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Zen Mind Jewish Mind: Koan, Midrash, & The Living Word
160 pages, Paperback
Published February 4, 2025
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About the author
Rami M. Shapiro
70 books71 followersRami Shapiro is one of the most innovative rabbis of the last thirty years. An award-winning author of two dozen books on religion and spirituality, he received rabbinical ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and holds a PhD from Union Graduate School. A congregational rabbi for twenty years, for the last fifteen he has been writing, leading retreats, co-directing One River Wisdom School, blogging at rabbirami.com, and writing a regular column for Spirituality and Health magazine called "Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 16, 2025
Rabbi Rami Shapiro is a national treasure. We just don’t know it yet. In a career spanning over thirty years, he has written books on any number of religious topics; if he thinks about it he writes about it, and sometimes the writing comes together in a book. He is both a scholar and a wild thinker, with fascinating takes on any number of subjects. Every couple of weeks or so he sends out a substack on a new subject, often with some scholarly facts we didn’t know and a viewpoint we’ve never encountered, and the subscription is free.[1] It’s absolutely my favorite thing in my mailbox. He’s provocative, funny, sarcastic, angry, and sometimes shocking. He’s also a person who shows us that the heart of many religions is the same, and that if we could drop our fighting about petty differences, life would be more peaceful and fruitful.
Zen Mind, Jewish Mind is not just about being Jewish; though Rami’s original ambition was to become the Jewish Alan Watts; he seems to have dabbled in any number of traditions. But behind all his specultations are four propositions, which he writes about in various places. (I found this version in an online magazine called Awaken!)
“1. All life arises in and is an expression of the nondual Infinite Life that is called by many names: Ultimate Reality, God, Tao, Mother, Allah, YHVH, Dharmakaya, Brahman, and Great Spirit, among others.
“2. You contain two ways of knowing the world: a greater knowing (called Atman, Soul, Self, Spirit, or Mind, along with a host of other names) that intuitively knows each finite life as a unique manifestation of Infinite Life; and a lesser knowing (called self, ego, aham, kibr, and the like) that mistakes uniqueness for separateness and imagines itself apart from rather than a part of Infinite Life.
“3. Awakening the Self and knowing the interconnectedness of all life in the singular Life carries with it a universal ethic calling the awakened to cultivate compassion and justice toward all beings.
“4. Awakening your Self and living this ethic is the highest goal you can set for yourself.”
Rabbi Rami hammers away at this formulation—his version of the Perennial Philosophy—all the time. It is the sanest approach to religion/spirituality that I know of.
I don’t know what I expected from I book entitled Zen Mind, Jewish Mind, but what I found was my favorite among Rabbi Rami’s books. He covers a wide range of topics, and there isn’t a dull moment. Just a few quotations that I noted:
“As my Theosophical Society friends put it: satyat nasti para dharma, ‘There is no religion greater than truth’”
“The real reason religion cannot fulfill its promise to bridge the gap between you and God isn’t because there is no God, but because there is no gap, and the harder you try to overcome an imaginary gap, the larger you imagine the gap to be.”
“Odd as it may sound, the ego finds that its own center and nature is beyond itself. The more deeply I go into myself, the more I am not myself, and yet this is the very heart of me.”[2]
“Authentic spiritual awakening doesn’t eliminate the self, what I’m calling ME, it simply places it in its proper place. Mountains, rivers, and ME are not delusions to be eradicated, but illusions to be understood.”
Rabbi Rami ends his book with short chapters which take spirituality into daily life (imitating a series of books by Thich Nhat Hanh), including, How to Listen, How to Speak, How to Pray, How to Shit (a topic Thich Nhat Hanh didn’t cover), How to Vote, and How to Die, among others. If you think How to Shit is not a spiritual question, you need to go back to Square One. Shitting is as important as sitting, as one Zen Master said. In any case, this is a book you need to own.
www.davidguy.org
Zen Mind, Jewish Mind is not just about being Jewish; though Rami’s original ambition was to become the Jewish Alan Watts; he seems to have dabbled in any number of traditions. But behind all his specultations are four propositions, which he writes about in various places. (I found this version in an online magazine called Awaken!)
