SURVIVAL AGAINST ALL ODDS - II

 

After all the atrocities the Chinese government has perpetrated, the Dalai Lama still refers to the Chinese as his “so-called enemy". His religious perspective is an inspiring example  of a religious perspective carried over into the political world of conflict and violence. Personally, his ready wit, his engagement with ideas, his deep receptivity – his simple ability to stop for a moment and take things in – are all elements of his power. The Jewish visitors learned that humility can be powerful, that receptivity can be dominating, and that kindness can be challenging. Lastly, the power of what the Buddhists call “a quiet mind”.

While meditating, they try to overcome negative aspects of themselves by visualization. There is a tremendous variety of things that they can visualize - to help overcome negative qualities, develop good qualities, and become more realistic.  One of their key positive qualities is compassion, which is oriented toward the nature, cause, and elimination of suffering.

Jews and Buddhists have strikingly different attitudes toward language. In Judaism there is a profound reverence for the written word - in order to preserve the continuity and authenticity of their Judaism. For the Buddhists words are labels, and even the Buddhist teaching has no ultimate reality.

Touching on the subject of God, Buddhism does not accept a creator. But at the same time, if God means truth or ultimate reality, then there is a point of similarity.

But Jews have done more than merely survive - they have thrived, competed, and excelled. The Dalai Lama wanted to know why are Jews leaders in so many different fields.

Genetically speaking – the people who are studying and practicing are also marrying and having children. Whenever the best people of society don’t get married, like the Tibetan monks, then the factors that contribute to excellence don’t get transmitted genetically.

After the Temple was destroyed, the sages (Rabbis) evolved the text of laws and the stories and debates - known eventually as the Talmud. The memory of the Temple was never lost, but it was turned into literature. The rabbis succeeded because they had democratised religious education. They reasoned that, if we don't have the Temple, then we have to educate every single Jew. 

In Judaism there is a great deal of emphasis on the creativity and joy of life. This gives inspiration to people to be creative – everyone is encouraged to come up with new ideas.

The Jewish home has a central role in preserving Judaism – not only in exile. The very first commandment in the Torah is “be fruitful and multiply”, create the family. To maintain the partnership with God and fulfill the responsibility in the covenant, we have to have children and pass the message and the tasks on. The family is our “wheel of life” as compared to the “wheel of rebirth” in Tibetan Buddhism. Through rebirth, Buddhism stresses a connection between all beings. A similar idea, but very different route according to the midrash on Genesis: “We are all the children of one couple, in order that no one can feel superior to another”.

The notion of the family is so deeply ingrained in us, that it is not just the immediate and extended family, but the whole family of the Jewish people. Ultimately, it extends to all humanity, because we are all cousins.

Because the Jewish covenant was made through a family and a nation, Jewish religion is Jewish culture, Jewish family, Jewish history. In contrast, the Dalai Lama continually stressed a separation between culture and religion and nationalism, and between religion and daily life. 

Judaism takes worldly activity much more seriously than Buddhism historically has. But today, one of the new elements in Buddhism is the affirmation that the liberation of the Tibetan people, eg. the improvement of the human condition, improved ecology, etc. – is a valid religious activity.

The Dalai Lama, like the rationalistic school of Judaism, emphasized that preservation meant more than building. It meant a cultivation of inner resources. Faith without understanding the essence of religious practice is blind faith. That is why the Buddhist leader likes to enrich himself with different kinds of learning, including the Jewish faith. 

The Buddhist leader had now gained a more specific understanding of how Jews transformed the painful memory of exile into a source of strength and hope. For almost  two thousand years, Jewish rituals and prayers constantly reinforced the same message – we will return to our homeland. This tenacity had its reward, and this was the Tibetans’ favourite part of the Jewish story.