Upcoming Catholic Responses to Buddhism
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Upcoming Catholic Responses to Buddhism
Michael announces that he will engage Buddhism in upcoming shows, if there is enough audience interest.
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Disclaimer: Any view expressed by a host, contributor or guest is not necessarily reflective of the views of other hosts, contributors or guests.
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Great ! I look forward to this as a Buddhist / Taoist convert to the True Church Jesus founded.
You should share your story some time!
@@jacksoncastelino04 Thanks! Appreciate the welcome!😀
@@bethanyann1060 😉
@@foodforthought8308 Please ask.😀
This is so badly needed!!! Thank you Michael!!! It seems a lot of catholic apologetics mostly deal with protestants or atheist and sometimes Islam...I always felt dealing with eastern religions was lacking
This is timely. I am doing a live next week on Catholics engaging Eastern philosophies. Buddhism is admittedly my weak spot, I'm better versed in Confucianism, Vedanta, and the Sophiology of Bulgakov. I'd love to talk about this subject with you.
I think this would be fascinating. I would love to see content engaging with Buddhism, and Hinduism too. I also think that interviews and dialogues with Buddhists and Hindus would also be very fruitful.
Excited for this, I also look forward to the Hinduism critique from a Catholic perspective
The influence of Buddhism (and Buddhist practices and ideas appropriated into "secular" or therapeutic contexts) continues to grow, so this discussion is very important.
I'm looking forward to this engagement. In the future Taoism, whether looked at as a philosophy or a religion, would be an interesting area to fill the need for engage more from a Catholic perspective as well.
I definitely think that Buddhism needs to be discussed in more detail. I think a lot of Buddhist ideas have crept into society and as Michael mentioned, some have likened it to an atheistic religion. What are some of the falsehoods that Buddhism asserts? How do the metaphysics match up?
I’m definitely interested in your thoughts on Buddhism, so, yes, more videos would be welcomed. Thank you!
Wow, former buddhist here growing in a SE Asia country. Buddhism is indeed a vast religion, even though the Theravada in my region claims to be the original version of Buddhism, there are lots of mixed between Hinduism, Animism, and Buddhism in the country. Laypeople or even monks don’t really study scripture, they just follow a respectful monk in practice of meditation and guidance in spiritual life. I believe it’s really hard for westerners to grasp and tackle our beliefs since it is really vague and subjective. But I’m really keen to see your study and the responses you will offer!
You could look up Father Joseph Maria Verlinde, who followed a guru to India, practiced transcendental meditation and later occultism, have achieved these enlightened states of mind and talks about how it's really about destroying your sense of self and how it's impossible to love and have a relationship with people or with Christ, since your perception of self is mixed with the whole creation. You'll often hear these indian gurus claim that they're "nothing" or that there is no division between him, other people, trees, animals, that all is one. We as Christians are not meant to mix with creation but to rule over it and subdue it. God's action in the bible often were about distinguishing things, making boundaries - light and dark, day and night, man and woman, clean and unclean, Jews and gentiles. These other religions and anti christian ideas often try to achieve a false Transcendence through mixture - transgenderism, one world government, eastern ideas about how good and evil are somehow equal and opposite forces and necessary or "union with creation" though "enlightenement", destroying the boundaries of the self.
@Reason and Theology: Michael, on the topic of Buddhism, if you haven't yet reached out to Dr. David Anders of the show Called to Communion on EWTN, I think you should. On the rare occasions when the topic comes up on his radio show, he seems to have at least a mid-depth understanding of the Theravada variety, and sounds like he's done enough study to either provide input himself, or direct you to other scholarly sources who could.
Yes I need this because recently my uncle who was raised Catholic died after marrying his wife and becoming Buddhist… I feel the need to talk with his children and wife about the faith.
@Tony Silva. All the best ! Pray before you speak to them. May the Holy Spirit speak through you and move their hearts.🙏
Dr Paul Williams might be a good guest. Former Buddhist in practice and an academic now Catholic.