“1. All life arises in and is an expression of the nondual Infinite Life that is called by many names: Ultimate Reality, God, Tao, Mother, Allah, YHVH, Dharmakaya, Brahman, and Great Spirit, among others.
“2. You contain two ways of knowing the world: a greater knowing (called Atman, Soul, Self, Spirit, or Mind, along with a host of other names) that intuitively knows each finite life as a unique manifestation of Infinite Life; and a lesser knowing (called self, ego, aham, kibr, and the like) that mistakes uniqueness for separateness and imagines itself apart from rather than a part of Infinite Life.
“3. Awakening the Self and knowing the interconnectedness of all life in the singular Life carries with it a universal ethic calling the awakened to cultivate compassion and justice toward all beings.
“4. Awakening your Self and living this ethic is the highest goal you can set for yourself.”
Rabbi Rami hammers away at this formulation—his version of the Perennial Philosophy—all the time. It is the sanest approach to religion/spirituality that I know of.
I don’t know what I expected from I book entitled Zen Mind, Jewish Mind, but what I found was my favorite among Rabbi Rami’s books. He covers a wide range of topics, and there isn’t a dull moment. Just a few quotations that I noted:
“As my Theosophical Society friends put it: satyat nasti para dharma, ‘There is no religion greater than truth’”
“The real reason religion cannot fulfill its promise to bridge the gap between you and God isn’t because there is no God, but because there is no gap, and the harder you try to overcome an imaginary gap, the larger you imagine the gap to be.”
“Odd as it may sound, the ego finds that its own center and nature is beyond itself. The more deeply I go into myself, the more I am not myself, and yet this is the very heart of me.”[2]
“Authentic spiritual awakening doesn’t eliminate the self, what I’m calling ME, it simply places it in its proper place. Mountains, rivers, and ME are not delusions to be eradicated, but illusions to be understood.”
Rabbi Rami ends his book with short chapters which take spirituality into daily life (imitating a series of books by Thich Nhat Hanh), including, How to Listen, How to Speak, How to Pray, How to Shit (a topic Thich Nhat Hanh didn’t cover), How to Vote, and How to Die, among others. If you think How to Shit is not a spiritual question, you need to go back to Square One. Shitting is as important as sitting, as one Zen Master said. In any case, this is a book you need to own.
www.davidguy.org
June 19, 2025
If you subscribe to the non-dual perspective, you will probably enjoy this book. Personally, I lean more toward “dualism,” if that makes sense, especially in my relationship with God. That said, several of Shapiro's ideas resonated with me, nonetheless.
Shapiro had a pretty conventional Jewish education and rabbinic preparation, but he has gone off the reservation.
He writes, “I haven’t prayed in synagogue in years. I find the liturgy too wordy, the service too long, and the need to translate the dualism inherent in the prayers into the nondualism of my experience too exhausting.”
To a certain extent, I empathize and agree with him. While I continue to pay dues at a synagogue, I too find the services to be too long (during the High Holidays, at least) and to be mostly uninspiring. Apparently, a lot of people feel this way, because synagogue membership and Shabbat-service attendance have been declining for decades.
For Shapiro, meditation is a more meaningful experience. I can relate. I derive spiritual nourishment from meditation, yoga, being in nature, and reading literature. Shabbat services are not as spiritual, for me, anyway.
On the other hand, there is something to be said for tradition and community. Reciting the same prayers and reading from the same Torah as our ancestors did, that has power. And praying in community does, as well.
The good news, we don’t have to choose. We can meditate, go hiking, take yoga classes and read Dostoevsky, and still show up for services once in a while. This is my version of nondual Judaism, not Shapiro’s.
Shapiro had a pretty conventional Jewish education and rabbinic preparation, but he has gone off the reservation.
