Comparing and contrasting catholicism and tibetan buddhism. I’m not sure where to start, so… I’ll just go with what comes to mind.
Karma -
What we do comes back to us. Simple as that. Whether a “being” (God) gives it back, or if it’s a spiritual extension of newton’s laws… It exists in some way.
Salvation -
We have to work for it. Period.
Killing -
Under any circumstance is wrong. I disagree with the old testament wars and battles. I love every living being, realizing that they have feelings and perceptions of the world just like humans. I am not vegetarian, however.
Mind -
Buddhism is about working with the mind, and the intent behind actions causes the karma to follow. Outer appearance does not matter.
I am interested in Catholicism, but these put me off. I have “tried” Catholicism in the past, but it did not work out all that well for me.
Hi, there.
That’s a lot of queries, but let’s see if I can answer or clarify what you’ve noted as it related to the Catholic faith.
Karma: Catholicism believes that all spirits are made only once. The embodiment of the spirit of a human, the soul, is permanently defined as a human and is not part of a karmic cycle of life and death. In other words, a human soul has never been and will become another human, animal or other living thing. While we do believe that transgressions in our morality (sin) do result in aftereffects that must be dealt with before entry into the Beatific Vision (God’s presence) is possible, we do not believe in the earthly notion of “what goes around, comes around”. For these reasons, Catholics believe in the
principle of resurrection (where the human soul and body are later reunited near the end of time), not reincarnation.
Salvation: Catholics believe neither “faith alone” or “works alone” are sufficient for salvation and favor by God. In fact, there is
nothing as humans that we can do (whether going to church every day or spending every cent on the poor, for examples) that can “buy” God’s grace, the virtue He bestows to us as a gift, not a reward. It is up to us to follow Christ’s tenets of love and compassion, and to recognize our failings, to keep this state (grace) in our hearts at all times. Occasions of
mortal sin, where the grace we hold in our hearts is destroyed, is refilled by the acknowledgment of our mistakes through the Sacrament of Reconciliation–confession of sins to a priest (who stands as a representative for Christ, per our Scripture). While upholding to the tenets of our faith is important,
expressions of our faith, through charitable donations, volunteerism and the like, aid as well. So Catholic believe in both faith
and works as representations that demonstrate our yearning, but do not earn, our desire of salvation.
Killing: God has his reasons for ordering wars in the Old Testament, for the people who He ordered the Israelites to kill were lawless people who turned away from Him. But that was in a time where ancient peoples and civilizations and practices were barbaric in comparison to New Testament times, where God came as a man, seeing that His people were ready now to understand peace. The 5th Commandment expressly forbids
murder (as opposed to killing any living thing as needed for food).
The Church maintains a “Just War” doctrine.
Mind: The mind is a mechanism of the spirit. But humans are one being with two parts that are unnaturally separated due to sin through the manner of death. The soul and the body of humans were meant as one being. Through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the major effect of
Original Sin–permanent death–is removed for those who follow in his practices and deeds. Catholics see matter or reality as neither transitory or false–we do not subscribe to the
philosophy of duelism.
I help this clears up any misconceptions.