Excellent suggestion. He has a short book called "Buddhism: a Catholic Perspective," which is very clear.
Michael. I am thrilled to hear your are going to consider offering a Catholic response to Buddhism. To be honest, when I first considered Buddhist teachings such as “No Self” “Impermanence” “Enlightenment” “Nirvana” ext, it completely flipped by western scholastic mindset on its head. To the point that I felt more at home with Western Atheism than Buddhist thought. Anyway, please do make this content. There is a serious void in the Catholic Apologetic Space on this topic.
This appears to be a largely ignored topic here in the West, but this is very relevant for our brothers and sisters on the Asian continent.
I think this is a very interesting topic! I don't really hear much about Buddhism or how it differs from Christianity. Hope you had a pleasant time in Chicago and be safe coming back to Funroe!
I think it is a New Age ploy to say that Jesus « learned » from Buddhism.
It's been debunked by scholars long ago, but like most things, the debunking has not yet reached the non-academic world.
Absolutely. When you study Buddhism and you study Christianity and Judaism like I have, you see Jesus really wasn’t at all Buddhist. Most people who make this claim have never even read the NT, nor do they have working knowledge of the Jewish sages. A lot of Jesus’ teachings are straight out of the main schools of thought of the time.
@@ntmn8444 ys you are right. Those who came up with this obvious lie are atheists and New Age. The New Age movement have used Christian elements in order to lure the Western world. Christianity (New Testament) is the fulfilment of the Old Testament and has absolutely nothing to do with New AGE Buddhism/Hinduism.
Spooky lighting with the weather modification device Arch of Ba'al in the background .... ancient aliens researchers are on the case.
Tempted to ask William Tapley to review this video lol
The Unexpected Way by Paul Williams (Buddhist convert to the Church).
I read that one, it's very good! Michael should definitely use some of his arguments / inputs. Looking forward to the final result!
In a recent interview Archbishop Gänswein mentioned the very different theological problems the Church faces by continent: the evident ones in the West, liberation theology in Latin America, and in Asia the interaction between religions - I was not aware of the last one, and it sure needs to be tackled.
I’m excited for these videos. Especially on Hinduism, because I have a lot of Hindu friends. And since Hindus don’t really talk about their beliefs or “evangelize”, it’s hard to know what to say to them.
I'd be interested in hearing more about this topic. There's a lot I don't know about Buddhism, but a short stint that I had spent going to sitting meditations at a local sangha and reading a few books actually led me into reading Catholic mystics and spiritual practices and finally into the Catholic Church herself.
I am friends with a Protestant philosopher who wrote a book on new age (and eastern religious) claims about Jesus. He’s a wealth of information about this subject and wrote multiple books on it. His name is Douglas Groothuis. Let me know if you want to have him the show. I’m sure he would love to come on.
I attended RCIA with a former Buddhist priest. He was a cool cat.
I'd love to see it, with all due respect, they seem so alien to me and I know I can trust you to be fair in your presentations
Yes responses to Buddhism would be very appreciated, its becoming more common that people say things like "well Buddhism is also love, connection to the universe etc" (obviously strawman from me here but I think my point stands)
Totally looking forward to this! I love the idea of Christianity and eastern ideologies and where they intersect and disagree!
Hey Michael. I'm excited to see what you come up with in this endeavor.
I would like to point out that there is no orthodox Buddhist belief set, given how vast the religion is. Therefore, in order for you to avoid setting up strawmen, I believe that dialogue with an actual Buddhist monk would be ideal. I would be an avid listener of such discussions
When the Dala Lama says you can throw out what the Buddha says that doesn't accord with future experience, he's paraphrasing the Kalama Sutta. However, this doesn't mean you can pick and choose the parts of the Buddhist traditions you want to follow based on your personal judgement, because that would be a bad idea.
I would also caution Christians against reading Buddhists texts and coming to your own conclusions about what they mean outside of traditions, because you are doing so using your own judgement (established from a completely different worldview), and can lead to the same kinds of errors that Catholics frequently point out Protestants are making when reading the Bible and Catholic texts using their own judgement.
