I have fallen in love with the sages of Judaism. That doesn't mean I've become a fanatic convert. It just means that I'm finding congruence between what they are saying and my evolving understanding of Buddhism, religion and life. I haven't compromised my beliefs, just learned to see all religion as figurative narrative meant to guide people to enlightenment -- and to hold together communities.
To me Judaism is becoming another religious language I'm learning to speak. This all started when some Kaballist writings I was reading resonated with ideas from the Nirvana Sutra and Nichirenism that I'd been studying. It was thanks to that story about the PaRDeS that I finally understood the sixteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra and the story of the Physician and his sons differently. And of course if I hadn't been meditating on that story and the meaning of the Lotus Sutra I never would have picked up the PaRDeS story from the particular angle I picked up from. This happened in 2002. It is hard to believe it has been that long.
At any rate now it is another Rosh Hashana, and I wish you all a wonderful "Shana Tova." -- A good year of good life.
Posted by cholte at September 24, 2006 03:26 PM