Tribe.net. Local Connections Grisha http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#7b502dcf-ec40-4c5d-abda-5997349ec5c6 2005-05-03T21:24:02Z 2005-05-03T21:24:02Z

I will do so in the next couple of days if I get a chance. Things have gotten a little busy at the hospital and in my social life. In the meantime, take a look at www.sgi-usa.org Grisha

Grisha 2005-05-03T21:24:02Z Angelia http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#331a0e50-d7b1-4e06-bd0d-ac9759dbb4c7 2005-05-03T20:37:23Z 2005-05-03T20:37:23Z

I am curious could you discuss more about Nichiren-type Buddhism?

Angelia 2005-05-03T20:37:23Z Grisha http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#1f2f3424-2749-4fbe-92e6-e88cc64745b8 2005-04-26T17:12:01Z 2005-04-26T17:12:01Z

Shalom, y'all. Another quick intro. I'm a Russian Jew and value my Jewish identidy and heritage from a cultural standpoint, but have a hard time with that whole anthropomorphic deity who has decided a priori what is right and wrong thing... I have had lots of exposure to Buddhism through my martial arts training, but never practiced the spiritual side myself (when you get beaten up in Russia for being a "zhid" and here for being a "commie" - my family emigrated in 1980, still during the Cold War - your focus in training tends to be practical). About 5 years ago, I ran into Nichiren-type Buddhism and started chanting and other more active involvement in Buddhist practice. Now I celebrate the holidays with my family, but find true spiritual solace in "nam myoho renge kyo". Is it a weird coincidence, or are there a lot of fire people in here for a reason? Maybe it's just a Tribe thing. G

Grisha 2005-04-26T17:12:01Z Angelia http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#5240de76-9e91-4f4a-964e-22e3ac3258cf 2005-04-08T18:46:31Z 2005-04-08T18:46:31Z

Wow to find a tribe with a name I have been called. My ex-BF I'll called him cat-man-bu for the same reason he called me Jewbu. I grew up reform and did all the reform things a little jewish girl did. Religious School, Bat Mitzvah, Spent a summer in Israel...I was even president of my Banai Brith chapter and confirmation class. I also attended BCI after college. And not once, not once felt like I belonged. One can not say I didn't try! I didn't want to leave my religion or culture but it just didn't fit. The closest was BCI and that was because it took a rather buddest approach. Found a temple in the san fernando valley that did meditations instead of sermans and I was hooked. However, it's been about 10 years since I have gone. Sort of strayed for lack of interest. I think there is a clear problem with people who choose not to get married or have children in the Jewish Faith. Unless your looking for a spouse where does one go? I find my jewish faith now very personal. I medicate using the shama as my mantra and attend shabbat dinners with my family. That's now about as jewish as I get. As a buddest I go to meditations and retreats. I don't quite feel totally confortable there as well but I feel quite full-filled when I practice alone.

Angelia 2005-04-08T18:46:31Z Celestial http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#cc7c432d-98ab-42f9-90d4-a0ebcc9017df 2005-03-16T05:46:29Z 2005-03-16T05:46:29Z

Hello, newbie here.. I LOVE being Jewish. I was raised Reconstructionist and it was a totally positive and organic experience. Very spiritual and or rabbi was a mystic and wondeful. I became a Buddhist when I was introduced to a lama I clicked totally with, and it was really obvious, and experiences had slowly led me to the point of taking refuge. The other Jews I know personally through the Tibetan Buddhist community are still big on being Jewish. That's why I joined, to network with others like this. I'm sad that your experiences with Judiasm have been so negative, as far as what I'm reading on this thread.. I personally see so much beauty in both, and still consider myself a Jew with a Buddhist practice, tho I've been a Dharma student for 10 yrs. Anyhow, interesting thread..

Celestial 2005-03-16T05:46:29Z $item.owner.firstName http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#d0ee74a0-4ef1-4793-b7e4-a48098a143bf 2005-03-15T19:27:24Z 2005-03-15T19:27:24Z

newbie here... living in olympi, washington. not enough time to give the entire timeline but it would sound like what most of you have already said... raised reform, never enough spiritualism in synagogue, grew up hearing the previous generation spewing ethnic and religious hate... my b-mitzvah torah portion was ironically about doubt... "doubt is the touchstone of truth"... the one event that ushered me into the world of judaism as an adult turned out to be the event that started me asking questions and ultimately sent me searching for something more meaningful elsewhere... the non-theistic aspect of buddhism is attractive to my humanist side.... god is in us all and in everything... practice loving kindness and compassion and create heaven on earth. as they say in southern israel... shalom y'all!

