[Avodah] Mindfulness and Being Present in the Moment

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, November 15, 2007 11:48 am, Yonatan Kaganoff wrote:
:   Are Mindfulness or "Being Present in the Moment" Jewish values?

Since I teach for an organization where the typical student is in
various states of being a JuBu, former JuBu, or somewhere along the
way, I have had some opportunity to both think about the question and
about how I should present my answer. The following is /not/ how I
would say it to one of the nevuchim. This is highlighting the
conflict; I would usually put it more like "Judaism doesn't have
Mindfulness; it has Mindfulness 2.0."


There are related ideas that /are/ Jewish values... Zehirus is
impossible without being mindful. Menuchas hanefesh, the ability to
stop all the internal chatter and think clearly, is also related. Less
central in mussar discussions, but considered a primary middah by
RSWolbe is hislamdus -- the ability to learn from watching the moment
and how one responds to it. That is very similar to mindfulness, but
still, a very different thing.Hislamdus requires one not only be in
the moment, but also be able to use it toward the next moment.

:   So, therefore, I have much more sympathy for Ju-Bu's or people who
: turn to Buddhism for something (Mindfulness or Being Present in the
: Moment) that they cannot find in Judaism.

Unless there is a reason why Judaism doesn't draw attention to this
value.

Buddhism teaches a person to stop striving, that desire and striving
are the cause of all misery. Judaism calls on us to shteig up the
sulam (to use three languages in as many words).

Metaphor for the math geek: Buddhism is about maximizing f(t),
Judaism, about maximizing df/dt.

Zehirus is about watching what we do in terms of its consequences, not
in-and-of-itself. Menuchas hanefesh, in terms of making the right
choices. Hislamdus, to make better choices the next time. All have
links to the future, not just leaving you in the here-and-now.
Mindfulness is simply a non-Jewish spin on the concept; again, IMHO.

I think Buddhism poses other problems. I think that Buddha nature
(Buddha-dhatu) is actually panentheistic, and therefore Buddhism is
AZ. Even though many O hashkafos are panentheistic, doing so in a
non-Jewish way is still assur. (Note that I wrote "panentheistic", not
"pantheistic"; I am referring to the notion that everything is G-d,
but G-d is more than that.)

I also think that Buddhism's ethic is too passivist. To explain by
narrative: It's the source of the Star Wars VI seen where the emperor
tries to convince Luke Skywalker that he has to choose between giving
in, and ending up on the Dark Side, or getting angry and fight the
emperor and Darth Vader and end up on the Dark Side because anger and
fighting are dark. That's Buddhist ethic. I do not see this as fitting
with our values -- "haba lehargekha hashqeim vehargo", milkhemes
mitzvah, "Lakol zeman va'eis ... eis milkhamah", etc... We believe
that silence in the face of evil is evil.

SheTir'u baTov!
-micha

-- 
Micha Berger             One who kills his inclination is as though he
micha at aishdas.org        brought an offering. But to bring an offering,
http://www.aishdas.org   you must know where to slaughter and what
Fax: (270) 514-1507      parts to offer.        - R' Simcha Zissel Ziv