This would be great. Christ conquers everything so we need to be prepared to answer objections from opposing worldviews. Apologetics concerning eastern views is really important because I think the West is starting more and more be infilitrated by eastern ideas (chakras, karma etc.)
Hey Michael, this is a brilliant idea. Why not invite the Tibetan Buddhist scholar B Alan Wallace on the show? He is v knowledgeable. A lot of Western Buddhists can be quite superficial. He would be open to serious, reasoned dialogue.
Can you put us in touch?
Honestly, this might be one of the most important series for Catholics with the uptick of Eastern spiritualities in the West, many of which are outright witchcraft or gnosticism.
Would definitely love to hear engagements with Hinduism and Buddhism. I probably know more Hindu's than Buddhists though; the Buddhists i know were converts from Christianity who had bad experiences with more puritanical Protestant denominations.
This will be good for me. My family is Catholic, but since we're from SE Asian culture, there's a lot of cultural experiences that we have with Buddhism.
Thank you Michael! My brother is a follower of Paramahashna? Yogananda and hit me with the Holy Catholic Church being founded by constantine and the lost years of Jesus being spent in a Buddhist monastery
Be cautious in that eastern rationality is not the same as western rationality. So many western mindset defenses of Buddhism are undermined by eastern philosophy. To properly deal with Buddhism, Hinduism and Shintoism, you must translate the philosophical basis from east to west.
I agree very much with this.
As I said in the chat, I've written a book on the problems with Centering Prayer (which heavily borrows from Buddhism) and done lots of research on mindfulness (which also can be dangerous for one's spiritual life). I'm interested in a video on the subject, provided you have done your research. Unfortunately, even many devout Catholics (and one apologist you've had on the show) fail to see the problems.
Would love to hear more about your research. Maybe Michael could have you on the show? Have you read "The Mindful Catholic" by Greg Bottaro?
Thank you Connie for your response. Years ago I had a Catholic teacher who talked about Centering Prayer in class and I had no clue what it even was, tbh.
Years later I found out Centering Prayer is incompatible w/ our Catholic faith. I will have to check out your book. Any other websites or places you’d recommend which discuss these problems? Thanks!
@@exerciserelax8719 yes, I've read it and his book for kids. Basically, he takes an essentially Buddhist practice, adds some prayers to it and changes some terms, and calls it Catholic. A practice that is meant to lead to the loss of a sense of self (and in fact often does, even for those who practice it for non-religious reasons) cannot also be used to draw a person closer to a personal God or be a help in practicing the presence of God, as Bottaro maintains.
I'd love to be on the show, but I now have serious chronic health conditions that make me almost bed-ridden some days. I have to save what little brain power I have to homeschool my kids.
@@ConnieRossini I'm curious what you mean by "loss of a sense of self". Buddhists do teach that a "stable" self does not exist. That is, who you are today is different than you were as a child, who you were yesterday and who you will be tomorrow. Our "self-identity" is a "narrative" we tell ourselves about who we think we are that constantly changes in response to experience (self in this context could be similar to the Christian sin nature, which creates a "delusional" self in response to worldly narratives concocted by Satan) "No-self" is a practice of separating experience from the narrative, so we can see the experience as it is without the story. It's a way of getting out of our own way. That's where the Zen legend of the being an empty cup comes from, because if your cup is full, you can't add more tea (or in a Christian context, to have the faith of a child).
But it is a very bad idea to mix Buddhism and Catholicism, which are entirely different worldviews. And "No-self" taken in isolation (as many secular "mindfulness" teachers do) is very dangerous, when it is not grounded in the other spiritual practices of Buddhism. At worst, it can lead to a dissociative state where you don't believe anything is real any more, or at "best", no-self can turn a psychopath into a more efficient psychopath (no-self taken to mean no consequences).
"...done lots of research on mindfulness (which also can be dangerous for one's spiritual life)" Kinda curious about this, given that I thought the term 'mindfulness' has a general usage to the layperson, a separate but still broad usage for psychologists, and then a more specific usage in the context of a certain approach to therapy.
