Is it possible for a catholic , to respect Buddhism aswell ?

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I am a newly converted catholic . I do not follow Buddhism because it rejects the existence of God . But I do embrace some of the things Buddha taught like making the best out of your life and such . Is it possible for a catholic to embrace some of the wisdom and teachings of Buddha , without abandoning his catholic faith ?
 
For the moment immerse yourself in reading Catholic material. There is plenty of wisdom to be gotten there. When I was an eager new convert, I ended up getting into a discussion with a man who claimed to be a former Catholic. He was so anti-Catholic that it was rather scary. But I got in over my head. I have to admit that I should have studied Catholic apologetics a lot more before I got into the debate. Also, try to find a good spiritual director who can guide you to the right books/study groups. These will also help give you a solid foundation. Later, if you still want to, read some Buddhism stuff. But only in a “getting info only” type way. Even with that, I’m not sure I’d want to. But that’s personal opinion. I have a friend who’s a Buddhist. But the last thing I want to do is try to learn about her faith in an attempt to “prove” her wrong in any way. I respect her choices, although I do not agree with them. Sometimes the best gift we can give to people is to live our Catholic faith in such a way as to proclaim the gospel by how we live.
 
I agree with Christy. Dive into your Catholic faith and teachings. Research the knowledge of the Early Church Fathers! That is a wonderful place to start.
 
I am a newly converted catholic . I do not follow Buddhism because it rejects the existence of God . But I do embrace some of the things Buddha taught like making the best out of your life and such . Is it possible for a catholic to embrace some of the wisdom and teachings of Buddha , without abandoning his catholic faith ?
The teachings of the Roman Catholic faith has a fount of wisdom and knowledge which some other religions contain as well.
 
I am a newly converted catholic . I do not follow Buddhism because it rejects the existence of God . But I do embrace some of the things Buddha taught like making the best out of your life and such . Is it possible for a catholic to embrace some of the wisdom and teachings of Buddha , without abandoning his catholic faith ?
The theological underpinnings of Buddhism are very different to Catholicism. What may be of use to you is the practical advice from Buddhist sources: how to act.

To avoid all evil,
to cultivate good,
and to cleanse one’s mind -
this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
  • Dhammapada 14:5
Many Buddhist techniques are easily adaptable to Catholicism – counting breaths for example. Neither counting to ten nor breathing are against any Catholic teaching.

Buddhism does not reject the existence of the Abrahamic God, he gets a mention in the Brahmajala sutta. However, Buddhism treats Him very differently; no different to the way it treats the many other gods whose existence Buddhism recognises.

rossum
 
I, personally, have read into a bit of the Buddhist teachings, as well as Zen (Rossum, perhaps you could help me out with this, is Zen an offshoot of Buddhism, or are they separate entities? I’ve never found a satisfactory answer to this… though I haven’t looked too hard); and, while I can say that there are things about those philosophies/religions that I do like; neither of them compare with what I’ve gained from studying my own Catholic faith.

So, if it’s purely for the knowledge of those religions to understand them, then sure; but if you’re looking for a guide for how to live your life, you’d be better off focusing on Catholic teachings… although you can do far far worse than Buddhism in that regard, that’s for sure.
 
I would respect Buddist’s intentions to live a good life and to seek truth, however I can’t respect a doctrine that doesn’t result in securing eternal life for people.
 
Rossum, perhaps you could help me out with this, is Zen an offshoot of Buddhism, or are they separate entities?
Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. It emphasises meditation and simplicity over ritual. For ritual, try the Tibetan sects or Japanese Shingon Buddhism.

Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese Chán (禪) which means “meditation”, or dhyana in Sanskrit. Zen Buddhism is just “Meditation Buddhism”.

rossum
 
**No other Faith in this world has the amount of Wisdom, Grace and Beauty that the Catholic Church does. Catholicism has the fullness of Faith, Grace and TRUTH. I am glad that You are Home. Please tour the Home, your home, so that you can greater appreciate and marvel at the beauty that is all yours.

How Blessed it is to be a Catholic. How noble and glorious indeed. What a Sublime Grace and Honor it is to be a Catholic. You have the Beauty,Treasure, TRUTH and the Splendor thereof of the past 2,000 years of history, within the Reach of YOUR fingertips and SOUL, and the best part is? It’s all Yours!! Really and truly all yours!!