$item.owner.firstName 2005-03-15T19:27:24Z ari moshe http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#5e857969-0c57-4e9a-9b16-2c514a45da41 2005-02-03T04:42:52Z 2005-02-03T04:42:52Z

i love everyone in this tribe so much! i feel so close to all of you- even b/4 i read the posts in this thread. i feel compelled to relay to you my story: i grew up in a conservative home that became orthodox when i was 6. from age 6-18 i attended modern orthodox yeshivot. in high school i became "more orthodox" and began learning talmud in a kollel after school. i did that for 2 summers as well. i was involved heavily in a bunch of orthodox youth movements. my nickname is high school was "rabbi wolfe" long story short- my entire childhood and teenage years i lived in guilt! such guilt! always beleiving that i HAD to be doing something and HAD to be living a certain way. i never once considered stepping outside of orthodoxy for 2 reasons: 1. bc i loved torah so much and found it to be such an inspiration. 2. i was too afraid! towards the end of high school i began hooking up with girls. i was of course not allowed to do that. everyone thought i was shomer negia (meaning that i didn't touch girls) after high school i was supposed to go to shaalvim (a nearly ultra ortho yeshiva in israel that students often spend 1-2 years studying in after hs). i got sick (actually, i got mono- for a girl i kissed, but i couldn't tell anyone!) so i went to yeshiva university in nyc instead. i began asking the q's i was afraid to ask- i was soo fed up with my dishonesty and my confusion. everyone had an answer to my question- and that bothered me. the answers didn't speak to my soul. i kept on questioning. eventually that lead me to challenge everything. in talmud class i was eventually nicknamed "the apikores" (the heretic). i began reading bible critisizm, i began reading the deeper jewish and non jewish philosophers. i was searching searching so so much! meanwhile i didn't want to discover that i didn't want to live an orthodox lifestyle, i was too afraid to give it up (even though i already did and didn't know it). since i was in high school i put on teffilin every day- but when i was at yeshiva university i stopped putting on teffilin. i just couldn't do it- i couldn't pray anymore, i questioned the entire notion of god and divinity and what it was and what i was! at the end of my first semester i cracked! i realized that THERE ARE NO ANSWERS BC THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS. i dont know how i realized that, but it came to me. so i began dancing. i would go out a few times a week and dance. thats when i first began exploring myself on a deeper level. gradually i was introduced to the tao of pooh and a few loving individuals... for a while i stopped learning torah- learning anything really. i did some farming, goat herding, traveling--- at this point (2 years after my first dance) i have begun learning the jewish texts again. i do this as well as anything else- i feel no obligation to do or be anything or anyone. i love my freedom and confidence. i feel truly blessed that i am where i am today and i can still learn the jewish texts in thier language and take from them whatever i want! sholaste (i've always wanted to write that, just never found the right tribe!) ari moshe

ari moshe 2005-02-03T04:42:52Z Leah http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#44e0042d-e726-4b48-8ccd-b443fe309b70 2004-06-02T01:15:14Z 2004-06-02T01:15:14Z

Wahahaha. No I'd have no issue with it. Context is a tricky thing :). hugz hugz -L

Leah 2004-06-02T01:15:14Z Leah http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#44e4ce58-4017-426e-b390-e3ccb50b8f41 2004-06-02T01:14:25Z 2004-06-02T01:14:25Z

Heh. If you think that mainstream Jews (whatever that means) aren't also rushing through to get to the Oneg, you would be mistaken. It's part of the experience ;).

Leah 2004-06-02T01:14:25Z madame7 http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#04dd2d3f-e7ad-4e18-b4db-a3f5c2516273 2004-05-29T05:57:02Z 2004-05-29T05:57:02Z

btw i totally see your point about the star on the Christmas tree. as a kid, it was a cool idea that i thought helped to bridge the two worlds. but perhaps if my mother had explained more about what the star really represented to Jewish people, i would have understood the sacredness and why it disturbed her so. instead, she just lashed out--so we all reacted by ignoring her. how do you feel about making the Star of David out of pasta and spray-painting it? we did that in Sunday School.... ;) M7

madame7 2004-05-29T05:57:02Z madame7 http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#65a6de55-2894-45cd-9e20-4d50ab86d502 2004-05-29T05:53:29Z 2004-05-29T05:53:29Z

