Why should I remain Catholic vs. become a Buddhist or a Hindu?

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I know. It’s also not two words.

Still, I’ve noticed this weird gravitation for affluent suburban white women to various eastern religions. Almost all my friends’ wives seem to be into some kind of eastern religion that they have no real knowledge of and no real cultural connection to.
 
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It’s not really a religion for most of them - I know lots of the same type, rich and also just random artsy types who often get jobs as “yoga instructors”.

It’s more like a combination of exercise and self-affirmation. It might as well be Pilates or anything else that tones the body and fills their apparently empty hours.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Catholics use the same meditation techniques
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Not the same. Buddhism has a far wider range of techniques. There is some overlap, but the Buddhist techniques offer a lot more options.
 
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Yeah, I get the feeling that most of them are in it more for the exercise and not the spirituality. Still, I’ve heard warnings from clergy about practicing yoga. One priest I spoke with stopped just short of saying, “Don’t do it.” It was more like “Be careful if you decide to do it.”

I won’t hijack OP’s thread but I think I will make a new one to hear what everyone thinks about the subject.

Edit: okay, maybe I WON’T make a new thread. A quick search shows that this dead horse of a topic has been beaten pretty severely.
 
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christofirst said:
… and certainly not as many of our challenging moral commandments.
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The Five Buddhist moral rules cover much the same ground as the Christian Ten, once you leave out the Commandments specific to God.
  • avoid injuring living things.
  • avoid taking what is not given.
  • avoid sensual misconduct.
  • avoid false and malicious speech.
  • avoid intoxication.
I suppose if you really wanted to covet your neighbour’s ox, Buddhism might be attractive. 🙂
 
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For me… it’s a question of authority and simplicity and contradictions in the Bible…
 
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Did you leave Catholicism for Buddhism? (not being judgy, just trying to understand)…
 
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rossum said:
Not the same. Buddhism has a far wider range of techniques. There is some overlap, but the Buddhist techniques offer a lot more options.
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This is a good point. As Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating and many others have noted before, both ‘religions’ offer a mature path toward a deeper spirituality. With the recovery of the medieval Cloud of Unknowing and the advent of Centering Prayer, the overlap only increased in the 20th century.

Christianity and Buddhism (uniquely perhaps) possess within themselves so very many avenues for working on a deep spirituality. But it should be noted that no religion will avoid paradox. There just is no such tidy and simple religion, and perhaps this is bc reality itself is not tidy or simple.

Whatever contradictions you believe you have discovered in Christianity, there is very little reason to believe you won’t discover similar ones within Buddhism. They are both global “paths” that span the centuries and have been absorbed into so very many diverse cultures. So, diversity is as embedded within each religion as much as any unitive aspect.
 
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Magnanimity said:
discover similar ones within Buddhism. They are both global “paths” that span the centuries and have been absorbed into so very many diverse cultures. So, diversity is as
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No…not yet…
 
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Gotcha. I get it. Catholicism is hard.

There’s a ton of rules, it’s complicated to understand, and requires a whole lotta submission.

I guess for me, that’s what I find attractive about Catholicism. There is a clear hierarchy (both in this life and the next). There are a clear set of rules to follow and learning the intricacies of the faith is VERY challenging mentally.

Part of the reason I converted from Protestantism is because there was no authority, no solid rules to follow. I was completely lost and left on my own to set boundaries as far as morals and beliefs go (within reason of course).
 
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The hardest thing for me in Catholicism is the whole notion of “sanctifying grace vs. mortal sin” and lack of clarity in catechesis. And the issue of “free will…”
 
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I hear ya. I kind of take a “do my very best I can” approach to my faith. I am deeply flawed and I probably always will be. The best I can do is try and obey the teachings of the church (where they are clear) and encourage my family to do so as well.

I can totally see how your concerns could lead you down other roads, but it may help to talk to your priest or someone within the faith that you trust before jumping ship completely.
 
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Just for the record (I don’t know if you’d want to message this user directly on here) but @OneSheep is very insightful on the issue of mortal sin. He’s put a lot of thought into it. It might be worth getting onesheep’s perspective or searching back through old threads where you can access those insights.
 
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Please pray for me…I feel lost and confused…
 
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Too late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient, O Beauty so new. Too late have I loved you! You were within me but I was outside myself, and there I sought you! In my weakness I ran after the beauty of the things you have made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The things you have made kept me from you - the things which would have no being unless they existed in you! You have called, you have cried, and you have pierced my deafness. You have radiated forth, you have shined out brightly, and you have dispelled my blindness.
St Augustine
 
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Susansdec said:
Why do some Catholics leave Catholicism and convert to Buddhism???
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His Holiness the Dalai Lama has a series of books introducing the tradition of the Buddha to those seeking the path to spiritual awakening. They are written with the assistance of the American nun Thubten Chodron:
Approaching the Buddhist Path
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
After becoming knowledgeable in Buddhism, a person may wish to take the Buddhist path to wisdom and compassion.
 
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AlNg said:
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has a series of books introducing the tradition of the Buddha to those seeking the path to spiritual awakening.
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It is worth remembering that, like Christianity, Buddhism is a missionary religion. For that reason it makes itself easy to join for whoever wants to.
 
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