I would like to hear what Catholicism’s apologist have to say about Buddhism
Apologists may not be the best people to talk to about that. To a man with a hammer, everything is a nail. You should start with scholars who try to understand Buddhism fairly. Only then will you start to have an idea of what may need to be addressed from an apologetics standpoint.
Bear in mind that most Catholic apologists are concerned largely with Protestant fundamentalism. If they do address Buddhism, it’s typically in the context of the Western “New Age” movement, which is inspired by Eastern religions but not in fact the same thing.
and how do we defend against it.
You are assuming that Buddhism is somehow “attacking” Catholicism. Why do you think this?
Where does the conflict exist? And why should we continue believing in Catholicism and not Buddhism? I want to to know what makes Catholicism so much more attractive than Buddhism.
Yes, I got that the first time. But since you don’t seem to know much about Buddhism, I’m puzzled by where the question is coming from. Start with what you find attractive about Buddhism. Or if you have friends interested in it, start with what they find attractive.
Where does Catholicism stand with Buddhism?
As far as I know, there isn’t an official position–why would there be? Buddhism, like everything else, is true insofar as it agrees with natural law and divine revelation, and false insofar as it doesn’t
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To what extent it is each of these things is something that can be discerned by careful, humble study combined with prayer, in communion with other Christians and for that matter all people of good will, and always subject to the authority of the Church where the Church has definitively spoken.
Apparently, according to Buddhism, they believe in re-incarnation
Sort of. They tend to call it “rebirth” instead. It’s different from Hindu reincarnation, because they don’t believe that we have permanent selves at all. And some Western Buddhists may not believe in rebirth at all.
in tolerance with everyone(Including practicing homosexuals)
That depends on which Buddhists. Most traditional Asian Buddhists would not take this approach, though I have read that at least in East Asian Buddhism homosexual behavior among monks is considered less serious than heterosexual, and is tacitly condoned. I’m not sure how widespread this is.
Certainly some Westerners who have embraced Buddhist ideas graft them onto typical secular/liberal ethics, but traditional Buddhist leaders such as the Dalai Lama say basically the same things about homosexuality that the Catholic Church would say.
the change of customs(Even if they’re thousands of years old)
That’s a bit vague, and would not distinguish Buddhists from Christians, who also believe that mere antiquity does not
in itself sanctify custom! Zen Buddhists tend to be rather iconoclastic in this regard, but all forms of Buddhism rely heavily on tradition in one way or another, it seems to me.
and the road to “enlightenment” (Whatever that means)
Well, that’s the place to start.
The most basic statement of Buddhism is the “Four Noble Truths”:
- There is suffering (referring here to all forms of discomfort and dissatisfaction, including in particular the “subtle suffering” experienced even by people who are apparently happy);
- The cause of suffering is selfish craving–hanging on to something impermanent (which in Buddhist philosophy includes everything) as if it were permanent.
- There is a cessation of suffering, called Nirvana–when your cravings go, there is no more suffering (there is also no longer what you would now, in your unenlightened state, call a “self,” because your “self” is basically a bundle of cravings).
- There is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering. This “Eightfold Path” includes such things as resolving not to harm other beings and not to gratify one’s selfish desires; a code of conduct that again, focuses on not harming others; and finally a discipline of meditation that helps detach you from your cravings and give you inner peace.
There’s a lot more to Buddhism, but most Buddhists would agree that this is the core.
Edwin
