A reader writes:
I am emailing you about a question concerning
Catholicism and Buddhism. I am aware that several Buddhist
beliefs cannot be reconciled with the teachings of the
Catholic Church, Christ’s true Church. And, I am aware that
Buddhism holds somethings as truths in common with the
Church. It appears to me, at least on my college campus, is
that Buddhism (as a class) is very popular mainly because of
the meditations (zazen). What is the Church’s teaching on
incorporating such meditation ways (not what is meditated
on, but the way it is done)with the Faith?It seems to me that there is something "not-right"
about expecting all people to become catholics AND to
forsake their own culture so as to replace it with a heavily
European influenced Catholicism. If there is nothing wrong
about how buddhists or hindu meditate or pray, can that also
be carried over into one’s faith life? It seems that it has
been done so in the past such as the rosary, aristotle,
plato, etc. Of course the process by which this would be
done would be that anything that is contrary to the True
Faith would be tossed out, but those things that are merely
ways of meditation/prayer, could be adapted into the Faith.I hope you are able to answer the question that I am
asking and I hope that I did not ask it in too confusing of
a manner. I do not want for you to doubt my faith in Christ
and the Catholic Church because of my interest in how other
religions practice their faith. I hope to hear back from
you!
You are correct that Buddhism, or what people regard as Buddhism, is popular today, but I don’t think it’s simply the fact that Buddhism has meditation that is what makes it attractive. Christianity also has a tradition of meditation. I think Buddhism in significant measure is a cultural fad. Buddhism seems mystical and exotic to Westerners, who then get caught up in a spiritual analog to the saying "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."
That being said, the Church does recognize that there are ways in which the practices of other cultures can be harmonized with the Christian faith. The process of doing this is known as "inculturation." As you indicate, elements of other cultures that are in conflict with the Christian faith have to be weeded out, but parts that are not in conflict can be retained.
This is similar to the Christian assimilation of elements of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy. (I’m not sure why you put the Rosary in that list, though.)
Meditation tends to be a religious practice, and it is especially difficult to harmonize anything coming from another religion with the Christian faith since there is a danger of indifferentism or syncretism. Attempted fusions of that nature can even result in people sliding into the other relgion. Thus assimilating elements of the practices of other religions is much more dangerous than assimilating non-religious cultural practices.
In regard to meditation in particular, I suggest that you read the document
INSTRUCTION ON SOME ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION,
which was released in 1989 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI).
I would say that the big difference is that Buddhism doesn’t recognize: (1) a personal God; and (2) sin against a personal God.
According to Buddhism, man’s problem is largely pyschological. This fits in with society’s concern about “human authenticity” and the like.
The thing about Zen meditation is that it is focused on meditating on nothing. Anything that happens to come up in the way of God talking to you, spiritual experiences, etc. is supposed to be mere illusion (or the work of demons, which is illusionary). You’re trying to reach nothingness/Nirvana, after all.
Now, there are a lot of Christian meditation things that focus on clearing your mind, but the whole “meditate on nothing” thing was pretty much restricted to a bunch of 16th-17th century folks called Quietists, who basically believed in not bothering God with things like prayers and petitions and existence in general. The human mind was to stay totally passive and just make God act within it; passiveness was a sign of perfection. Unfortunately, this kinda goes against that whole “free will” and “power to act” thing.
But there were plenty of Western folks with this same idea before the Quietists came along, and they pretty much all went into heresy. So real honest-to-God Zen meditation is kinda a bad plan for a Christian.
OTOH, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with meditative prayer, as long as you treat it as a way to pray and not as magic or a sport or an accomplishment that’s an end in itself.
But if somebody Christian is interested in meditating, there’s no real reason not to start by studying the practices of Christian mystics and reading Christian spiritual classics. Maybe someone should start a Christian meditation study group. Just make sure you pick mystics who are orthodox; and don’t be afraid to sample through them until you find somebody who makes sense to you.
Also, don’t forget that the Rosary is quite possibly Christianity’s best tool for meditative prayer. The Jesus Prayer is also helpful to many.
