Places to discuss Buddhist-Catholic stuff (orthodox-ly)

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Wilwyn

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I’m looking if anyone knows of (orthodox) Buddhist-Catholic places where I can ask philosophical and practical questions. Or otherwise, if anyone here is experienced on the topic, I have many questions.
 
Orthodox Buddhist-Catholic? They’re diametrically opposed.

Buddhism believes in repeated rebirths/reincarnation until one has enough karma to attain nirvana and escape the reincarnation cycle

Catholicism believes we live one life and after that our soul goes to heaven, purgatory or hell depending on our unforgiven sins
 
Orthodox Buddhist? Hardly. Buddhism has been going longer than Christianity and (probably) has even more denominations. They range from the extremely philosophical, like Prasangika-madhyamika, to the very simple, like Pure Land.
 
I am a Christian who has studied Buddhism. There are things, I believe, we can learn from Buddhism. You might check out books on Thomas Merton and Buddhism. I would also recommend Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “Living Buddha, Living Christ”.
 
Matthew25 said:
I would also recommend Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “Living Buddha, Living Christ”.
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Members of the Order of Interbeing, of Thich Nhat Hanh, have taken a vow to not be Catholic (nor anything else that implies obedience to doctrine)

The First Mindfulness Training: Openness​

Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones
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As Catholics, we do Bind ourselves to Catholic Doctrine as True even before we might understand the implications of a doctrine, simply because our superiors (apostolic) assert it as necessary.

Your profile says you are “Catholic ‘For Now’”, which hints that you are perhaps defining your own path, like Peter wanted to do when he blocked the way of Jesus heading to his crucifixion in Jerusalem. Peter got back “behind” Jesus, and then followed “behind” Jesus, accepting Jesus’ direction rather than defining his own [Peter’s] direction for how reality ought to progress.

Thich Nhat Hanh cannot be trusted since he urges and requires people not to be obedient to a doctrine provided by the Ultimate Authority, whom we have pledged to follow behind.
 
Just out of curiosity, what about Merton and Buddhism. Have you read any of his works? (Not trying to be snarky, just curious on a Trappist Monk and his thoughts on Buddhism). Thanks.
 
Prominent 20th century Catholic Trappists never felt threatened by Buddhism, and even sought to learn as much as they could from it, Merton and Keating are both great examples. While I myself am Catholic and cannot really imagine ever not being so, I feel no threat from any religion whatsoever. I believe that in the spirit of lumen gentium 16, we must acknowledge that there is much good and truth in many of the great religions, even if one wants to believe that only within Catholicism do we find a “fullness of faith.” I think you should feel free to ask away your questions here. Some of us have studied Buddhism and freely acknowledge the points of overlap, just as we acknowledge the points of departure between the religions.
 
Since the Catholic faith contains the FULLNESS of truth, there is absolutely NOTHING truthful we can learn from Buddhism or any other religions that the Catholic Church itself does not already teach.

Buddhism is not a “threat”, but I believe Catholics have no business delving into it before reaching and learning the full scope of their own faith.
 
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Matthew25 said:
Just out of curiosity, what about Merton and Buddhism. Have you read any of his works?
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I have;
The Seven Story Mountain; New Seeds of Contemplation; Spiritual Direction and Meditation; No Man is an Island; The Wisdom of the Desert; Thoughts in Solitude.
I thought there were more, but I can’t see them on the bookshelf - perhaps I loaned them out.

His works have all, so far as I know, been marked with Nihil Obstat and ordered Imprimatur, so I will say it this way: You will find no occassion for losing your faith in Merton, if you stay with him. If, however, you see that he looked into the eastern religions and then on your own conclude they are therefore valid and try to set them on an even value basis with Catholic teaching, you will contradict your Catholic Faith for a kind of Gnosticism.
Meditation and Contemplation are valuable, delightful, awe filled, but different than Buddhist versions of those terms.
 
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porthos11 said:
Since the Catholic faith contains the FULLNESS of truth, there is absolutely NOTHING truthful we can learn from Buddhism or any other religions that the Catholic Church itself does not already teach.
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…Agreed 👌
 
rossum said:
There is at least one more: The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton.
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Well, interesting…
Looking at Amazon I don’t see the Imprimatur, nor the Nihil Obstat, on the copyright page.
Nor are they to be found in another of his books I saw there - “Zen and the Birds of Appetite”
It shows, just as the Authority of the Church assembled the Canon of Scripture and is the Authority we rely on in accepting the books of the Bible, so likewise is it with other texts where we accept in trust those approved by our superiors but do not swear by those unapproved.
Some of Merton’s works can be wholeheartedly welcomed, while others we can look at as books in the world and of the world (not necessarily bad, but not to be looked to for more than reasonable thoughts, as we might look to someone like Aristotle, who was a Pagan, but wise in his reasoning and his understanding of created reality).
 
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John_Martin said:
His works have all, so far as I know, been marked with Nihil Obstat and ordered Imprimatur, so I will say it this way: You will find no occassion for losing your faith in Merton
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Um, didn’t Merton run off with a woman and die soon after?

am a Christian who has studied Buddhism. There are things, I believe, we can learn from Buddhism. You might check out books on Thomas Merton and Buddhism. I would also recommend Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “Living Buddha, Living Christ”.

I am stunned anyone calliing himself a Christian could suggest Hanh’s “Living Buddha, Living Christ” since the book is essentially one long argument for Buddhism against Chirstiainity. As for God, Hanh says merely to ask whether God exists is to show ‘lack of insight’. That is a direct quote.

From the title, you would have guessed Hanh wanted to discuss both Christianity and BUddhism, but that is wrong. He has nothing positive to say about Christianity, and never appears to have explored the subject at all. He merely rejects Christianity utterly and attempts to persuade people to become Buddhists. .

Hanh repeats the usual tired, easy-to-refute Buddhist beliefs, such as life is suffering (wrong) while at the same time our “delusion causes suffering” (such a comfort to the 100,000 murdered by atheist communists, and don’t even try to explain why life is suffering at the same time it is a delusion, because it simply makes no sense, not that BUddhism actually approves of rationality) and of course “there is no self” he insists, because, as we all know, there is no self.

This is an anti Christian book. Why are you trying to persuade Catholics to read it.
 
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