You have the 7 Sacraments, with the MOST SUBLIME of them all being the SACRAMENT wherein YOUR CREATOR WHO formed You out of the eons of Nothing and Breathed Life into You, really and truly gifts HIMSELF to YOU hidden but truly present inside a little piece of Bread. You have a Sacrament where You are freed from the Chains of eternal hell and damnation, at the words of the Priest.

This is CHRISTS gift to us as a Church, and to us as as individual members of HIS Mystical Body, the Church. The Church. Our LORD loves You so much that Dying for YOU was not enough, nor did preparing a place in the PLACE of Eternal Joy and Bliss after your death suffice, HE gave YOU a Church, and She is all Yours!!

Buddhism has a Grain of Truth in it, but why settle for a miniscule grain, when You can have the Whole Harvest? Take advantage of the Richness that is called the Catholic Church. Trust me, even if you would live to be 3,000 years old, You will not have begun to excavate the slighest of the treasures of the Church. Viva La Catolica Ecclessia et Viva La Pappa Francis!**
 
I am a newly converted catholic . I do not follow Buddhism because it rejects the existence of God . But I do embrace some of the things Buddha taught like making the best out of your life and such . Is it possible for a catholic to embrace some of the wisdom and teachings of Buddha , without abandoning his catholic faith ?
What do you mean by respect? Do you mean how you treat a Buddhist which always should be treated with respect or do you mean continue to read about? I think you see some similar themes like you pointed out. Maybe though right now spend more time reading the wealth of Catholic material. There are a number of contemplative works to explore.
 
I am a newly converted catholic . I do not follow Buddhism because it rejects the existence of God . But I do embrace some of the things Buddha taught like making the best out of your life and such . Is it possible for a catholic to embrace some of the wisdom and teachings of Buddha , without abandoning his catholic faith ?
Buddhism does not acknowledge the existence of God.

Without God there is no truth.

Where there is no truth, there is nothing worth living for.

In short: Respect the buddhists, for they also deserve salvation. Don’t respect buddhism, for it is a clearly false religion.
 
**No other Faith in this world has the amount of Wisdom, Grace and Beauty that the Catholic Church does. Catholicism has the fullness of Faith, Grace and TRUTH. I am glad that You are Home. Please tour the Home, your home, so that you can greater appreciate and marvel at the beauty that is all yours.

How Blessed it is to be a Catholic. How noble and glorious indeed. What a Sublime Grace and Honor it is to be a Catholic. You have the Beauty,Treasure, TRUTH and the Splendor thereof of the past 2,000 years of history, within the Reach of YOUR fingertips and SOUL, and the best part is? It’s all Yours!! Really and truly all yours!!

You have the 7 Sacraments, with the MOST SUBLIME of them all being the SACRAMENT wherein YOUR CREATOR WHO formed You out of the eons of Nothing and Breathed Life into You, really and truly gifts HIMSELF to YOU hidden but truly present inside a little piece of Bread. You have a Sacrament where You are freed from the Chains of eternal hell and damnation, at the words of the Priest.

This is CHRISTS gift to us as a Church, and to us as as individual members of HIS Mystical Body, the Church. The Church. Our LORD loves You so much that Dying for YOU was not enough, nor did preparing a place in the PLACE of Eternal Joy and Bliss after your death suffice, HE gave YOU a Church, and She is all Yours!!

Buddhism has a Grain** of Truth in it, but why settle for a miniscule grain, when You can have the Whole Harvest? Take advantage of the Richness that is called the Catholic Church. Trust me, even if you would live to be 3,000 years old, You will not have begun to excavate the slighest of the treasures of the Church. Viva La Catolica Ecclessia et Viva La Pappa Francis!
Beautiful!
 
I would respect Buddist’s intentions to live a good life and to seek truth, however I can’t respect a doctrine that doesn’t result in securing eternal life for people.
How can a person live a “good” life and seek “truth” without knowing God in the first place?

How does one define “good” and “truth” without God?

Buddhism falls into the trap of relativism, simple as that. It is a false religion.
 
Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. It emphasises meditation and simplicity over ritual. For ritual, try the Tibetan sects or Japanese Shingon Buddhism.

Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese Chán (禪) which means “meditation”, or dhyana in Sanskrit. Zen Buddhism is just “Meditation Buddhism”.

rossum
Ah. Thank you ^^
 
The theological underpinnings of Buddhism are very different to Catholicism. What may be of use to you is the practical advice from Buddhist sources: how to act.

