Thank all of you for your responses and for the resources provided.
I realize that most of my questions would probably be answered by getting involved in the Church locally. That being the case, I would ask, how would I do that? Is it acceptable to simply show up “in my Sunday best” for mass at the time scheduled? Will I need to talk to anyone at the church beforehand? I’m not familiar with any of the rituals of the Catholic church, so what should I expect?
Aside from that direct approach, here are my responses to some replies:
- It would help me better understand more about the motivations of a good number of people around me and 2) to see if I’ve missed something about Catholicism that would make conversion worthwhile. Regarding the first aspect, I just don’t get the way many of them choose to live their lives. Some people I see in healthy lifestyles and others in unhealthy lifestyles, but there is some element of that rhythym that it seems I’m missing and that marks me as an outsider.
To use an analogy, say two people in the 1700’s are using different maps to travel and do business. The maps cover the same area, but were charted by different cartographers. Each person thinks their map is superior. Now suppose that one of these people discover that the vast majority of people are using a different map or similar maps based on a common source. As a result, they use different routes and have different business connections. At some point, the person using the distinct map has to ask himself why the others have chosen the other type. Is it because the other map simply gained popularity first? Was it just the most accurate given the price? Are there really dragons where it says “here, there be dragons,” as opposed to the spots where dragons abide on the distinct map? Or is the popular map just better? This person once used the popular map and it appeared to be wrong about certain major landmarks, but it also has to be considered that the distinct map user may simply have been less skilled at using maps at the beginning of his journey.
This is like my situation.
Well, basically I understand that Jesus was the avatar of the jealous creator God, Yahweh. Yahweh created Jesus to be a final sacrifice to replace the animal sacrifices demanded in the past because only blood could appease Yahweh. In honor of this, Christians symbolically drink the blood of Jesus and eat his flesh during communion, typically in front of an image of Jesus dying during his torturous execution by the Roman government. Jesus also taught some compassion, like that people who are not Jewish can also be accepted by Yahweh. However, this also means that those who reject the teachings of Jesus will be tortured in hell, I think eternally. (I think Revelations says something about them eventually being destroyed in hell.) Also, Yahweh will eventually judge the world and those who reject him will be crushed in a giant winepress of blood as described in Revelations.
This is very different from the Buddhist idea that, even if you fall into hell (for things like hatred or jealousy) for eons, one’s karma will eventually be expiated and it will eventually be possible to be reborn as a human and ultimately attain enlightenment. Or that “sinning” or “missing the mark” is ultimately doing things that are unwise for our own well being and that of others (Buddhism teaches that we are all interconnected as manifestations of the eternal Buddha and through ichinen-sanzen) as opposed violating a divine fiat.
Still, I don’t think that helps me understand how Catholics view their faith, whether I’ve missed anything, or if I could ever be one or just tolerate being married to one and attending mass.
Good question to consider, and one that I’ve wrestled with. Still, the answer I’ve ultimately come to is that virtue is virtue due to causalty. What we do is imprinted upon us at the very core of our being. Being a killer makes one more apt to kill, which makes it inevitable that others will eventually do away with us for their own good. Stealing ingrains the habit, and makes it likely that we will lose the trust of others in proportion to the damage we do. The answer I’ve come to in my own life is based on an eternal, living causality as opposed to a causality set in motion be a creator. I can even see a bridge with this subject from Buddhism to Catholicism, but I’m still not sure what else lies beyond the thickets in terms of how Catholicism would shape my life and how it shapes others.
I was involved in the Soka Gakkai International for several years. I ultimately left because of a combination of doctrinal issues (like downplaying the historical Buddha in favor of Nichiren, the emphasis on the Daisaku Ikeda, etc.) and lack of support. I’ve been studying orthodox Nichiren Buddhism from the lineage or Nichiju since I left the organization.
You just have to be careful to not conflate a few things that are not in harmony with Christian belief.
I am very familiar with Nichiren Buddhism. Wonderful religion. 
Even in my language, you cannot say “goodbye” without saying mentioning God, really.