Buddhism and Judaism a Comparison with Dr. Jay Michaelson Part I

In this week’s show our guest is Dr. Jay Michaelson author of Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment. The topic of our program is the relationship between American Jews and Buddhism. We also discussed buddhist principles and what different spiritualities have in common.Dr. Jay Michaelson is the author of six books and over three hundred articles on religion, sexuality, law, and contemplative practice. He is a columnist for The Daily Beast and the Forward newspaper, and is a frequent commentator on NPR, MSNBC, and online. In his ‘other’ career, Jay is an affiliated assistant professor at Chicago Theological Seminary, teaches meditation in Jewish and Theravadan Buddhist lineages, and holds nondenominational rabbinic ordination.During the interview he shares his knowledge about the different types of Buddhism that are popular with American audiences. In the last couple of decades meditation and yoga have become more acceptable even among conservative and some traditional Jews. Many books have been written on the subject such as ” The Jew and The Lotus” by Rodger Kamenetz and “Jewish Dharma” by Brenda Shoshana. I see the relationship between Jews and Buddhism as a great opportunity for interfaith dialogue, something that it has been limited so far.There are many concepts in Buddhism that can be compared to Western forms of worship such as zazen (meditation), koan(story telling), midfulness, nondoing, silence and renunciation. Dr. Michaelson defines Dharma as wisdom, compassion and action. We also discussed traditional Kabbalah and how the three Abrahamic faiths have a mystical component that at time gets ignored. Many progressive Jews relate mystical Judaism to Eastern Thought, however he sees this as disingenuous at times. Through the program Dr. Michaelson, who is also a rabbi, shares his views of religious observance and Jewish practice; especially as mindful meditation has influenced the way American Jews relate to their personal spirituality.Mystic-Skeptic Radio produces programs such as Uncensored & Raiders of the Unknown. Some of the ongoing series are: Anti-Semitism Rising & Jesus The Israelite (all available on our YouTube channels). In the past 10 seasons we have featured academics (Amy Jill Levine) , presidential candidates( Howie Hawkins), Commentators (Jay Michaelson) , Advocates (Vanessa Guillen), Scholars(John Dominic Crossan) and Holistic Healers (Rosemary Gladstar). We have taken deep dives on the topics of human trafficking, ancient civilizations, demonology and the occult, social movements, controversial topics and many of the current affairs affecting our society. Join us as as we explore the mystic-skeptic mind space…