More in ‘Buddhism’

Books

The Literatures of the Two Easts

Are Hasidism and Zen Buddhism kindred movements?
By Joshua Cohen | 7:00 AM Jul 16, 2009

Reading Israeli writer Yoel Hoffmann’s newly published autobiographical novel Curriculum Vitae (New Directions) caused me to think about the Two Easts, about Zen Buddhism and Hasidism. Hoffmann’s books, five out of nine of which have been translated from Hebrew into English, represent a polyglot’s synthesis: his commingling of these two mystical traditions begins with a delight in paradox, and darkens as both Zen and Hasidism concern themselves with life’s futility and human powerlessness.

Ritual & Observance

Dreams of the Father

Rodger Kamenetz's latest spiritual trip is into the subconscious
By Jascha Hoffman | 12:28 PM Dec 14, 2007

In 1990, Rodger Kamenetz traveled to Tibet with a group of American Jews to meet the Dalai Lama. On that trip, which he describes in The Jew in the Lotus, he happened to learn that some Buddhists meditate within their dreams. He began to wonder how dreams had been understood in Jewish texts and found ...