When Buddhist vipassanā travels to Jewish West Bank settlements: openness without cosmopolitanism

A study of a Jewish Vipassanā meditation retreat held in a West Bank settlement found that participants often redefined the Buddhist practice of insight meditation as essentially Jewish. To justify their adoption of vipassanā, meditators first affirmed their exclusive commitment to orthodox Judaism. They culturally appropriated the practice by stripping it of Buddhist religious elements and claiming it as their own. While this involved openness to Eastern meditation expertise, it did not reflect cosmopolitan attitudes. Instead, openness depended on and deepened belief in the superiority of national-religious Judaism, suggesting that cosmopolitanism may preclude openness in contexts emphasizing exclusive commitment to a single tradition.

Study at a glance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Insight meditation (vipassanā) originated in Theravāda Buddhism. However, participants in a “Jewish Vipassanā” meditation retreat – held at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank region controlled by Israel since 1967 – often depicted vipassanā as essentially Jewish. Indeed, to validate their adoption of insight meditation, many participants first needed to establish their exclusive commitment to orthodox Judaism. Consequently, they culturally appropriated vipassanā, decoupling this practice from “religious” Buddhist elements and instead depicting it as “theirs”. While this appropriation entailed significant dimensions of openness to cultural otherness, including an appreciation of “eastern” expertise in meditation, it would be difficult to characterize it as “cosmopolitan”. Rather, in this case openness ironically depended on, and resulted in deepening, meditators’ belief in the superiority of national-religious Judaism. Thus, far from being identical to openness, cosmopolitan attitudes may actually preclude openness in settings that emphasize an exclusive commitment to a single tradition. Theoretical implications are discussed.