To avoid all evil,
to cultivate good,
and to cleanse one’s mind -
this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
  • Dhammapada 14:5
Many Buddhist techniques are easily adaptable to Catholicism – counting breaths for example. Neither counting to ten nor breathing are against any Catholic teaching.

Buddhism does not reject the existence of the Abrahamic God, he gets a mention in the Brahmajala sutta. However, Buddhism treats Him very differently; no different to the way it treats the many other gods whose existence Buddhism recognises.

rossum
Buddhism is incompatible with catholicism. There is no way a catholic can acknowledge any other God that Abraham’s God, for there is no one. There is only one God, expressed in the holy trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Any priest will agree with that, and so will our catechism.

Besides, I am very curious to know how a buddhist should avoid “evil” and cultivate “good” without a clear definition of those concepts to begin with.
 
@ Thomas becker. I think as a newly convert, it is advisable that you continue to immerse yourself in Catholic teachings, the Bible and the saints. Thus I would agree with most of the advice given in this thread. There is so much to learn, it will probably enough for you, or rather for all of us, to last a lifetime. So perhaps get on with it. This does not mean we are prevented from knowing about other religions because knowledge is always good. As for respect, yes, we are to respect others who may be well different from us. Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam are some of the world major religions and they deserve our respect. This does not mean that we agree with them or vice-versa but nevertheless respect is something very Christian.
 
I am a newly converted catholic . I do not follow Buddhism because it rejects the existence of God . But I do embrace some of the things Buddha taught like making the best out of your life and such . Is it possible for a catholic to embrace some of the wisdom and teachings of Buddha , without abandoning his catholic faith ?
To your title…Of course it is possible to respect Buddhism. There is much in that belief system that is good - very much that is built upon the sure foundation of Love.

As to the matter of "Embrac(ing) some of the wisdom and teachings…"That is a bit trickier. It depends on what one means by “embracing”.

Although it is not often thought of or understood in the same way - The Latin Catholic Church possesses a very rich “Mystical” tradition and the Eastern Catholic and the EO Churches tend to be even more so.
Love, peace, meditation - or contemplative prayer - self examination etc. are all things that, while different in some ways are very similar in others.

Now because these things exist within the Catholic Tradition there really isn’t any need to “embrace” them from Buddhism.
However - by understanding them from within the Church, one can recognize the common ground with Buddhism and use that understanding to draw the Buddhist into a deeper understanding of God.

It is always a wise thing to seek understanding of other belief systems so that one may build on that which is good and true.

Peace
James
 
The short answer NO.

As you research your catholic faith, you will realize that buddhism is NOT Christian. Our Lord Jesus said “follow me” and NOT others.

For a detailed view on buddhism and why Catholics should not practice any of their teachings. I highly recommend you read this:
From EWTN: Women of Grace website:

womenofgrace.com/blog/?p=182

" the argument your friends are using reflects a fundamental lack of understanding of both Buddhism and Christianity. They need to take the advice of the Dalai Lama who has frequently stated that the central doctrines of Buddhism and Christianity are not compatible and that one cannot be “a Buddhist Christian or a Christian Buddhist.”
 
I am a newly converted catholic . I do not follow Buddhism because it rejects the existence of God . But I do embrace some of the things Buddha taught like making the best out of your life and such . Is it possible for a catholic to embrace some of the wisdom and teachings of Buddha , without abandoning his catholic faith ?
While there are goodness in Buddhism, as Catholic I would be cautious as to embrace its wisdom and then saying that this is Buddhism that I embrace. No, we can’t do that or at least that is not very wise because we have to be very clear what philosphy we are following. There should not be any compromise there. So be very careful in tinkling with other religions. For the sake of political correctness I will not dwell on some of Buddhism belief but I would agree that it is not compatible with Catholicism. If there is something good in Buddhism that attracts you, don’t you think that you cannot find that in Catholicism? The most you can do here is to aknowledge that some of Buddhism’s value is quite close to Catholicism but the thing you would follow is from the Catholic perspect.
 
To your title…Of course it is possible to respect Buddhism. There is much in that belief system that is good - very much that is built upon the sure foundation of Love.
God is love! In the same way that it impossible to understand God without loving, it is impossible do understand love without God.

How can a religion that does not require God as a central concept teach anything that resembles love, if not by mere accident? It is impossible.
 
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