Zen Judaism : For You, a Little Enlightenment Hardcover - 2002 - 1st Edition

To know the Buddha is the highest attainment. Second highest is to go to the same doctor as the Buddha.

zen is an end in itself. Your only goal must be mushotoku, the goal of having no goals, of striving not to strive. “How is it possible to strive to not have goals? ”you might ask.“ Isn’t that itself a goal?” Don ’t be a smart aleck. You should be as goal-less and lacking in purpose as your cousin, the successful one.

Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?

Thou shalt not bow down before false idols. You may, however, rent a Buddha statue for your Zen-theme bar mitzvah.

Though only your skin, sinews, and bones remain, though your blood and flesh dry up and wither away, yet shall you meditate and not stir until you have attained full Enlightenment. But first, a little nosh.

To find the Buddha, look within. Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers. Each flower blossoms ten thousand times. Each blossom has ten thousand petals. You might want to see a specialist.

Take only what is given. Own nothing but your robes and an alms bowl. Unless, of course, you have the closet space.


The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao. The eternal name of the Tao is actually Taostein, but no one talks about it.

David M. Bader is the author of Haikus for Jews: For You, A Little Wisdom and Zen Judaism: For You, A Little Enlightenment, among others. A Harvard-educated former lawyer, he lives in New York City.