What is the difference between being Catholic and Buddhism?

Question

What is the difference between being Catholic and Buddhism?

Answer 1

WOW, that's like asking what is the difference between a diamond ring and a sandwich.

Answer 2

In essence they are very similiar. Although Buddhism does not address the idea or even mention their being a god it does not deny it either. Catholics have the Sacrements while Buddhists have the refuge in the triple gem. In Buddhism the idea of a dualist self is an alien one whilst in Catholicism it is central to the functioning mechanics of the Christian faith. Catholics sing in church as do Buddhists To in thier temples.To be a preist in Catholicism, it takes about 12 years of school while in Buddhism (at least in my branch which is Tibeton) it takes 16 years to be a Lama. The concepts of a heaven or a hells existence is also dependent on the cultural mindset involved. The western mind is emperic whilst the eastern is not hence in the west the idea of a self as seperate from the universe around them whilst in the east there is no self and that we are one with the universe. All in all the are many similiarities and common grounds especialy in the things that do matter such as kindness, openness, tolerence, gentleness, respect, compassion, altruism, and the idea that that ones acts in this lifetime will determine their existence in the next be it in Heaven,The Cosmos, Hell or any of the realms in between the three. On a special note to ImaCatholic: You sounded condescending towards Buddhism and also appear to have a total misunderstanding of it I suggest that you study up on it before producing an answer. It seems to me that you are assuming that Buddhism is aitheistic, when the fact is that there is a belief in many gods and have in a way shown a total lack of understanding of the way the eastern mindset works. I will study up on Catholicism if you will Buddhism.

Answer 3

Buddhism and Catholisism. Of both there are many branches.

Catholisism is a practise of the indivivual to function with oneself and in society. God and deities is what this binds together the catholic society. Catholisism is neither good or bad - it is what you make it to be.

As for Buddhism, then buddhism has often been weaved together with shamanism, or other religion. Buddhism is a psychological practise, more than it is a religion. The buddhist tools can easily be used by other religions to help the individual to stabilise him/herself.
The buddhist practise can be defined in many ways, I usually tell the following to people: "Perfection is to be able to accept and handle all the imperfections of life".

Buddhism doesn't try to compete with other religions. It doesn't try to be "the best". Buddhism is an individual practise and to organise buddhism is really only for the individuals in the buddhist community to help eah other stand on their own two feet and not be dependant on the buddhist society. Buddhism is a set of tools you can practise, and thus not something you can be. If you use a spoon, you don't become a "spoonist", right?

I have been a buddhist monk for 22 years, and constantly see people defend their system of choice. Neither buddhism or catholisism needs defending. They both have similarities, and those are a practise of handling life the best you can.

Mankind is stronger when working together, but if mankind begins making concepts which goes against each other, mankind start fighting against each other. We have always made everything much more complicated than it really is. Buddhism is a practise of simplicity and acceptance of the world as it is. Buddhism does not preach with the purpose of others to convert. A convertion HAS to be of the persons own choice, without pressuring, preachuring or argumenting. The best convertion is one whom have seen the behaviour of buddhism and descides to practise buddhism from that observation only.

But really - catholisism and buddhism from the individual buddhist view is not important. It is just two minds that speak. Remember; "People bleed - concepts don't".

Bhikkhu Patisallano

Answer 4

The Catholic Church in actuality is a christian faith, yet with countless modifications from the Protestant christian religions. I also have a link below which will describe the modifications between the two. yet to make an prolonged tale short, the Protestants have self assurance that for the period of basic terms the bible is what's mandatory to properly known the reality approximately Christ and God. We have self assurance that salvation via Christ would desire to come FIRST, previously stable works. The Catholic Church teaches you will desire to have stable works, their traditions, and Christ previously you're saved, and that's not what the bible says. i urge you to envision this, for that's significant in case you want to properly known the modifications. The Protestants pass strictly on the bible for reality. Traditions, canon regulations, something it incredibly is larger and not an element of tangible scripture isn't significant. i'm a Protestant Christian hence. i don't consider countless the Catholic doctrine, and hence i'm not an element of it.