i just re-read the post in which it was mentioned that it is not always easy to experience spirituality in shul. I can relate to this, although most of my time spent in synagogue happened back when i hadn't made the choice to be there, so all i got out of it was the burning desire to get it over with and dive into the cookies at Oneg Shabbat. the one thing that resounds with me spiritually is the tree of life. i would have to say that i spent a significant portion of my time there staring up at the beautiful stained glass tree above the organ pipes. i will never forget it. that, i believe, was a deep spiritual imprint that i had to evolve in order to understand. now that i have studied some and understand more mentally what the tree of life means and represents, i understand what was being communicated to me back then. so perhaps all the time i spent drawing pictures in the nap of the velvet cushion, playing with the gum i had secretly smuggled in, counting all of the brown heads and the white heads and the blonde heads and the few red heads in the room...still, the essence got into me and i am thankful for that. M7

madame7 2004-05-29T05:53:29Z Leah http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#8078cbbc-3984-4c49-b5d8-022933b0a14f 2004-05-28T11:47:38Z 2004-05-28T11:47:38Z

When a people who has been through what Jews have been through talks crap in their homes about Christians it is relieving frustration but ultimately there is no power component attached to it. And wouldn't you know, the same people often spend a lot of their time sucking up to the dominant culture in order to gain status in society, because they have to in order to not fall by the wayside. When southern baptists make it a goal each year to convert all the Jews and call the Jews christ killers there is a power component to it and very real societal consequences. Racism=prejudice+power Christianity in particular has the worst history with Jews and in a society in which Christianity is dominant, it is understandable that Jewish parents would want to protect their children from it and from assimilation to the dominant culture. The Jewish star on the christmas tree would be highly offensive in that context. It would be like saying, not only am I assimilating by celebrating Christmas, but I am reducing my Jewishness to a mere ornamental status that can be moved around and placed on things and then it's represented in the room. "See, I put a Jewish star on my tree, are you happy now?" You follow? Even though Buddhism is more laid back in a certain way, it is about following a path. You pick the path and follow it mindfully and with focus. Or you work with one teacher. The idea is to create as few distractions as possible, is my guess. Although I appreciate something from every religion on this planet and I would be honored to participate in ceremonies from most of them, I prefer to stick to the path and not to take from others what is not mine to take. I am not entitled to every culture and religion I see just because I see it. When I participate it changes things, for I am not neutral. YMMV

Leah 2004-05-28T11:47:38Z Leah http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#3db9a42e-78ce-46cb-99c6-1123bcca8ac5 2004-01-02T19:20:29Z

Hey my name is Leah and I sit in the Zen tradition. I was raised Masorti and I'm semi-fluent in Hebrew. I seem to know a lot more about being Jewish than most people who have moved away from it. Maybe I can find others here with a similar experience. The jury is out for me on the god question, but it can be a skillful means for some. Identity for me is a good indicator of the temporality of labels and causes and conditions. Anyhow, I live in Baltimore. Where are you all from?

Leah 2004-01-02T19:20:29Z mike http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#d7f585c7-62b3-4b99-848c-b23dc2aaf722 2004-01-04T00:53:19Z

hi! i was raised not deeply jewish and have continued so. though i've been re-exploring it more culturally/socially than spiritually lately. i got curious about buddhism and started reading the dhammapada and then some other writings. i've meditated and thought a bit about the philosophy and ethics, but nothing too organized. but then i don't see myself being part of a more organized/congregational thing. i'm in seattle.

mike 2004-01-04T00:53:19Z nuclear cupcake http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#ceab3f4e-6002-41f6-b1eb-8121fc2a6e26 2004-01-12T20:04:32Z

Hi - Hows it going? Nice to connect with other Jewbu folks. I was raised in a very involved reform family - Rabbi uncle, Jewish day school, bat mitzvah, year in Israel, yadda yadda yadda, with a ton of emphasis on the cultural aspect (when I was fourteen my father gave me a sermon about the importance of marrying within the "tribe"). I've always felt that congregational Judaism doesn't offer enough on the spiritual plane. Buddhism seems to do well in filling a lot of the gaps that mainstream Judaism seems to neglect (though Buddhist food isn't nearly as good in my carnivorous opinion). I've been adopting a more regimented Zen practice, and have been getting more involved in the local Center. As for synogogue, I'd like to find one that works for me, but its not the be all and end all. I do think that having a Jewish community is important, and I'm looking for avenues towards that which aren't as campy as my past experiences have been. I'm in San Francisco.

nuclear cupcake 2004-01-12T20:04:32Z Leah http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#78a077f6-6158-47b9-87a4-b5e97b1fd1a1 2004-01-21T20:20:40Z

