Buddhism and Catholicism

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My first instinct is a simple “no.” The underlying philosophies of the two seem to be diametrically opposed, at least so far as I understand Buddhism, which I’m not very confident about. And of course there are many forms of Buddhism.

A safer statement would simply be that whatever goodness there is to be found in Buddhism is from God and already exists in the Catholic Church. Thus there is not a need to reconcile the two in order to combine whatever goodness is found in both, but simply to faithfully follow Catholicism.
 
Any of the theology (nirvana, reincarnation, etc.) can’t be reconciled. You can still meditate. It seems more and more common among Catholics.
 
teenphilo1 said:
Any of the theology (nirvana, reincarnation, etc.) can’t be reconciled. You can still meditate. It seems more and more common among Catholics.
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Forms of prayer or meditation in other religions often reflects the very different goals of those religions, compared to prayer and meditation in Christianity which are always in some way implicitly or explicitly connected to Jesus Christ. I would not generally recommend taking up forms of prayer or meditation which have developed outside of Christianity. Not that I’m any kind of spiritual master, but this advice is not something I’ve just made up .

For anyone who may be interested in experimenting with these sorts of prayer or meditition I highly recommend reading this Vatican document:

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19891015_meditazione-cristiana_en.html
 
It’s difficult enough to reconcile all the various Christian factions out there (just read all the post discussing the fine points of doctrine among Christians), and they all share the same fundamental belief in Jesus as son of God, Lord, and Savior. You are asking if Buddhism and Catholicism can be reconciled …
 
Phish_Phan said:
Is it possible to reconcile the two religions?
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The moral codes of the two religions are reasonable similar, so are compatible. The Buddhist emphasis on meditation can to some extent be accommodated within the ambit of Catholicism. Some meditations are definitely non-Catholic. Others are neutral, such as breathing and counting to ten, and could easily be incorporated.

The theologies of the two religions are extremely different, one being Abrahamic and the other Dharmic. At that level, a direct reconciliation is not possible. Some sort of accommodation exists, in that Buddhism recognises Catholic Christianity as useful and Catholicism recognises Buddhism in Nostra Aetate. It is probably not possible to go further than mutual recognition at the theological level.

rossum
 
Phish_Phan said:
Is it possible to reconcile the two religions?
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In what sense of the word do you mean ‘reconcile’? The two religions were never one, and never experienced a separation. Though beliefs differ, there is no hostility among their religious?
 
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