It is important to differentiate the main strands of Buddhism, which can be strikingly different: Theravada/Hinayana and Mahayana are the two main branches, with Zen and Tibetan sub-branches of the latter. The development of Mahayana Buddhism paralleled the growth of Christianity as a messianic-type religion, and the two religions had a civilizationally-critical encounter (for all Asian civilizations) in what is now Afghanistan and surrounds in late antiquity.
While people talk about Zen a lot, I know more Americans who are interested in the older Theravada tradition, which is less theistic (as it were) compared to the better known Mahayana traditions.
I was reading the Catholic Encyclopedia’s entry on Quietism to make sure I didn’t say anything untrue, and came across this amusing/disturbing nugget of Quietist thought:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12608c.htm
“God permits the demon to use ‘violence’ with certain perfect souls even to the point of making them perform carnal actions either alone or with other persons. When these onsets occur, one must make no effort but let the demon have his way. Scruples and doubts must be set aside. In particular, these things are not to be mentioned in confession, because by not confessing them the soul overcomes the demon, acquires a ‘treasure of peace’, and attains to closer union with God….”
Uh huh. Suuuuuuuure. No problem there.
I think that part of the problem when discussing “meditation” is the vocabulary. While it is quite different from what has come to be accepted as Catholic meditation, that is not to say some forms of Buddhist meditation are not useful in their own right. Perhaps we would be more accepting of it if it was referred to as “Buddhist techniques for mental concentration.”
I think that Simon Tugwell, in his book Ways of Imperfection, referred to the almost-tyrannical influence certain Spanish saints had over the history of discussion of prayer.
I studied Buddhism, Zen and Tao in depth before I became a Christian and I agree that they are not fully compatable. However there are useful aspects worth exploring from a Christian perspective. The aim of Zen and Buddhism meditation is Nirvana. Nirvana is acheived by an emptying of self that is not death as much as it is to goal to achieve an ego-less nature. In short the humility of the Saints and the death of self Christ spoke of is similar to this “empty” “no-self” state of the Zen Budddhist. Buddhists emphasize a radical death to the world rejecting all attachment including love. While Christ tells us we must love God more than family or self, we are explicitly commanded to love as broadly and deeply as possible. The Zen master tells to the student that if you see the Buddha – kill him, meaning be detached even from God or the concept of God “No Dharma”. While for the Buddhists being dead to the world is an end to itself and that that empty state is Nirvana – for the Christian we empty ourselves so that we may be filled with His love and will. Buddhist and Christian alike seek to build an empty house within ourselves but only Christians invite God to live there. So while the meditative and monastic practices that distance ourselves from worldly temptations may have superficial similarity in the two religions, the ends are quite distinct.
Further Buddhists cloud the description of Nirvana by repeatedly stating it is inexpressible. I have always found thost statements to be an cop out and a barrier to the adoption of Buddhhist religion. In other words it is not catholic in the “laid before all” sense.
I think Jimmy is also right to say that in the West Buddhism is a fad rather than a reasoned appreciation of the East. Zen is more radical and difficult than it may first appear to be. What Zen does offer are techniques for careful self examination so that you become aware of how your own attitudes and history color your view of the world.
Buddhism has different types of meditation techniques. Likewise in other religions also, you will find meditation as a tool for overall well being. Christianity has meditation techniques. Hinduism is very rich in meditation and India can teach you many different meditation techniques.
Buddhism has meditation techniques as a core of it. They teach meditation in various ways, which are very effective. These benefits and techniques can be leant without being a Buddhist monk. They are open to everyone.
Sites like http://www.meditationhome.com can help you in finding out more about religions and meditation. It talks about meditation in details.
There is a terrific book called: The Unexpected Way, by Paul Williams. born an Anglican, he became a Buddhist and then became a Roman Catholic. He speaks of the similarities and differences between Buddhism and Catholicism, not in a wishy-washy sort of way. Much of Buddhist meditation while seeking the good, reduces to experiential “good-feelings” just as many Christian’s seek “consolation” from their meditation. St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross warn us against seeking such experiences. The above-mentioned book speaks of the Buddhist and Catholic traditions. hope it helps.