The Jew in the Lotus Part 2
One of my roommates recommended that I provide more specifics regarding the book. So what I am going to do is discuss each presenter's conversation with the Dalai Lama.
The first speaker was Dr. Nathan Katz. He discussed the issue of whether East and West had a common system. He claims Judaism and Buddhism had contact in the Ancient world. Among his proofs is that King Solomon and the Buddha appear to share legends. He showed how certain words in the Bible appear to be based on Sanskrit. While these might be true, he also points out how there is no word in Tibetan for Jew, arguing that there is no common recorded history between Jews and Tibetan Buddhists. However, his thesis is that the memory of contact between the two nations was lost.
As introductions go, his opening remarks are highly fascinating. I believe one thing we should take with us from this speculation is that people think they are the center of the universe when in reality they are fooling themselves. We have to remember that every religion, race, people and individual is a microcosm of the world. It is difficult to comprehend what it means to be merely a part of a whole, as opposed to being the focus of the world. Something so minor as the lack of the term Jew in a language should make us feel a certain humility.
The first speaker was Dr. Nathan Katz. He discussed the issue of whether East and West had a common system. He claims Judaism and Buddhism had contact in the Ancient world. Among his proofs is that King Solomon and the Buddha appear to share legends. He showed how certain words in the Bible appear to be based on Sanskrit. While these might be true, he also points out how there is no word in Tibetan for Jew, arguing that there is no common recorded history between Jews and Tibetan Buddhists. However, his thesis is that the memory of contact between the two nations was lost.
As introductions go, his opening remarks are highly fascinating. I believe one thing we should take with us from this speculation is that people think they are the center of the universe when in reality they are fooling themselves. We have to remember that every religion, race, people and individual is a microcosm of the world. It is difficult to comprehend what it means to be merely a part of a whole, as opposed to being the focus of the world. Something so minor as the lack of the term Jew in a language should make us feel a certain humility.
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