But the campiness is our culture. Camp was invented by us ;). Even camp can be spiritual. Buddhism isn't all about taking life seriously. It's just about shaping yourself (small "s" self ;) ) first in order to affect karma for the benefit of all sentient beings. Be a Lamp Onto Yourself does not conflict with what I was taught in my religious Jewish education. That being said I stopped going to synagogue a long time ago because I knew that my own skillful means lay elsewhere. If you do want to conect with a synagogue environment there are Jewish based meditation centers where people are both liberal minded and spiritual at the same time without assimilating to the dominant culture too much. This one is near you: http://www.chochmat.org/ hugz, Gassho, Leah

Leah 2004-01-21T20:20:40Z nuclear cupcake http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#2978caa5-6a5d-4d68-a229-8847abd5a03d 2004-01-22T01:39:50Z

Leah : (can I just say - I love this dialogue) Yes- indeed! - there is something spiritual to be found in singing "Adon Olam" around a fire and making s'mores (with kosher marshmallows) ... and I do love Mel Brooks (consumate Jewish camp icon, "The Inquisition" scene being one of the funniest in the history of film). Campiness is a part of our survival. We have found it necessary to be a bit self effacing to survive (and it has served us well throughout the ages, no?) As for being serious, I leave that to other religions that I won't mention here. Zen seems to encourage laughter in some of my experiences. My religious Jewish education never delved so deep as to discuss macro/microcosm ideas. THe Jew in the Lotus was like a friggin' freight train hitting me - I just remember thinking, Oh My God, its not just me - there's a whole movement of people who aren't finding their spiritual needs addressed in their congregation. Shul was fun, showy, and very conduct oriented in its directive in my experience, High Holy Days being the exceptions. But - Even with the idea of the microcosm, even insofar as Judaism does empower each of us as a light, having that as uncommon knowledge only helps so much. A religious community has the potential to help each other grow spiritually, not just keep the culture alive, which is what my congregational experience has been about. I'm open to new experiences. Thanks for teh Chochmat link - I will check them out come on the next Rosh Hodesh (being new here in town I've got a list of things to find, this is one of them) Hug! back atcha ;p -Becka

nuclear cupcake 2004-01-22T01:39:50Z Leah http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#b5de0d49-c30c-4ca8-ab84-de2e57bf9115 2004-01-22T04:50:14Z

Hey no worries. This is a common thing I find with people raised Reform who end up coming to Buddhism. Because you have things like an organ sometimes like churches do and because a lot of the service is in English, and a lot of the people are going to shul as a perfunctory measure, it can indeed result in the spirituality being stripped out. Although of course I have met very spiritual, connected, involved Reform Jews. Just the ones who have your story are many. I was raised Conservative. Our services were all Hebrew except a teeny bit. There was a community, though I didn't feel exactly belonging in it. Our services were never about conduct. The Rabbi would stop in the middle of a sermon to speak Russian to old people or to say to a crying baby "I know honey, I don't want to be here either." ;) Compassion, loving kindness, openness. Definitely has all the bases covered. But people like him are few and far between, to be sure. I also went to a Conservadox Hebrew day school from grades 1-7. There I was taught by conservative folk, conservadox folk, Israelis, sephardim and mizrahim, lubavitch and other kinds of hassidim, modern orthos, holocaust survivors, and even some christians in the secular subjects. I think I've seen it all. I studied seven years of Torah, and the other books of the bible, plus some Talmud from a very cool Lubavitch teacher who let me ask him anything about the universe. He was really mystical and a Rabbi and didn't mind speaking to females or teaching them Talmud. He was Aussie :). (I was brainwashed to be a militant Zionist without seeing the other side of things. I have since come around and know that our people who were such victims turned around and did the same darn thing, just like the humans we are.) But none of this connected with me. I'm not talking in an otherworldly way or anything. True spirituality, to me, is not some kind of withdrawal from what is in the moment. I'm talking that it all seemed like a chore to me and not really connecting to me even though I did get a wee smidgen of the mystical side. I think a lot of the issues people have with Judaism is the perfunctory nature of it. It seems to come from without rather than from within. The most spiritual events in my life within Judaism involved people opening to me. People accepting me and taking me seriously, answering my questions, listening. I think I might have liked Chochmat Ha'Lev when I was 12. It might have changed my life. But I got no such thing. So upon reading about Buddhism 7-8 years after that, it clicked. Then Zen eventually made the most sense as it was the simplest. (which does not make it the easiest, by far, just easier for me to except its basic assumptions ;) ) Thing is a Zen environment at first seems stark and unapproachable. But the more I sit with people, the closer I become to them. Funny that :). It definitely is good to talk about this with other Jewish Buddhists. I feel a sense of belonging about this. That rarely occurs. Gassho, Leah

