bottom170-bottm171: "In his recent ... mystical spirit.": HH the DL consults the oracular spirit (= Dorje Drakden - p. 177) through the monk-medium kuten - RK thinks of the town Safed [= in northern Israel] where Rabbi Isaac Luria, "the great kabbalist of the Sephardic world" [= Spain, North Africa, Middle East, not Eastern Europe] once lived - on the kuten = middle paragraph on 177
- mid173: on the mandala-diagram as a vehicle for meditative-focus: "The mandala, or ... their substructure.": on the mandala-diagram --- on the "four worlds" = p.76 - on the sefirot = p.193
- bottom173-mid175: "To [Rabbi] Zalman ... merkavah meditation ... Book of Ezekiel ... the meditator journeyed ... In Jewish life today, the mystical ... Rabbi Isaac Luria ... Rabbi Joseph Karo ... oracular medium ... the present gulf between ... extreme rationalism.": common thread in living Tibetan esoteric practice & neglected Jewish meditative practice
- lower181-end: "He [Yitz G.] thought both ... keep us safe.": Rabbi Yitz Greenberg's thoughts about where "both religions," in their major & minor themes "do overlap," as Nathan Katz also observed - note tikkum olam again
CHAPTER 15: lower188: "Moshe [Waldoks] spoke about ... of interpretation.": 4 levels of Torah/biblical interpretation + mid190: "Now Moshe ... the secret.": further comments thereon + mid192: "[Rabbi] Jonathan [Omer-Man] told me ... up again.": few teachers, fewer students
- from mid192 to 197end: "For now, Rabbi Omer-Man wanted ... and the esoteric.": Rabbi Jonathan presents 2 major modes of Jewish meditation: the path to opening up a person to deeper understanding, and the path to purifying a person toward becoming "more perfect" - and he presents several exercises (195: screaming joy; tears) to "open up the heart" = being "transparent" - and he speaks of his personal path (196: "... keter malkhut ... a long, long path. ...); he tells a Moses-parable; and on 197 RK interweaves Rabbi Jonathan's themes with the Dalai Lama's life: it's really variation on tikkun olam = service in the world, for Rabbi Jonathan; be a bodhisattva (Buddhist saint) in service to others, for the Dalai Lama
SKIP CHAPTER 16 - other Chapter Reading Notes below
CHAPTER 17 - mid211-upper212: "Rabbi Joy Levitt ... an experience.": she emphasizes the role of the SYNAGOGUE in Jewish life: "more than just a place of worship" = place to console, study, gather for an infant's name-ceremony, ... - reinforces "community responsibility"
- top215: the DL stresses modern education (math & science) + religious studies in exile-monasteries in India, ...
- mid215: Rabbi Yitz's wife, Blu Greenberg on the preservation-role of WOMEN in the family, with home as important as the synagogue, esp. at Shabbat + bottom215-top216: "In Judaism, Blu ... the family is our wheel of life ... in Tibetan Buddhism."
- bottom216-top217: "In stressing household, ...status for women.": Blu & Joy - professionals & mothers - Rinchen Choegyal = new roles for women, yet certain cultural attitudes do not always create "an egalitarian paradise" (218): the DL's "egalitarian theory" not yet actualized + mid219: Lenore Friedman: "For many women ... absence of ... role models and foremothers ... been men."
- lower219-top220: in contemporary "liberal branches of Judaism" there are "welcome developments" such as the bat mitzvah for girls, but the "uniqueness of women" is missing ..., and so, mid221: "Perhaps Judaism can ... female images of God ... Shekhinah ... Herself ... Law."
- lower221-lower222: the DL's question: How have Jews managed to be so successful in their survival? Jews emphasize education/study; they embrace modernity that improves living (medicine, ...); they, inspired by the Torah, acknowledge "the religious significance of daily life" = the family & household rather than monks/nuns & monasteries/convents: "The conversation Blu ... to daily life? - "Jewish religion is ... culture is ... family is ... history."
