Taking RICA classes, did a lot of other religiouis things before, curious what has to go

[flufflepuff]

Hello,

taking RICA classes, was Pagan, and more than anything practiced Nichiren Buddhism. Know the Pagan stuff has to go, but what about the Nichiren Buddhism? I heard that since a lot of Buddhism is not too religious and more philosophical it’s ok.

 

[Isca]

Hello,

taking RICA classes, was Pagan, and more than anything practiced Nichiren Buddhism. Know the Pagan stuff has to go, but what about the Nichiren Buddhism? I heard that since a lot of Buddhism is not too religious and more philosophical it’s ok.

Hello there. I understand that Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Buddhism - so if you practice it, you are practicing Buddhism.

If you are unsure, speak to your priest who will be able to guide you.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Hello,

taking RICA classes, was Pagan, and more than anything practiced Nichiren Buddhism. Know the Pagan stuff has to go, but what about the Nichiren Buddhism? I heard that since a lot of Buddhism is not too religious and more philosophical it’s ok.

I had to go and look up Nichiren Buddhism to find out what it was. On Wikipedia it was described as -

Nichiren Buddhism (Japanese: 法華系仏教 Hokke-kei Bukkyo) is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). Nichiren Buddhism is generally noted for its focus on the Lotus Sutra and an attendant belief that all people have an innate Buddha nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime. It is also noted for its opposition to any other form of Buddhism, which Nichiren saw as deviating from the Buddhist truth he had discovered. Nichiren Buddhism is a comprehensive term covering several major schools and many sub-schools, as well as several of Japan’s new religions. Its many denominations have in common a focus on the chanting and recital of the Lotus Sutra, which is thought to hold “extraordinary power”.[1]

If you’re going to become Catholic, then what you’ll be doing is admitting that Christ is Lord, and the Church is His body. You can’t serve two masters - that’s one of Christ’s clearest teachings. You can’t serve Christ and Buddha.

However I also realise that old habits die hard. The chances are that you’re into meditation in a consistent way, and may well have had some mystical experiences of your own.

What you have to do is convert your Buddhist mystical practices to a Christian focused mysticism.

And to do that, you might need to speak to some charismatic Catholics, or maybe members of a meditative religious order, to get some advice. I’m not experienced enough to give you any detailed advice, but you need to realise clearly you can’t serve two masters.

That much is a basic tenet of Christianity.

Having said that, you might find writings by Thomas Merton to be helpful. He was an American Trappist Monk, and he also shared quite a lot of spiritual insights with a well known Buddhist Monk. *I actually managed to get a copy of what is supposed to be his best book, “The Seven Storied Mountain” just today, in a Protestant bookstore of all places. *I was somewhat surprised to see it there, a single copy in their “Theology” section. So I picked it up before someone else did.

But since I haven’t even opened it yet, I can hardly tell you what I think of it. It is supposed to be his best publication, and you might find it useful to get a copy somehow and read it.

As an introduction, I’ve put in a Wikipedia link regarding Thomas Merton.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton

 

[rcmartinez]

Hello,

taking RICA classes, was Pagan, and more than anything practiced Nichiren Buddhism. Know the Pagan stuff has to go, but what about the Nichiren Buddhism? I heard that since a lot of Buddhism is not too religious and more philosophical it’s ok.

Welcome to the church which Christ established. Many of the original gentile converts were pagan. They made excellent converts and several took their faith and lives all the way to martyrdom.
I am certain you learned helpful philosophical teachings from Buddhism which can enrich your new life as a Catholic. Not every single thing in Buddhism is “evil” as some hard core Catholics may suggest.
Please continue in your orthodox classes and allow yourself the sufficient time to grow then let time and experience sort out the “wheat” from the "chaff’.
Buddha didn’t die for you. Christ did.
Pax Dominus Vobiscum

 

[flufflepuff]

Welcome to the church which Christ established. Many of the original gentile converts were pagan. They made excellent converts and several took their faith and lives all the way to martyrdom.
I am certain you learned helpful philosophical teachings from Buddhism which can enrich your new life as a Catholic. Not every single thing in Buddhism is “evil” as some hard core Catholics may suggest.
Please continue in your orthodox classes and allow yourself the sufficient time to grow then let time and experience sort out the “wheat” from the "chaff’.
Buddha didn’t die for you. Christ did.
Pax Dominus Vobiscum

Are buddhists pagan though?
I’m going through RICA classes mostly because everything else in life failed me and so far so good.
I substituted a lot of the saints for my old gods, good switch so far, they sure dress better and look better kept.
Does all of my former buddhist practice have to go?

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Are buddhists pagan though?
I’m going through RICA classes mostly because everything else in life failed me and so far so good.
I substituted a lot of the saints for my old gods, good switch so far, they sure dress better and look better kept.
Does all of my former buddhist practice have to go?