What's your take on Thomas Merton's books? It seems there was a fusion of eastern philosophy
I’d love to see you have a round table with: Alex Frank, Fr. Ezra Sullivan, and Paul Williams (author of “The Unexpected Way”).
And Peter Kreeft too!
And Adam Blai.
I would recommend a book written by Paul F. Knitter titled “Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian.” He is an advocate of intereligious dialogue.
Sith Michael on the screen 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm excited. I've been intrigued with Buddhism for a long time. It's got a lot of good stuff but it's incomplete for sure. One friend of mine pointed out it seems like, philosophically, they only have an understanding of the infinite in a negative sense and not in terms of infinite perfection.
Yes make an entire series on Buddhism vs christianity. I myself am already studying Buddhism as a hobby so this will be helpful.
Monroe luisanna aye? I’m from Monroe wisconsin.
I’m looking forward to this topic.
My brother in law is a Buddhist and I’ve been trying to get him to come to the church.
Great idea, Michael. Looking forward to this.
Yes! Very interested in this topic
@Duke Banerjee RUclips wouldn't allow me to comment again in that thread, so I'll try to answer you here. As I understand it, in Buddhism there is no true "I," just passing thoughts and sensations. This is opposed to Christianity. It's true that sin deludes me into thinking things about myself that are false, or feeling that I'm in control of my life. Still, I am the same person who was conceived in my mother's womb and who will, God willing, one day see God in Heaven. I (and every human) have the opportunity for a unique relationship with the Triune God, because I am unrepeatable, different from everyone else. As St. Ignatius taught, our thoughts and feelings can help us to discern God's work in our lives. "I am not my thoughts," as mindfulness practitioners like to say, but rational thought is one of the most important elements of being human.
This will be a great topic! Please forge ahead with it!
I would recommend checking out the second most influential Buddhist in the west Thich Nhat Han. He did a lot to try to bridge the gap between Buddhists and Christians. He even wrote a book called living Buddha, Living Christ. I would love to see more shows on Baha'ism which no one does.
I read one of his books. I really came to a good understanding of Buddhism through his book. It’s actually not really a religion. But there are sects within Buddhism which do ascribe to idolatry-no other word can be used to describe it. It’s not just Buddha. They have little gods and goddesses they worship in some of these sects.
Yes finnaly! I wanted to do apolgotics towards hinduism but i was surprised by tbe lack of it.
Both Buddhism and Hinduism are very interesting considering how different they are
I think Buddhism is surprisingly close to the truth for a religion that started 500 years before Jesus.
For being something created by a man searching for truth, it is in some ways amazing. On the other hand, the Buddhist ideas about the material world, the lack of an ultimate creator, and the unreality of the self lead in a completely different direction than our belief in a personal Creator God.
It’s close but Catholicism is closer. There are aspects of Buddhism as I studied it that resonated with me. But other aspects did not.
I'm only finding this vid 6 months later but, please consider the audience interested!!
There is not nearly enough engagement of Catholicism with Buddhism at the *theological* level. Almost everything I can find is at a really basic apologetics level, quick compare-and-contrast bullet point stuff. Catholicism, whether coming from a Thomistic approach or not, is very well equipped to tackle the metaphysical / philosophical / soteriological worldview of Buddhism (and Hinduism), taking it seriously and being able to do a deeper dive as to those points of intersection & departure, as he said.
I'm also interested not just in what Buddha said (i.e. sticking to Pali canon) but Buddhism as it's practiced and lived today. It's genuinely _odd_ how many similarities & parallels there are in practices and sects between Buddhism and Christianity, considering that, as Dr. Kreeft observed, it's about as far away as you can get from Christianity in terms of belief systems. The parallels between Japanese Shin Buddhism and Protestantism's sola fide; Vajrayana tantra meditations and Ignatian scripture meditation's heavy use of the imagination. The Mahayana development of their understanding of what a Buddha is, as a kind of "incarnation" of Enlightenment itself in a body, has obvious parallels with the Christian notion of the Incarnation, and that often gets overlooked with a secular view of Buddhism as more of a practice than a religion. It'd be interesting to explore *why* a religion with such strongly contrasting doctrines keeps developing in similar ways as Christianity throughout the centuries.