- 223: the DL affirms that "worldly work" is complementary to "religious practice" = "halfhalf": "Therefore, he advises ... practical involvement." And the role of the Tibetan family (education of children, ...) will be, as the Tibetan exile is prolonged (224), a subject of "a great deal of thought" (225)
CHAPTER 18 - lower227-mid228: "The Dalai Lama listened ... delegates agreed.": the DL's themes are in Arvind Sharma's essay AND in the DL's "Epilogue" at the end of in GOR = people of "different mental dispositions" have different religious needs and, so, "one religion ... cannot ... serve ... all people." - a few Westerners are drawn to Buddhism for a variety of reasons: "we cannot stop it."
- lower228-upper229: And then Rabbit Yitz G stated what the DL himself wrote in the GOR "Epilogue": if a Westerner "comes seeking" (like in Arvind Sh's essay), then "say ... discover the depth ... of their birth religion ... their own tradition." And the DL concurs, "... better to follow one's own traditional religion, since basically the same message, the same potential."
- upper-mid230: the DL encourages questioning: "The Dalai Lama explained ... accept a religion ... open them wide.": be welcoming to seekers
- top231: the DL: "Then a second thing. ... my experience.": again, "be open" = provide all that may be beneficial, then let the person decide + lower231: "religious leaders" must "find more practices to make tradition ... more beneficial in today's life" = open to people: " ... they will choose ... teachings."
- upper-bottom233: "At the personal ... most dear.": RK's summing-up reflections on meeting the DL, eyes seeing into eyes
- 234: so, the Jewish delegates learned of the DL's challenge: how to "make Judaism more beneficial" so that it speaks to those who think, without deep study, that Judaism has little to "nothing to offer them."
CHAPTER 19 - ONLY top240: "[The] paradox [= apparent contradiction] of the highest ... in the contemplation.": + bottom240-241end: "Judaism is so old and ... Jewish renewal.": "The job for Judaism" is to remove such image-barriers of the Divine as mentioned above so that "the next strong wave of spirituality" that Jews find compelling "takes place within Judaism" = "... the DL told us ... to open the doors of our esoteric [= mystical = unfrozen, non-empty-shel, vibrant] teachings," such as Rebbe Zalman advocated.
CHAPTER 20 - mid244-mid245: "Zalman, Nathan, ... offer prayers.": their visit, in Delhi, to the shrine-tomb of a Muslim saint, Nizamuddin Auliya, of the mystical Sufi path in Islam - Jewish & Muslim parallel-custom
- lower245-lower248: "But there were ... between Sufis and kabbalists.": RK & others have another reverential visit to a Sufi saint's tomb, a "syncretic [= deeply combined] shrine," and RK emphasizes the dialogue between Jews & Muslims in the past as a forgotten model for reconciliation: "praying Jewish Sufi dhikr," and "our encounter with the Dalai Lama" and other examples that RK presents, all could be lessons for present-day, wished-for "Jewish-Islamic dialogue"
- top249-mid250: "Zalman guided us ... Sarmad ... executed in ... 1650 ... Dara Shikoh ... preceded us in Tibetan-Jewish[-Muslim] dialogue three centuries ago ... Ram Dass ... wandering Jews, spiritual seekers in India, ... syncretic [= adopting & adapting & appropriating in a synthesizing way] Jew ... kaddish [= prayer for the dead] ... recognition of our predecessor in dialogue - or a martyr to intolerance ... a Jewish Muslim saint opened yet another door."
- mid250-upper-mid251: "Our last stop ... sacred whirl.": Blu G's open response - RK's open response: pluralism = no "need to feel one [religious] way was better than another"
- mid252-end: "Quite appropriately, ... synagogue ... creasing his temple.": praying together at the Judah Hyam synagogue (254) = Jews, Sikhs, and Tsangpo, our Tibetan [Buddhist] travel guide: different headgear for all sharing one mindful, pious moment
CHAPTER 21 - upper255-mid257: "Clearly, the whole venture ... to their Jewishness.": RK presents aspects of his friend Dr. Marc Lieberman's life, which all demonstrate how balanced, integrative, "clarifying" and at ease he is "moving in both worlds as a Buddhist Jew
- mid257-top261: "I found this as well ... for the Dalai Lama.": on David Rome's journey into Tibetan Buddhism = being both Buddhist and Jewish in complementary/mutually supporting ways
- bottom261-262end: "Rome observed ... back to Judaism.": DR's experiences & reflections as a "syncretic" Jew = a Jewish Buddhist who has a family (= not a monk) and is "more attuned to Jewish concerns," while also has adopted/adapted Buddhism in ways that are "true to [who he is and] what happened in his life."