If you’re talking about meditation, then probably not. Although you’d need to meditate on Christ and / or the Christian God eg. saying “Maranatha” over and over rather than a Buddhist chant.

The trouble is that we can’t really answer your question without knowing what your specific Buddhist practices were.

 

[rcmartinez]

Are buddhists pagan though?
I’m going through RICA classes mostly because everything else in life failed me and so far so good.
I substituted a lot of the saints for my old gods, good switch so far, they sure dress better and look better kept.
Does all of my former buddhist practice have to go?

The fact that everything else failed you answers the question well. Our saints are not “gods”. Just men who tried to live holy lives. One thing our saints will tell you is that they are sinners.
Give the faith some time and you probably wont need any of your former practices. Im not a Buddhist, so I cant say too much about it. We have saints that dressed in rags and fasted until emaciated. Our Lord fasted for 40 days. I doubt if He broke Buddahs record, but is it a contest?
Us Catholics have lots of cool trinkets and gadgets, if that’s your thing.
Good luck. You made the right choice. Px Vbscm!

 

[flufflepuff]

The fact that everything else failed you answers the question well. Our saints are not “gods”. Just men who tried to live holy lives. One thing our saints will tell you is that they are sinners.
Give the faith some time and you probably wont need any of your former practices. Im not a Buddhist, so I cant say too much about it. We have saints that dressed in rags and fasted until emaciated. Our Lord fasted for 40 days. I doubt if He broke Buddahs record, but is it a contest?
Us Catholics have lots of cool trinkets and gadgets, if that’s your thing.
Good luck. You made the right choice. Px Vbscm!

Yeah, thing is I have a lot of other things. I’m in therapy for a lot of messed up family things and I needed a stable base of some kind. Mom used to take me to church a lot as a kid and while she wasn’t a lot of her family was Catholic. To be honest i’m quite a shipwreck mentally and need something and so far so good.
It’s somewhat of a contrast, except with Buddha he just went to the insane extreme, I mean insane!
Also yeah that was the other reason why I opted for Mother Church, the cool trinkets and gadgets. That and you make people actually repent. That always bothered me about protestants, they would just do whatever, pray then keep on doing it. Unfortunately for me since I was baptised Lutheran I still have to go to confession eventually and no, even though a lot of the bad stuff that happened to me wasn’t my fault I can’t weasel out of it. I guess God’s not a lawyer, he holds all accountable.

 

[flufflepuff]

If you’re talking about meditation, then probably not. Although you’d need to meditate on Christ and / or the Christian God eg. saying “Maranatha” over and over rather than a Buddhist chant.

The trouble is that we can’t really answer your question without knowing what your specific Buddhist practices were.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichiren
Interesting guy. They like to say that he stopped the Mongol invasion that Kublai Khan sent, more like the Mongols figured out what China and everyone else did that Japan just lacked the natural resources lands farther to the West had and invasion was just not cost effective. Don’t dare mention that to a devout Nichiren Buddhist, you’ll have a never ending argument.
To be fair I ended up going more the Zen route mostly because its very difficult to find a Nichiren based organization here in the states that’s not tied to some corrupt political body in Japan.

You know, people like to rip on Christians and pointing out people like the evangelicals who sell “love gifts” and my personal favorite, the Bling Bishop in Germany who Pope Francis just fired which was also another reason why I opted for Mother Church. When someone has the guts to not only do whats right but does it himself that’s just awesome. Wonder if he just pointed at the Bling Bishop and said your fired then walked out. Anyway, something most people here stateside never mention nor know because its never brought up, the Buddhist especially in Asia are just as corrupt. Even the Nichiren Buddhist are bad, in Japan there are Nichiren based political bodies that are so terrifying they put some of the extreme political bodies here to shame. Still, no one has done it for me like Pope Francis did. I just wished he would have kept the Harley, would have been neat to see him riding that thing to and from the Vatican. Maybe see him reving the engine at a stop light?

 

[rcmartinez]

Yeah, thing is I have a lot of other things. I’m in therapy for a lot of messed up family things and I needed a stable base of some kind. Mom used to take me to church a lot as a kid and while she wasn’t a lot of her family was Catholic. To be honest i’m quite a shipwreck mentally and need something and so far so good.
It’s somewhat of a contrast, except with Buddha he just went to the insane extreme, I mean insane!
Also yeah that was the other reason why I opted for Mother Church, the cool trinkets and gadgets. That and you make people actually repent. That always bothered me about protestants, they would just do whatever, pray then keep on doing it. Unfortunately for me since I was baptised Lutheran I still have to go to confession eventually and no, even though a lot of the bad stuff that happened to me wasn’t my fault I can’t weasel out of it. I guess God’s not a lawyer, he holds all accountable.