I believe there are two major branches of Buddhism, the Mahayana (mostly in Eastern Asia such as China, Korea, and Japan) and the Theravada (in Sri Lanka and some parts of S.E. Asia). Mahayana Buddhism believes in Bodhisattvas (kinds of "saints" if you don't mind) that help other beings achieve Nirvana or the Buddhist heaven, while the Theravada Buddhism doesn't and it requires its adherents to attain their own ways to "enlightenment" guided by the Buddha's teachings (Sutras). Buddhism focuses on the concepts of Dharma and also Karma in assessing a spiritual state.
Looking forward to a series on hinduism and bhuddism in comparison to Christianity!
Please do, highly needed
This begs a Thomas Merton video. It seems we share quite a bit in spirituality but differ vastly in theology. The question remains which Buddhism to respond to Tibetan or other actual sects or whatever it is your liberal friend with a Buddha statue is 😏
As an Eastern Catholic, I have had many Christians say my form of Christianity is infected by Buddhist spirituality. I would be learning more
Christianity Looks East Dr. Peter Feldmeier
I myself intend to do a video on the topic eventually; the source I've considered as an introduction is Melton & Baumann's _Religions of the World - A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices_ if that may be of use. It is a bit dated, from the early 00's - but hey, Buddhism has been around for some 25 centuries, so...
@Michael Lofton. You might like to do a video / research between the dispute between the Jesuits and Dominicans during the Qing dynasty in China. If the Jesuits had prevail, many parts of China would have been Christianized from AD 1600. The struggle then was akin to how the rad trads (Dominicans then) vs V2 (Jesuits then) is playing out now. The Dominicans won and that explained why Christianity was unable to spread far and deep in China despite the Nestorians first arrived in China in AD 1300.
Could you recommend that literature?
@@lonedesertfox
The following is extracted from Wikipedia
The Chinese Rites controversy (simplified Chinese: 中国礼仪之争; traditional Chinese: 中國禮儀之爭; pinyin: Zhōngguó Lǐyí Zhī Zhēng) was a dispute among Roman Catholic missionaries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the 17th and 18th centuries. The debate discussed whether Chinese ritual practices of honoring family ancestors and other formal Confucian and Chinese imperial rites qualified as religious rites and were thus incompatible with Catholic belief. The Jesuits argued that these Chinese rites were secular rituals that were compatible with Christianity, within certain limits, and should thus be tolerated. The Dominicans and Franciscans, however, disagreed and reported the issue to Rome.
Rome's Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith sided with the Dominicans in 1645 by condemning the Chinese rites based on their brief. However, the same congregation sided with the Jesuits in 1656, thereby lifting the ban. It was one of the many disputes between the Jesuits and the Dominicans in China and elsewhere in Asia, including Japan and India.The conflict between the Jesuits and their opponents took on a historical dimension, with the former insisting that Europeans and the Chinese had a shared history, which was taken to legitimise the Jesuit "accommodation" of Chinese rites and names for the Christian God.
The controversy embroiled leading European universities; the Qing dynasty's Kangxi Emperor and several popes (including Clement XI and Clement XIV) considered the case; the offices of the Holy See also intervened. Near the end of the 17th century, many Dominicans and Franciscans had shifted their positions in agreeing with the Jesuits' opinion, but Rome disagreed. Clement XI banned the rites in 1704. In 1742, Benedict XIV reaffirmed the ban and forbade debate.
In 1939, after two centuries, the Holy See re-assessed the issue. Pius XII issued a decree on 8 December 1939, authorizing Chinese Catholics to observe the ancestral rites and participate in Confucius-honoring ceremonies.The general principle of sometimes admitting native traditions even into the liturgy of the church, provided that such traditions harmonize with the true and authentic spirit of the liturgy, was proclaimed by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).