Leah 2004-01-22T04:50:14Z madame7 http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#029b8a87-509c-4e93-b218-c16035e007ca 2004-04-06T07:58:29Z

hi, i just joined today...something suddenly made me want to converse with jewish people. i have no jewish friends here in the suburbs of Seattle, the only one i had moved back east to care for her dying mother, and then to console her widowed father...boy i miss her. anyway, my story, in a (large)nutshell...raised Reform Jew in Yonkers, NY, dad was forced to convert lest he forfeit any financial support from my grandparents who barely tolerated mom & dad's eloping. once we moved away from all of my jewish family, it seemed to get watered down more and more until eventually, (after my parents divorced) we were able to talk dad into letting us skip Sunday School and go get bagels instead. my dad's remarriage to a mildly Christian woman added Christmas to our lives, and my mother resented them for it, gave us a really hard time about celebrating Christmas even though we put a Star of David on top of the tree. (apparently that made it worse)Stepmom was open to and interested in our religion, which i have always respected. by the time i left home for college, i decided i was atheist, because i didn't know any other way to reject the bullshit i thought Judaism was responsible for. already i knew i was messed up from the guilt, the obligations, the restrictions, misery, complaining, and most of all, the judgement of others. i studied other religions in my free time (i was an art student with no electives left for religion studies) and gleaned bits of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam & Sufism, then became vegetarian. My grandmother hounded me for days about not eating her Thanksgiving turkey that year--"You've always eaten my Turkey, would it kill you to eat some now?" i never subscribed to any religion, always checking the "other" box when filling out forms. Witnessing the behaviors and attitudes of the Long Island Jewish girls at my University made me want no association with Judaism at all. i moved to Seattle in '92. i met lots of Hindus and Buddhists but only 3 Jewish people. although i had rejected my Jewishness, it was comforting to be with them. i never could figure out how it is that i can feel the Jew in someone, even if they don't look, sound, or act like one, or have a jewish name--but it was true every time, i felt "at home" with other Jewish people. realizing this made me have second thoughts about turning my back on an essential part of me. soon after this realization, i discovered the Kabbalah. since then, i have been on a spiritual path through art, music, writing and cooking that has brought together elements of pretty much every religion that exists. i now believe in the essence of oneness, of love, of God, that is inherent in the root of most religions. But of all the religions in the world, Buddhism appeals to me most--and primarily because it does not judge other people's chosen paths. this was probably my biggest beef with Judaism, the "holier than thou" crap i heard literally every day, from my grandfather's Irish-bashing to my mother's forbidding me to even say the word "jesus" in our home. i never even saw a page of the New Testament until i was about 23--it was literally a forbidden book in our home. Buddhism, particularly Vajrayana, has healed me by liberating me from guilt. things happen, and we deal with them, and move on. what a concept! you mean we don't have to repent for our mistakes for the rest of our lives? you mean we can actually be content no matter what happens to us? wow... it's even taught me how to have bottomless compassion for my mother and grandmother, who might have destroyed me had i not moved out west when i did. so here i am, with 2 kids and a non-Jewish partner who "has always been attracted to Jewish girls because they have nice round butts" (?). we have Buddhas, Jesus candles, Stars of David everywhere. my 4-year old son sings the Chanukah prayers to himself while he's playing, and chants "OM" with me to calm the baby down. I do not attend services of any kind, though i enjoyed the Sunday service at the Sakya monastery and would go again if i had a babysitter. i will look into that link that was posted for Seattle, for if i could find a congregation of Buddhist Jews i would attend if only to feel it out and meet people. so that was my long story, which i tried my best to keep short, but hey, what can you do? stay up all night meeting people i can relate to? of course. namaste, M7

madame7 2004-04-06T07:58:29Z Zenchick http://jewbu.tribe.net/thread/61abadd6-11e0-42cf-8168-df2b47fb440d#edfcea06-af0f-404e-8f2b-a35071b5dde9 2004-04-07T05:58:43Z

Leah: I'm here in Baltimore, too :-) I was raised what I would call "Barely Jewish"...very little identity/education. I re-found Judaism about the same time I found Eastern spirituality, and got more involved in each quite slowly, on somewhat parallel tracks. Now I find that I need both, could never just go to shul and not to my sangha; conversely, could never just meditate and not participate in Judaism. This is an awesome tribe! namaste.

Zenchick 2004-04-07T05:58:43Z