Take it easy on yourself. It’ll be all right. If you can muster up the patience to pray the rosary everyday, that will cure most, if not all of your issues. Everybody’s messed up. At least you have the courage to admit in public. Bravo. Mary, Our Mother, is the greatest gift Our Father gave us, second only to his Son. She gave us her only begotten Son too. Be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. Youll do just fine. Dominus Vobiscum.

 

[flufflepuff]

Take it easy on yourself. It’ll be all right. If you can muster up the patience to pray the rosary everyday, that will cure most, if not all of your issues. Everybody’s messed up. At least you have the courage to admit in public. Bravo. Mary, Our Mother, is the greatest gift Our Father gave us, second only to his Son. She gave us her only begotten Son too. Be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. Youll do just fine. Dominus Vobiscum.

Yeah, life wasn’t too kind but I know if I don’t fix things no one else will, that’s life, and everything else has failed so why not give God a try.
I picked up a cheap one, it’s rosewood and leaves my hands with this nice rose scent.

 

[rcmartinez]

Yeah, life wasn’t too kind but I know if I don’t fix things no one else will, that’s life, and everything else has failed so why not give God a try.
I picked up a cheap one, it’s rosewood and leaves my hands with this nice rose scent.

rosewood. kewl.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichiren
Interesting guy. They like to say that he stopped the Mongol invasion that Kublai Khan sent, more like the Mongols figured out what China and everyone else did that Japan just lacked the natural resources lands farther to the West had and invasion was just not cost effective. Don’t dare mention that to a devout Nichiren Buddhist, you’ll have a never ending argument.
To be fair I ended up going more the Zen route mostly because its very difficult to find a Nichiren based organization here in the states that’s not tied to some corrupt political body in Japan.

You know, people like to rip on Christians and pointing out people like the evangelicals who sell “love gifts” and my personal favorite, the Bling Bishop in Germany who Pope Francis just fired which was also another reason why I opted for Mother Church. When someone has the guts to not only do whats right but does it himself that’s just awesome. Wonder if he just pointed at the Bling Bishop and said your fired then walked out. Anyway, something most people here stateside never mention nor know because its never brought up, the Buddhist especially in Asia are just as corrupt. Even the Nichiren Buddhist are bad, in Japan there are Nichiren based political bodies that are so terrifying they put some of the extreme political bodies here to shame. Still, no one has done it for me like Pope Francis did. I just wished he would have kept the Harley, would have been neat to see him riding that thing to and from the Vatican. Maybe see him reving the engine at a stop light?

Well, I’m still not certain what Buddhist practices you’re concerned about, but reading this and other posts, there are obviously a few issues you need to work through.

Once you’ve done RCIA, I think you might need to find some sort of support group or friends in the Church to help you keep on going. There’s more than just Nichiren Buddhism in your background, from what you’ve told us.

All the best whatever you do.

 

[flufflepuff]

rosewood. kewl.

Yeah, it’s quite nice, has St. Michael as the medal.

 

[flufflepuff]

Well, I’m still not certain what Buddhist practices you’re concerned about, but reading this and other posts, there are obviously a few issues you need to work through.

Once you’ve done RCIA, I think you might need to find some sort of support group or friends in the Church to help you keep on going. There’s more than just Nichiren Buddhism in your background, from what you’ve told us.

All the best whatever you do.

I’ve had a rough life and had a really nasty alcoholic parent who really destroyed a lot and not the best friends. I made it out without getting into any trouble but having no real stability, a lot of insecurity and abuse by others made me really paranoid about being backstabed. Honestly the main reason why I opted for the Catholic Church besides wanting to give God a try was because I need a stable base of some kind. Everything else has failed, and now that i’m in an ok situation and in therapy I hope it helps. So far i’ve been a lot more stable mentally and can cope with some things.
What support groups? I’m new to religion in that regard.

 

[Faith1960]

I’ve had a rough life and had a really nasty alcoholic parent who really destroyed a lot and not the best friends. I made it out without getting into any trouble but having no real stability, a lot of insecurity and abuse by others made me really paranoid about being backstabed. Honestly the main reason why I opted for the Catholic Church besides wanting to give God a try was because I need a stable base of some kind. Everything else has failed, and now that i’m in an ok situation and in therapy I hope it helps. So far i’ve been a lot more stable mentally and can cope with some things.
What support groups? I’m new to religion in that regard.

