Sending you guys the text of an email I sent. What do you think?
To whom it may concern:
My name is X. I am Jewish, but I practiced at the Fo Guang Shan temple in Y for a period of several months. I was drawn to Buddhism because Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings of compassion, and the ethics of Fo Guang Shan, really assisted me in a time when I was not doing so well. In addition, I was not really connected to Jewish teachings at the time, so that was a factor as well. I had registered to take Refuge, but I came to an epiphany based on the abbot's lesson during the Refuge class. The Venerables stressed the importance of filial piety and venerating one's ancestors. My ancestors were Jewish, and there are people alive in my family today who were persecuted for being Jewish. As a result, I don't feel like I could have observed the Buddha's teachings as Buddhists do, and honor my ancestors. I'm very comfortable in my newly observant Jewish life, but I kind of regret not going through with the Refuge ceremony. Many Buddhist practices (bowing to images of the Buddha, offerings, etc) are not compatible with Jewish practice, but most of Buddhist ethics and all of the Noble Eightfold Path are indeed compatible. Is there any way I can reconcile these two streams of thought? In addition, I feel somewhat bad that I left the Y temple abruptly. I emailed them explaining my reasons, but I still feel mildly guilty about it. Is this a reasonable feeling?
Sincerely,
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