Buddhists & Catholics - Do you see any compatiblity between Catholicism and Buddhism?

Question

Or is it just me?

Seems that Buddhism focuses on the knowable and does not address anything unknowable - therefore believing or not believing in God and other unknowables is a non-issue in Buddhism.

But in the matters of the knowable -- I find the two belief systems to be very similar and in agreement...Even to the point where it's possible for a person to practice Catholicism and be agnostic, and possible for a person to practice Buddhism and be Christian.

I ask because my most recent attempts at participation in Church leave me thin on meeting my needs to relate person to person and that is where Buddhism steps in. But then there is my relationship with God which is not addressed in Buddhism and so I rely on the Roman Catholic community. But I really feel like a kid whose parents have divorced...and would like to reconcile this issue within my own self.

The "two masters" I percieve are Christ and His Body...
Thoughts?

Pastor Art - What does it say about the Catholic Church? Umm maybe it says that we don't kick you out just because you are still figuring it out?

Johnny Dangerous - How would I read more about the ideas/thesis you present? Your answer is the closest so far to reasonably explaining how there could be incompatibility as well as compatibility. Thanks for your answer

Answer 1

I disagree that Buddhism does not address anything unknowable. The "myoho" of the Nichiren Buddhist chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the Mystic Law. The "myo" is the mystic part, the part that cannot be proven, but only experienced subjectively, i.e. the unknowable. The Lotus Sutra states that the wisdom of the Buddha can only be experienced between Buddhas. This wisdom can only be entered through faith, faith being an intangible quality that is beyond description, beyond the linear verbal mind, and that goes beyond simply "believing." Yes, believing or not believing in God is a non-issue in Buddhism. That is because the concept of Myoho or The Law or Dharma encompasses the idea of God, but goes far beyond it.

Answer 2

Yes, I think that they are extremely compatible. The Saints and Bodhisattvas are extremely similar, and the sermon on the mount is very reminiscent of Buddha's teachings. You can be a Buddhist and Christian at the same time, since Buddhism is more of a way of a life than a religion. All you have to do is believe that we can alleviate our suffering through ending attachments to worldly things, and then strive to do so. This doesn't conflict with the Christian religion in any way. Buddha also did not care about god one way or another, so you are free to believe as you choose :)

Answer 3

they have not got self assurance, in common, in a private eternal limitless acceptable yet in a state that's so: Nirvana Many ,in all probability maximum , Buddhists have self assurance in gods and /or bodhisattvas and different spirits yet some Buddhists are comprehensive aganostics and a few are atheists i be attentive to of monotheistic Buddhists and it rather is appropriate in maximum varieties of Buddhism to belong to distinctive (and countless times conflicting theologically) religions Theism isn't mandatory for the Buddhist philosophy or prepare of the 8 fold course and 5 Precepts in many understandings of Buddhism Many Buddhists honor Jesus as a bodhisattva or maybe a Buddha or a n incarnate god yet many greater honor him as a instructor and wiseman Catholicism says that one can not be a Catholic Christian and a Buddhist ( or any non Christian faith)on a similar time. check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church There are uncomplicated theological, cosmological, anthropological and different alterations between catholic Christianity and the numerous forms of Buddhism yet there is a lot convergence in morality or maybe practices Arnold Toynbee theory that there develop right into an better gulf between Mayhayana and Hinayana(Theravada) Buddhism than Mayayana and Christianity with the aid of functionality of "saviours " and centrality in ethics of compassion in the two

Answer 4

May I quote from "Thinking in Buddhism: Nagarjuna's Middle Way:
The form of Buddhism that has most captured the attention of the West, especially America, is Japan's Zen. Zen represents a religion that is in many ways a diametrical opposite to America's Protestant Christianity. Its unorthodox means of transmission, complete rejection of ritual, doctrine of the spiritual nature of all beings, and emphasis on direct, personal perception of the Truth have proven fascinating to the American mind. Unfortunately, this is often all that is known of Buddhism. It is not uncommon to encounter the belief that Zen represents the culmination of or even the entirety of Buddhism. This is far from true. In fact, it could be defended that the history of Buddhism has witnessed more internal philosophical diversity than almost any other religion , with the possible exception of Hinduism. Even more egregious, the non-doctrinal nature of Zen has allowed Westerners to conflate Buddhism with a number of other systems of thought, be they "Eco- spirituality" or watery "New-Ageism," declaring them all to be compatible. That Buddhism has dogma and is a widely variegated, autonomous religion not always reconcilable with modern philosophies and movements is often not seen."

Answer 5

I was raised Roman Catholic before becoming Buddhist and I know many Buddhists who are either Christian or Jewish.

Many Buddhists believe in the historical figure of Jesus and there are actually several books on the parallel teachings of Buddha and Jesus.

Try Thich Nhat Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christ.

Lives- Buddhists are not polytheistic. Buddhists do not need to believe in any God or gods. Most are agnostic or atheist.

Answer 6

There are a few places where these two great traditions may connect, but somewhat superficially - despite the high interest of prominent Catholics like Thomas Merton in the ways of the East. The main point of contact, I think, is in the practice of contemplative prayer as a means by which to draw closer to an experiential union with God. So monks of each tradition have a lot to learn from each other in the matters of prayer and 'detachment' from the things of the world and 'attachment' to higher things. That's pretty much where it ends, though, apart from, perhaps, a mutual interest in peacemaking and in respecting life. The gulf between them is much more obvious - God is infinite and personal in Christian belief and separate from the created order; Buddhism is 'monistic' and asserts that 'all is one' when one gets down to it. The goal in Buddhism is to come to an enlightened realization that there really is no such thing as the human individual but 'atman is brahman' and everyone is a non-personal drop in the great ocean of being. Christianity, in contrast, affirms the worth and dignity of individual human personality which will survive death. In Buddhism, the main problem is dealing with suffering by eliminating desire. In Christianity, the main problem is our fallenness which causes suffering and separation from God, but God became a man in Jesus Christ, entered our world in space and time to take our failures upon himself and remove the curse of our sinful fallenness from those who unite to Him. I suppose this is really the main thing - the claim that Jesus is God-in-the-flesh who has rescued us from our fallen condition by his substitutionary death and physical rising from the dead. He is the full and final expression of God in the world, and all things were created by him and for him. The Buddha may have taught with insight and promoted compassion, but is not God and does not solve the real spiritual problem of humankind.

Answer 7

I see no connection between Buddhism and Christianity.

There is no way a person a can be both.

If you believe its possible for a person to be Catholic and agnostic at the same time, what does that say about the Catholic Church?

Pastor Art

Answer 8

There are many Catholics who do see the similiarity, and there are a number of Catholic priests who have studied Buddhism and written books on the subject. One of these authors is the Jesuit priest and Zen master, Fr. Robert E. Kennedy.

Answer 9

Of course they are similar. Basic truths are the same no matter what philosophy you live by.

Buddhist don't care if you are a Buddhist, yet also claim to be Catholic. However Catholics will not stand for you claiming to also be a Buddhist.

Answer 10

You have a idea of religion but you do not know God. A Christian does not practice buddhism nor any other worship of gods.