A Jewish Psychiatrist’s Perspective on the Eastern Religions, Spirituality, and Mental Health

I was a Holocaust-connected Jewish baby. Although an infinite number of variables go into being born, one of them for me surely was World War II. My father joined the war effort late, meeting my mother, who medically was not supposed to have children, where he was stationed. Being born early in 1946 and raised mainly in a Jewish community in Chicago, I had little opportunity for interaction and understanding the Eastern religions and spirituality in the 1950s. It took my best friend Barry becoming Buddhist, in addition to being Jewish, to show me some of what I was missing. One challenge was to reconcile how suffering was viewed in both traditions. After my friend died right before writing this chapter, I turned to the writings of the psychiatrist Mark Epstein who, in turn, found a way to combine Freudian ideas with meditation in psychotherapy. Other resources along the way included travel to India, China, Asian museums, other prominent Jews who had turned to Buddhism, and colleagues of various religious backgrounds. The result is enrichment and enchantment for me with regard to clinical psychiatry, interfaith relationships, and personal spirituality.