He writes, “I haven’t prayed in synagogue in years. I find the liturgy too wordy, the service too long, and the need to translate the dualism inherent in the prayers into the nondualism of my experience too exhausting.”
To a certain extent, I empathize and agree with him. While I continue to pay dues at a synagogue, I too find the services to be too long (during the High Holidays, at least) and to be mostly uninspiring. Apparently, a lot of people feel this way, because synagogue membership and Shabbat-service attendance have been declining for decades.
For Shapiro, meditation is a more meaningful experience. I can relate. I derive spiritual nourishment from meditation, yoga, being in nature, and reading literature. Shabbat services are not as spiritual, for me, anyway.
On the other hand, there is something to be said for tradition and community. Reciting the same prayers and reading from the same Torah as our ancestors did, that has power. And praying in community does, as well.
The good news, we don’t have to choose. We can meditate, go hiking, take yoga classes and read Dostoevsky, and still show up for services once in a while. This is my version of nondual Judaism, not Shapiro’s.
June 11, 2025
I love this book.
Although some concentration is needed at times - and re-reads - the message is clear. We are all on the same path whether we know it or not, whether we are religious or not.
Those who are religious, however, are privileged with the knowledge of a higher power, whatever form it takes. No matter what religion, deep down we are on the same path. Whether we are serving G-d, or finding our Way, the path is the same and so is the message. Love your neighbour as yourself.
I have had the same ideas as R. Rami. The similarities between most religions is striking. We are all here to find our purpose, fulfill our contract - whatever that is - and whether there is something after death, that isnt for us to worry about. What matters is how you live your life right now, the rest is a bonus. And the bonus comes to you when you arent chasing it, it just is. And when you get that right, it is the equivalent of being in the Way, or being a Tzadik, a monk, or generally just a good person who is consciously aware of themselves and others in the way that is demanded by the universe, through awe, wonder and mystery of our everyday existence.
This book is perfect if you believe that some religions have similar ways and youre exploring your faith or just generally have questions and an open mind to suit. In an ideal world, it would be interesting if the book was written in the different points of views from leaders of said different religions but as we have it, it is written by a Rabbi, although he seems to be a little alternative to your typical Rabbi, which is refreshing.
Its a short read with generational wisdom so you can revisit it whenever you feel you need to. The chapters are designed that way, so you keep coming back and stay engaged with the message being given.
To summarize, whether religious or not, you will benefit from reading this and maybe find inspiration to go and be kind, without feeling like you have to.
Although some concentration is needed at times - and re-reads - the message is clear. We are all on the same path whether we know it or not, whether we are religious or not.
Those who are religious, however, are privileged with the knowledge of a higher power, whatever form it takes. No matter what religion, deep down we are on the same path. Whether we are serving G-d, or finding our Way, the path is the same and so is the message. Love your neighbour as yourself.
I have had the same ideas as R. Rami. The similarities between most religions is striking. We are all here to find our purpose, fulfill our contract - whatever that is - and whether there is something after death, that isnt for us to worry about. What matters is how you live your life right now, the rest is a bonus. And the bonus comes to you when you arent chasing it, it just is. And when you get that right, it is the equivalent of being in the Way, or being a Tzadik, a monk, or generally just a good person who is consciously aware of themselves and others in the way that is demanded by the universe, through awe, wonder and mystery of our everyday existence.
This book is perfect if you believe that some religions have similar ways and youre exploring your faith or just generally have questions and an open mind to suit. In an ideal world, it would be interesting if the book was written in the different points of views from leaders of said different religions but as we have it, it is written by a Rabbi, although he seems to be a little alternative to your typical Rabbi, which is refreshing.
Its a short read with generational wisdom so you can revisit it whenever you feel you need to. The chapters are designed that way, so you keep coming back and stay engaged with the message being given.
To summarize, whether religious or not, you will benefit from reading this and maybe find inspiration to go and be kind, without feeling like you have to.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews