Jewish Encounters with Buddhism in German Culture

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. Introduction

   • Sebastian Musch

   Pages 1-18

3. Buddhism and German-Jewish Orientalism

   • Sebastian Musch

   Pages 19-40

4. The Buddha, the Rabbis, and the Philosophers: Rejections and Defenses

   • Sebastian Musch

   Pages 41-99

5. The Bridgebuilders: Jewishness Between Asia and Europe

   • Sebastian Musch

   Pages 101-187

6. The Assimilation and Dissimilation of a Buddhist Jew: Walter Tausk ’s Contested Identities

   • Sebastian Musch

   Pages 189-244

7. Conclusion: Toward the Study of Jewish-Buddhist Relations

   • Sebastian Musch

   Pages 245-253

8. Back Matter

   Pages 255-289

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In Germany at the turn of the century, Buddhism transformed from an obscure topic, of interest to only a few misfit scholars, into a cultural phenomenon. Many of the foremost authors of the period were profoundly influenced by this rapid rise of Buddhism—among them, some of the best-known names in the German-Jewish canon. Sebastian Musch excavates this neglected dimension of German-Jewish identity, drawing on philosophical treatises, novels, essays, diaries, and letters to trace the history of Jewish-Buddhist encounters up to the start of the Second World War. Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Leo Baeck, Theodor Lessing, Jakob Wassermann, Walter Hasenclever, and Lion Feuchtwanger are featured alongside other, lesser known figures like Paul Cohen-Portheim and Walter Tausk. As Musch shows, when these thinkers wrote about Buddhism, they were also negotiating their own Jewishness. 

• German Buddhism
• Buddhist thought
• Jewish thought
• Orientalism
• Rainer Maria Rilke
• Bertholt Brecht
• Thomas Mann
• German-Jewish intellectuals
• German-Jewish identity
• German Orientalism
• German–Jewish literature
• Theodor Lessing
• Franz Rosenzweig
• Leo Baeck
• Martin Buber

“This is for scholarship to come, which will undoubtedly find, in addition to students, academics, and a wider audience thirsty to understand more about the phenomenon of Jewish Buddhists, great inspiration and solid material in these two pioneering publications.” (Mira Niculescu, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Vol. 28, 2021)

“The book contributes to the emerging field of Asian-German Studies and appeals to scholars of Jewish Studies, German Studies, Orientalism, and Postcolonial Studies.” (H-Net Reviews Humanities and Social Sciences, January 28, 2020)

“In this highly original and exciting study, Sebastian Musch calls attention to the German-Jewish fascination with Buddhism. His book is a superb work of scholarship that revises our conventional views of modern Jewish thought, Orientalism, and the importance of Buddhism for Europeans.” (Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College, USA)

“This exciting new work sheds light on key German-Jewish writers interested in Buddhism, placing them well within existing Asian German, Orientalist, colonial, and postcolonial scholarship. It is a superb book, a welcome addition to the field of Asian German Studies, and an excellent way to gain familiarity with the field.”( Douglas T. McGetchin, Associate Professor of History, Florida Atlantic University, USA)

 

• Department of History, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany

  Sebastian Musch

​Sebastian Musch is a research fellow in the Department of History at Osnabrück University, Germany.

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