Michael is at it again with the life-size cardboard backdrop of the city he is supposedly in (second time this year!)
Thanks Michael for all of the great content. I would really enjoy a deep delve into this topic. Although it is false, I believe that Buddhism is one of the few interesting and rational alternatives to Christianity. Digging deeper into this from a Catholic perspective would be fruitful.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Yeah i think it would be interesting, and a good change from the normal topics
It would be interesting to hear about the tension between Personalism inherent in Christianity, manifest most abundantly through the Trinity, and the Absolution of Buddhism, at least the limited degree to which I understand the Buddhist position. I think this would be a great way to eventually introduce Hinduism, which seems more necessarily personalized than Buddhism and Islam, thus the tension between these three (and the many others) in South - Central Asia and its dispersions.
Main difference is that Buddhism follower believes in salvation through self meditation ALONE.
ONLY YOU CAN REACH ENLIGHTENMENT, all By YOURSELF. Just like Protestants believe in You can be saved ONLY By God Grace ALONE.
Buddhism it's a form of Taoism,and meditation is the only way needed for believers to reach enlightenment or the so called "nirvana,"the state of being in HEAVEN.
It's not a religion in a sense,they're no worships to the single God (Although" God" is mentioned here and there in Buddhism books ) but just following Buddhas or multiple Gods (male or female Buddhas) teachings,
Then with good works, you will find enlightenment (it's a form of salvation - grace will find and follow you)
Christianity believes that only through Jesus ,he is the only PATH to to heaven no one else can save you.
@@knguyen6061 Buddhism isn't a form of Taoism, which comes from China and Buddhism comes from India. However, Vietnam received Buddhism from China, and Chinese Buddhists kind of "mixed" Indian ideas with native Chinese ideas, so I can see why someone from Vietnam might think that. Buddhists don't believe you can reach enlightenment ALONE, which goes against taking refuge in the Triple Gem (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha) and the idea that enlightenment ALONE in the first place is the wrong view. Meditation is a personal practice, like prayer, but it is only on aspect of the Buddhist spiritual life. We are all connected, and our enlightenment is everyone's enlightenment. A concept the Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh called "interbeing". Buddhists don't believe in original sin or inherent evil, so Buddhism doesn't really have an equivalent concept to Christian "salvation".
Hinduism isn't really more "personalized" than Buddhism, depending on how you look at it. The idea of a "personal" soul distinct from God is a school of theology called "dvaita vedanta" (dual or "personal"). Hinduism also has two other schools, "advaita vedanta" and "vishista advaita vedanta" (non-dual or "impersonal"), which teach that there is no "personal" soul independent of God (sometimes simplified to creation and creator are the same thing). These theologies of Hinduism look a lot more like Buddhism. The personal theology of Hinduism is more popular, but the impersonal theology of Hinduism is still very present in India (and interestingly, more popular among Westerners).
@@dukebanerjee4710
By reaching enlightenment , I meant you and you ALONE,through meditations,. Practice Buddha's teachings/methods of meditation, one can achieve the state of "Nivarna" and to escape the reincarnation to lower forms of life back on earth.
Buddha just gives guidance, showed the way of practice meditation so in a way to me, ,it's a form of practice Chinese Taoism
.Buddha basically said I have taught you the way to heaven now,go find it and liberate yourself and eventually one will become Buddha too ,the highest level !
The concept of direct "salvation thru God" ,by God, a Supreme being is very foreign to the Buddhists
@@knguyen6061 What do you mean by "you" and "ALONE"? At the very basic level, it is impossible for you to even meditate ALONE, because you had learn meditation practices from somebody. It very difficult to practice mediation ALONE, because the practice is difficult and the sangha exists to teach you and help you improve your practice. Thus, you are never ALONE. This is the point of "dependent origination". There is no independent "you" (entirely apart from o thers) that can do anything "ALONE" (independent of anything else). Everything is connected.
