A sensitive and gentle exploration of the little known, but growing, trend among Jews and Buddhists in the West to discern common threads, this fascinating video, narrated by Sharon Stone, briefly traces historical elements of both Judaism and Buddhism, illustrating ways in which both traditions, although individually much transformed across geographical and chronological boundaries, have retained and maintained distinctive characteristics. Both practices, by dint of social forces and historical circumstance, have been brought together in the New World, where we find that Jews--who only constitute some 2% of the population in the United States--now account for an estimated 30% of non-Asian American Buddhists. The video features vintage TV footage of an early "teleconference" (from Edward R. Murrow's program Small World) featuring Murrow, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and the then-Prime Minister of Burma, as well as rare video of meetings, held 1989-1990, between Jewish groups and the 14th Dalai Lama, in New Jersey and Dharamsala, India. For some segments of this community, the goal has become to develop a "fusion of Judaism and Buddhism," defined as "an ability to express ‘dharma' in Jewish terms." A most intriguing concept, very well-presented here (and also covered in The Jew in the Lotus [VL-5/00]), this is recommended for larger collections. Aud: H, C, P. (M. Rechel)
Jews and Buddhism: Belief Amended, Faith Revealed
(1999) 40 min. $295. Filmakers Library. PPR. Color cover. Vol. 15, Issue 6
Jews and Buddhism: Belief Amended, Faith Revealed
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