Answer 5

Catholics are monotheists; they believe in one god. They also believe in Jesus as the savior of mankind, that he died so that the sins of others could be erased and give them access to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Buddhists are not theists; they do not believe in a god or gods. Established by Prince Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) around 500 BC, Buddhists believe a person can reach the ultimate state of enlightenment (nirvana) through methods established by the Buddha for the search for truth.

So, I guess the main difference would be that Catholics (along with all monotheists) search outward for heaven, and Buddhists search inward.

Answer 6

What's the difference between and apple and an orange?

They're both sweet and have vitamin C but there's some obvious differences.

Buddhism, depending on which variety you're referring to, is either atheistic or deistic (is there such a word?).

Catholics are polytheistic. They cherish the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost (the Trinity). Catholics are also papists . . . they believe that the Pope represents Jesus.

Answer 7

There's many differences. They aren't in the same branches of religion.

Catholics are Christian and believe in one God. Buddhists practice Buddhism and can be monotheistic or polytheistic.

Each religion has different branches. Look at these Wiki links for more information.

Answer 8

Buddhism is an atheistic religion and has many doctrines that are in opposition with Christianity.

The most important difference is that while Buddhism does not even believe in God; in Christianity, God is supposed to be the center of our lives.

As Jesus taught us:

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment." (Matthew 22:37)

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

Everything as far as I'm concerned. But then again there are different Buddhist sects, who teach very different things.

I think the closest one to christianity, is Pure Land Buddhism.. a lot of similarities and myths in this one.

Answer 10

Buddhism and Catholocism are similar in that they are moralistic religions--that is, that one of the main messages of both religions is to have compassion and serve others to the point of personal sacrifice and self-effacement. Both Buddhists and Catholics believe in a higher reality and that earthly life is one of struggle but also potential redemption and of avoiding "sin" and gaining merit. Buddhism is about 600 years older than Christianity. It arose in India and was considered a trend within philosophical and spiritual culture of that land . It eventually became the "State religion" when it was adopted by the warlord-king Ashoka. It was much later in history that it came to be called Buddhism and by the 8-10 centuries AD perhaps became distinguished as "Buddhism" as opposed to various Hindu-type philosophies and became more popular in countries around India as India redeveloped beliefs and practices based on Vedic traditions and various other cultural things occurred over time.

Catholocism is dualistic (belief that God and creation and individual souls are separate and that the former created the latter) and monotheistic (belief in one God but technically explained as one God in the form of a trinity of "persons" of father-son-holy spirit.--Basically, 1 god who has 3 mystical ways of expressing him/itself. [Note that some religions that are considered to be polytheistic also regard all of their gods as different forms of 1 single god]) Catholocism became the State religion when it was adopted by the emporer Constantine. Before then it was treated as a criminalized cult.

Buddhism (which like Christianity has many different forms, of which Roman Catholocism is but one) is quasi-monistic (the idea that there is not a separation between a creator and creation. Buddhists believe that creation is an interdependently arising phenomenon--self-arising, not created by any superior divine power per se. The soul is not exactly eternal in Buddhist belief either, although it is in Cathlocism). Buddhism also is atheistic. Although it believes that persons can become "enlightened" and transcend the ordinary sphere of life and ordinary existence (to become a Buddha or a Boddhisattva, which is the equivalent of a savior/saint), and though some sects of Buddhism believe in and meditate on or worship "gods," (or worship both the historical Buddha and pantheons of otherworldly Buddhas as if they were gods) the definition of "god" is different in Buddhism (and Hinduism) than it is in Christianity. It's not really that comparable, so discussions where people are pitting polytheism against monotheistic religions are absolutely ridiculous to persons who have some knowledge about comparative religion.

Catholics technically believe that after death, a person transmigrates either to heaven or hell in accordance with their merit and remains there for all eternity.

(Some) Buddhists sect believe that a person, according to merit, transmigrates after to death to any number of heaven or hell realms (one better or worse than the other) and that some aspect of that person can reincarnate. The person ultimately can achieve total enlightenment (nirvana--which means "blown out" or "extinction") in the sense that he or she has completely transcended everything about phenomenological existence and has assumed a perfectly pure, paradoxical state of being/nonbeing.

Neither religions developed out of the blue but the ideas reflected in those religions are reflections of progressive and reinvented ideas about spirituality common to the time and culture in which they arose.

Answer 11

The main difference is what part of the world you are in. You can be a buddhist catholic-go figure?