A Jewish mother travels to a remote Buddhist temple in Nepal. When finally granted an audience with the revered guru there, she says just three words: ‘Sheldon, come home.’

Over the past 50-odd years, Jews have felt an ever-strengthening attraction to the path of Buddhism. The trickle of Jews embracing Buddhism has turned into a roaring river. It has been said that Jews are between six and eight times more likely to turn to Buddhism than people are from other religions. What is this pull? Can we incorporate Buddhism into our lives and keep a Jewish identity?

Over and over again, the Dalai Llama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists, has told Jews there is no need to abandon their religion for Buddhism. The Dalai Lama has told us that we have all of the tools that we need in order to be spiritually fulfilled within Judaism itself. Yet we continue to embrace Buddhism. The Dalai Lama has been fascinated by the Jewish religion for many years, attempting to learn how Judaism managed to survive exiles, persecutions, and the Holocaust, yet still the religion survives. Could it be that this is why he continually tells us that we do not need to turn to Buddhism, because he wants us to keep our own flame burning?

There could be another reason for this. There are amazing similarities between Judaism and Buddhism. The two religions have more in common than what meets the eye. When it comes to the bare bones of the religions, the only real difference is the notion of G-d. While Judaism says that there is no G-d but G-d, Buddhism does not even discuss the existence of a G-d.

A few years back, while engaged in Tibetan Buddhist debate with a friend, he tried to prove me the non-existence of G-d by deduction and rationalization. I couldn’t accept it. I have no idea what this G-d is that I believe in, but I truly believe that there is a G-d. It was then that I realized I could never be a true Buddhist.

The idea of identity is the other idea that Jews have difficulty accepting. As Jews, the main thing that keeps our religion alive is our extremely strong sense of identity. In Buddhism, we transcend these identities that we as human beings have created for ourselves, so we go above the labels of Jew.

With these two points in mind, why is it that Jews are flocking to the East in droves and meditating at Buddhist retreats? Each person has their own reason, but one important underlying factor in every Jew who has taken the vows, or simply added Buddhist concepts to their daily lives, is that they felt that something was missing in Judaism which they could attain in Buddhism. Often we feel that we cannot get that feeling of spirituality and contentment, that we can achieve in Buddhism. Sunday school, bar mitzvahs, being forced to go to Shul, or simply not being raised with much of a Jewish identity in the first place, has caused many of us to wander. Often we feel that the doors aren’t open in our religion for spiritual fulfillment, so we turn elsewhere.

Buddhism is the logical choice. With Buddhism, one can take on one or all aspects of the religion. Also one will never be pressured to convert to Buddhism. Finally, Jews can keep their Jewish traditions as well as follow Buddhism. The last point only works to a certain extent, at some point one will have to decide for himself how one feels about the G-d and identity issues, but this will come in one’s own time, when one is ready to face it.

Another reason that we turn to Buddhism may be that it is a religion that is so much like Judaism. Although we may not see the similarities on the surface, our unconscious may know: both religions have a strong sense of being in the here and now, appreciating every action, no matter how mundane. As Jews, we pray. We have a prayer for everything from using the restroom, to eating a meal. Buddhism teaches mindfulness, by following Magga, the path. One is present in every action that he takes, every thought that enters their mind.

Where Buddhism teaches right action, we have tikkun olam (fixing the world). Where Buddism teaches right speech, we work on lashon ha’rah (minding what we say, working on not speaking negatively). The list goes on. Both religions place strong emphasis on selflessness - giving tzedakah (charity), as well as our pragmatism. We both have a deep dedication and interest in analyzing our religious texts.

It seems to me that some people have turned to Buddhism due to lack of knowledge of their own religion. With all those boring days in Sunday school, or being brought up without a Jewish identity, we lost interest in our own religion. We did not feel that spiritual fulfillment. But it seems that the Dalai Lama is right, we can be fulfilled in Judaism, we just never looked hard enough, or believed it was accessible to us.

Thanks to Madonna, whatever was not easily accessible ten years ago is now at our fingertips. Jewish meditation, which has been around for hundreds of years, but simply not practiced, has now become mainstream. The Kaballah, and all her beautiful knowledge, which had been hidden away, available only to married men over forty, is now available for study at any bookstore or Kaballah Center worldwide! The spirituality and mysteries of our own traditions are completely available to our thirsty minds. We can now look into Judaism for answers we have so ardently searched for. That is, if we so choose. More often than not, we prefer to look outside our own religion for the answers.

Judaism gives us free will. We are also taught to question everything. We have every right to do this. G-d told us so! If we feel the need to look into Buddhism for the answers to our spiritual questions, that is our choice. If we choose to take the Dalai Lama’s advice, and look into our own religion, that is also our choice. With each path that we take, we are embarking on a deeply spiritual journey that will give us an amazing sense of fulfillment. Our only job is to find it. When it comes down to it, that fulfillment will only come to us, when we personally choose to allow it into our lives.

Safra Turner is a student at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel. Due to an ever-present thirst to learn anything new, she had studied and traveled in search of understanding herself, others, and the world in which we live. She currently lives in Kibbutz Kfar Hamaccabi in Northern Israel.