On Buddhism, Meditation, and Mindfulness
Interview by Dennis Hughes, Share Guide Publisher

Share Guide: You define mindfulness as "paying attention." Can you expand on this?

Sylvia Boorstein: The definition of mindfulness which I like most is the awake attention to what is happening inside and outside so we can respond from a place of wisdom. When my own mind has closed up because it got startled into some self-serving stance, then I don't think clearly and I don't respond kindly. That is actually my test for whether I am seeing clearly, which is to see if I am feeling kind.

Share Guide: You mention in your books that you come from a Jewish background, and still consider yourself a Jew. I have come across a number of people raised in a Jewish family that are deeply involved in Buddhism. Are there facets of Judaism that somehow meld with Buddhism more than Christianity or Islam or any other major religion? How do you account for so many Jewish Buddhist's being around? There's Ram Dass and Lama Surya Das, for example.

Sylvia Boorstein: I don't know the answer to that. I think it's partly serendipity. A lot of Jews were in the Peace Corps and went to Asia in the 60's, and then came back and taught Buddhism in the 70's. Back in the 50's and 60's, the earliest real interest in Buddhist thought and meditation came from the Catholic Contemplative community. Thomas Merton was writing about it, and people like William Johnston, Aelred Graham, and many Catholic monastics were interested in it. As a discipline of mind training, Buddhism has been very interesting to all people dedicated to religious practice as a way of connecting their heart practice with direct immediate experience. My own experience is that I had a traditional upbringing in a Jewish family, and was raised in in the Jewish tradition. I like it. I never considered that my practice of mindfulness or study of Buddhist thought would make me any less of a Jew.

Share Guide: The Dalai Lama has said that enlightenment can be achieved through a number of paths and it's not wise to be jumpy. In other words, if you are born in the West and you are raised as a Christian or a Jew, you may need to go back to the roots of your own tradition to find the truth for you.

Sylvia Boorstein: I think of myself as a Jew whose life has been tremendously enhanced by my practice of mindfulness, by my understanding of what the Buddha taught. I would like to think that Buddhism and Judaism are both lineages dedicated to kindness and compassion. And I'm sure that Christianity is too, although I'm no expert.