Bring a Buddhist friend to Catholic Church

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Hi all,

I’m looking for advice. I have a friend who believes and practises Buddhism. He goes to temples and talks to Buddhist monks. How could I go about talking to him about Catholic Church?

Many thanks in advance
TwoBoys
 
As a former unofficial Buddhist try showing him the rich history of monasticism within the Catholic Church. Often times people drawn to Eastern religions or philosophies suspect Christianity to be lacking in authentic spirituality or depth. The dedication of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, the piety and prayer lives of the saints, a healthy range of contemplative practices- all might be good starting points for your friend.
 
But what does it mean to him? Many Buddhist can believe many different things about it.
 
Sounds great. Thank you. BTW, what has made you come to the Catholic Church?
 
My understanding is that he is looking for transcendence, like the Buddha.
 
Long story short, history and the writings of the Early Church. I was a Protestant so I already believed major tenants of the faith, but it was the lack of authority and notion that we stand on the Bible alone that really got me digging into church history.

Also reading stuff from JPII, Aquinas, Augustine. I saw that Catholicism held claim to a lot of guys who are way, way smarter than I am.
 
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Twoboys,

Does he have any experience with Catholicism? I have a family member who was brought up Catholic, Catholic education etc., and rejects it outright. He is now a practicing Buddhist and he says he has never been more “at home” with spirituality etc.
 
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No, he doesn’t have experience with Catholicism. He does find peace and consolation from practising Buddhism.
 
The rub with Buddhist practices is that they actually work. It’s debatable how well they work for someone with a Western upbringing vs an Eastern/Asian one. But psychologists and biologists have always loved to study Buddhist monks and the evidence supports their claims of practices which offer peace and joy. But where’s the direction? How do we live in the “real world”, how do we raise families and have jobs? Almost anyone would benefit from some kind of daily meditation, but that doesn’t mean the entire system is validated. Catholicism tells us who and what we are, why we are here, where we’re headed and, most importantly, how to get there. It’s a “total package”, cohesive.
 
Thank you for your inspiring answer. I share your view that “Buddhism does work”, at least for some people, like my friend. I actually have an idea of drawing the commonalities between Catholicism and Buddhism, especially the ascetic and monastic practices, and try to offer your idea of “total package” - CC tells us more about our originality and destiny. Hope it works 🙂
 
RKS89 said:
The rub with Buddhist practices is that they actually work.
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I suppose that depends on what “actually work” means. If it means peace and happiness in this life, then I wonder if sin doesn’t work even better 😉

Does Buddhism get you to Heaven?

What does Buddhism say about God? Anything?
 
ricmat said:
I suppose that depends on what “actually work” means. If it means peace and happiness in this life, then I wonder if sin doesn’t work even better 😉
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This is an interesting argument. I think “it works” because it gives my friend the feeling of transcendence, fulfilment and peace.
ricmat said:
Does Buddhism get you to Heaven?
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This is the point I want to make and convince my friend.
 
It’s no secret that even simple meditative practices contribute to lower stress levels and heightened feelings of well-being, just like taking exercise gives us a boost of endorphins. I’d say the difference is we understand sin might be pleasurable in spite of its damaging spiritual effects, and possibly delayed physical ones. Buddhist meditation works because meditation works, but as you point out, it does not work to get one to Heaven.
 
The other issue with alternative spiritual practices is knowing what about it makes it efficacious. I used to do a lot of drumming circles and it’s been proven that a certain number of beats per minute will eventually put the brain into more relaxed, near-meditative states. But that doesn’t mean shamanic drumming is a legitimate spiritual practice. If all you’re doing is “tricking” the brain, or even training it via mindfulness, it’s not much different than me using progressive overload in the gym to reach a certain maximum weight lifted. Catholics understand our spiritual life is efficacious because God’s grace makes it so. We understand our goal is to become saints, and you can’t trick or train someone into that, because that state of being is literally out of their control.

Hope that makes sense.
 
Buddhists do well in seeking to empty themselves and be free from attachment to the things of Earth. The flaw in Buddhism is that it seeks emptiness. They free themselves from attachment to the things of Earth knowing that no true happiness can be found in them, but they despair, because the rest they seek is in nihilism. It is no surprise then, that the most radical form of Buddhism practices ritual suicide, spending seven years thinning and dehydrating themselves before ceasing all consumption of food and water, so that they die within a few days and leave a mummified corpse. In place of this, Christ offers the fullness of His very Self. He offers happiness that is both true and eternal. A Buddhist is pained by pleasure, because he knows it must end, but joy without end, that is something attractive.
 
mythbuster1 said:
Buddhists do well in seeking to empty themselves and be free from attachment to the things of Earth. The flaw in Buddhism is that it seeks emptiness. They free themselves from attachment to the things of Earth knowing that no true happiness can be found in them, but they despair, because the rest they seek is in nihilism.
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They don’t despair. But they do seem to be satisfied with an impersonal relationship with existence. We, on the other hand, Do not look for an impersonal highest being or non being. We look for a Person. Both paths involve detachment from this world. There is. A lot I like about Buddhism: Four Noble Truths, Eightfold path, compassion, present moment, etc. But for me it lacks a Person. God.
 
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