CHAPTER 22 - 264-top266: "At the 1991 ... gathering of the Jewish renewal movement ... Dr. Moshe Waskow ... I asked [Rabbi] Zalman ... Moshe Waldoks also ... Eastern meditation.": modern Jewish renewal/revival of practicing meditation
- 266: "Though Ram Dass [= Richard Alpert] is not yet ... rapprochement [= bringing-together/reconciliation] ... or relationship with it.'": on seeking/finding beauty/truth in one's birth-religion AFTER turning toward a different "spiritual path" + his reflections = top-mid269: "- then I saw the Shabbas ... Burma ... bhikku [= monk] ... who should follow what.'"
- mid270-upper273: "Another committed Jew with meditative experience is Rabbi David Blank, whom I met at the 1991 P'nai ... David Radin, the roshi ... I could bring the Zen [Buddhism] and the Hasidism together - ... accepted in this place.": DB's circular journey as "[Reb] Zalman described to us in Dharamsala, from Judaism to Buddhism to Judaism."
- upper-lower275: "For now, there ... you know?": Rabbi Zalman's Jewish renewal movement could offer the model for a "coherent spiritual path" in contemporary Judaism, and he, perhaps more open than Rabbi Jonathan O-M, sees "points of likeness" between Judaism & Buddhism - these are the "active ingredients" in their essence; the outer "packaging" (which is what differentiates) is like "food-coloring"
- lower275-276 (end): RK reflects on how they all - as Jews regardless of religious perspective/orientation - joyously celebrated with a hymn - "Lekha Dodi" (= 16th c. Sabbath mystical hymn "Welcome to the Bride") - in "the last shul [= synagogue] in Delhi"
CHAPTER 23 - mid277-lower278: "Two years later [1993], ... homeland of dharma.": on the Dalai Lama's new, pragmatic emphasis on the importance of Tibet as a country for "preserving Tibetan Buddhism"
- lower279-top281: "Zalman asked ... where they [= Tibetans] meditated ... Jewish spiritual wisdom." + see mid-142 where Nathan Katz explains: "Borrowing ... or compassion.": RK presents the 3 essentials of the Jewish path: prayer, study, loving-kindness - all envisioned "in the light of Tibetan Buddhism"
- top-bottom282: "The Buddhist leader [= HH the DL] was posing ... exoteric [= publicly formal & outwardly ritualistic faith-expression] religion ... adhere to it.": RK's perspective on contemporary [1993] American Judaism as more social/political - even somewhat materialistic - than spiritual: so, how to RENEW American Jewish religion? Rediscover how to be a "spiritual Jew" - meaning ...
- ... meaning: mid284-mid286: "In fact, Green argues, 'Mysticism [= individual, inward-turning, piously intimate faith-expression] ... consonant with American life ... of the Hasidim.": so, meaning that Hasidism (= being deeply intentionally pious while living and working in the world) can reinvigorate tradition in a modern way = be open and accessible; recognize the "holy in our lives today"; men AND women involved in "old traditions" infused "with new energy and joy"; being pluralistic - not separatist - "respectful of the wisdom of [religious] groups."
- And also to revitalize the Sabbath-time as a meditative, ritual, re-energizing retreat: upper-bottom287: "But Shabbat, when done ... ancient spiritual traditions.": deepening prayer in a family-setting, as in the chavuot-fellowship gatherings = "a kind of neo-Hasidism" (= renewed-Hasidism) at the heart of "Jewish renewal" - "inner transformation" - "we must renew to preserve"
- upper288-289 (end); RK's eloquent, humanistic , open-minded, Jewish and universalist conclusion - as well as deeply personal: "I confess that ... essential to Jewish survival.": the dual goal of Jewish religious renewal is to experience "inner joy" and to re-create "something vital to offer the world"