The Buddha of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince who became a monk. He developed the Dharma in India. Buddhist monks much later introduced Buddhism to China, where got mixed up with Taoism, resulting in Chan Buddhism (which became Zen in Japan). Chan is the Chinese pronunciation of the Indian Sanskrit word Dhyana, which is translated in English as "meditation".
Salvation (in the Christian sense) is foreign to Buddhists, because what are you being saved from? Enlightenment with the help of divine beings (boddhisattvas) is not foreign to Mahayana Buddhism (Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese Buddhism). Guan Yin (Quan Am in Vietnam) is a deity that Chan Buddhists pray to for enlightenment.
Just be careful about generalizations on Hinduism,
I think it's important to keep in mind that it's a title given to the whole area by persians and that there are different philosophies that encompass they're gods. when you get into it there are some vast differances between them like for example dualism/non-dual
or if what we see is a illusion
- great content though, Keep it up! :)
Hey Michael, what did you end up doing in Chicago?
Lot of angles you can take. Buddhists believe in “dependent arising” regarding the universe (or at least some hold that) and Aristotle believed the universe was eternal. Could be cool to hear those beliefs and then bring in some of Aquinas’ ways to God.
Very interesting
I would like to hear about this topic but not big series of episodes but maybe 1 or 2 episodes on this topic.
Would love to see a series of Catholic Apologetics directed towards various Indian Religions. There is just not enough out there.
I'm very interested
can you explain catholic church teaching on hindu and hindu deities
Thanks! Did you visit any parishes in St. Louis? If so, which ones.
Too much back light. You need some front lighting to balance and so we can see who’s talking.
I'm out of town.
Sorry Michael, i don't know Alan Wallace personally, I've just followed him on youtube etc. Go to his official website. You can contact him there. Also there is the Thervadan monk Ajahn Amaro. He is the Abbot of Amaravati Monastery in the UK (in the Thai Forest Tradition). A serious practitioner. He can at times be somewhat dismissive of Christianity. No doubt due to the fact that many of his disciples are disillusioned or wounded Christians with genuine grievances with the Church - not least RCs. Contact through the Monastery website. Though they are on long winter retreat at the moment so they probably won't reply any time soon. Bring on Pat Flynn for good measure. The Church needs to address the haemorrhage to Buddhism. Thank you.
Yes please and do cover hinduism
I'm not sure the objection to an all powerful "Creator God" (as in the Christian sense) has to do with the problem of evil, but what the necessary nature of such an all powerful "Creator God" would be. The fundamental principle of Buddhism is that the fundamental principle of reality is that everything changes. Buddhism isn't atheistic, after all Buddhists believe in the Hindu gods, such as the creator god Brahma. But, Buddhists treat the "gods" as a higher order of being, not an "uncreated" divinity that exists outside of creation. If "being" is change, then a "being" that is perfect is incapable of change, which the Buddha holds as "wrong view".
Not exactly interested in Buddhism, but it points to the problem, or mystery of evil that we find in this world created by a good God. That is a topic that can be endlessly discussed.
Maybe Dr. Anthony E. Clark could be of help.
The interpretation of karma that everything is "predetermined" I think is a wrong way to look at "dependent origination". Actions are fundamental to Buddhism, because actions generate karma, and that is the basis of the Eightfold Noble Path. "Dependent origination" means that we don't have "free" choices, which means that at any given point, the choices that are available to us are "conditioned" by the causes and conditions that lead to who we are right now. So a person who grows up in a violent household is more likely to see violence as the only choice, because that is what they experienced. The Buddhist practice is to use mindfulness to allow us to see where our choices are coming from and to use actions to within the Buddhist ethical framework to choose actions which reduce suffering, for ourselves and others around us.
Still waiting.
Michael this video setting looks ideal for a William Tapley review.
Edit: actually Im gonna make a troll conspiracy video instead, stay tuned.
Did you stop for Seek🤔
like Buc-ees?
Did you mean Sikh?
Buddhism is not the philosophy I used to think
Only practice can understand people's prejudices, most people don't really understand Buddhism
The lighting is not very good.
I'm out of town