It sounds like you’re on the right track. Best wishes.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I’ve had a rough life and had a really nasty alcoholic parent who really destroyed a lot and not the best friends. I made it out without getting into any trouble but having no real stability, a lot of insecurity and abuse by others made me really paranoid about being backstabed. Honestly the main reason why I opted for the Catholic Church besides wanting to give God a try was because I need a stable base of some kind. Everything else has failed, and now that i’m in an ok situation and in therapy I hope it helps. So far i’ve been a lot more stable mentally and can cope with some things.
What support groups? I’m new to religion in that regard.

I had a father who pretty much completely destroyed my confidence. That led to other issues.

He was an alcoholic, like your parent.

When I did become a Christian, what made it easier for me at that particular time was the fact that there was a fairly accepting and personable bunch of young people in the church (Presbyterian at the time). The pastor was also outstanding, and I learnt a lot from him, although he discouraged me (which he apologised for rather late in the day).

When became Catholic later, I was seeing a Catholic psychiatrist around the same time. He was quite helpful also.

The bottom line - God works through other people. Even if you join the church, He’s not going to come to you on a throne of gold, with lightning flashes and a bunch of cherubim as part of the special effects.

He’ll come to you via other people. But to some extent you may need to find them.

There are several things you can do to find support groups. One is online searching. Another is to read the church newsletter. A third is to talk to the priest. A fourth is to get involved in some sort of charitable outreach to other people, which tends to take your mind off yourself. A fifth is to find a small group of people in your new parish to whom you relate - this will take time, but you can’t relate to everybody. Of necessity, you’ll find that there’ll be a core group.

From time to time you’ll find that what seemed to be a promising lead becomes a dead end. Don’t give up - just keep on plodding on.

The web search should be fairly easy - just type in "Catholic support groups " and see what transpires. Or maybe find out what deanery your parish is in, and check their website. You’ll have to make a bit of an effort, but you’ll get there in the end.

 

[flufflepuff]

I had a father who pretty much completely destroyed my confidence. That led to other issues.

He was an alcoholic, like your parent.

When I did become a Christian, what made it easier for me at that particular time was the fact that there was a fairly accepting and personable bunch of young people in the church (Presbyterian at the time). The pastor was also outstanding, and I learnt a lot from him, although he discouraged me (which he apologised for rather late in the day).

When became Catholic later, I was seeing a Catholic psychiatrist around the same time. He was quite helpful also.

The bottom line - God works through other people. Even if you join the church, He’s not going to come to you on a throne of gold, with lightning flashes and a bunch of cherubim as part of the special effects.

He’ll come to you via other people. But to some extent you may need to find them.

There are several things you can do to find support groups. One is online searching. Another is to read the church newsletter. A third is to talk to the priest. A fourth is to get involved in some sort of charitable outreach to other people, which tends to take your mind off yourself. A fifth is to find a small group of people in your new parish to whom you relate - this will take time, but you can’t relate to everybody. Of necessity, you’ll find that there’ll be a core group.

From time to time you’ll find that what seemed to be a promising lead becomes a dead end. Don’t give up - just keep on plodding on.

The web search should be fairly easy - just type in "Catholic support groups " and see what transpires. Or maybe find out what deanery your parish is in, and check their website. You’ll have to make a bit of an effort, but you’ll get there in the end.

As it is it may take a long time to fix a lot of the damage done, if ever. I hate it but there’s nothing I can do about it. I am curious what the Church could do. I’ve not had the best experiences with Protestants and never thought I would be in the situation i’m in but o well here I am. So far I’ve had nothing but immense respect for the Priest and Nuns, they’ve done what I thought religious people should do when they chose to live such a life, give all they have to the poor, pick up their cross and follow Christ. Even when I thank the Nuns their typical response is the saving of souls is a great need.

Plan on taking my sweet time with things, i’ve been backstabbed before so I’m very leery of a lot of people.

 

[ChurchSoldier]

First congratulations on your journey to the Christian faith. A decision which many successful people make in their walk with Christ is that they are there for Christ in spite of the broken people he uses to carry the message. Build a strong foundation and don’t run the first time there is resistance or difficulty.

Those from difficult pasts tend to be hyper vigilant about observing those around them and trying to determine others motives. It is a natural defense mechanism learned in growing up in an alcoholic home. It allows people to survive into adulthood but creates difficulty in forming close relationships once they get there because the default setting is to look with caution on all interpersonal interactions. They are also pre-wired to receive any comments about themselves as criticism or rejection which makes things seem to not work out so often and adds to the feelings of isolation and being different.

Many have found help in “Adult Children of Alcoholics” groups. You can find meetings online.

I suggested building a strong foundation on Christ first because he is the way, the truth and the life. He came so that you can have life and have it fully. The enemy knows that and will use your past wounds to push you away from Jesus, often using people in the church. Don’t let it happen. Christ is the answer and it is about him, not the brokeness of people he uses to carry the message.

Good luck in your journey.