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5 years ago  ::  Mar 23, 2008 - 8:54AM #11
Annie1654
Annie1654
Posts: 74
[QUOTE=Kate123;369622][COLOR=blue]Please help!?[/COLOR]

Help? You don’t need help. You’re fine.

We are similar souls. I would call myself both a practicing Christian and a practicing Buddhist. My parents raised me Catholic and I love the Catholic church for many reasons. I attend mass regularly.

I also attend various Buddhist mediation practices around my city. I love Buddhism for many of the same reasons I love Christianity. I also think I have benefited greatly by learning to meditate.

There are many Christians who also call themselves Buddhist. In the US, I think this is more the norm than the acceptation among Buddhist communities. I meet a woman who belongs to a Christian community who’s teacher basically sent her to visit the Buddhists because he felt she needed both Christ and Buddha. I met a man who introduced himself to me as a Catholic Buddhist. There are many folk who like both Christ and Buddha.

And you don’t have to feel bad about this because it is completely possible to learn about Buddha without disrespecting Christ. It is completely possible to learn about Christ without disrespecting Buddha. Branching out is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, learning more about a new religion may help you appreciate the religion of your upbringing in new ways.

One time when I was leaving a Buddhist gathering after a Dharma talk, a young man came to me and asked me how I was able to reconcile the Buddhist reincarnation idea with the idea of heaven. I feel that different religions are like different languages for a spiritual world. We have developed different ways to discuss the same ideas and we are getting caught up in translations. Both of these notions of life-after-death are truly only theories that we choose to believe based on faith alone. Do you really think you’re going to tick off God, Jesus, or Buddha by picking one over the other?

We have to look beyond the ideas, beyond the language, beyond the religious conceptions, to find the aspects that are eternal. And really. . . the teachings of Christ and the teaching of Buddha are complementary in many ways. . . the differences are insignificant.

Don’t feel bad about trying to make your spiritual community grow. You may get two families and not just one. Not necessarily a bad thing.

And since everyone else is suggesting books. . . Living Christ, Living Buddha by Thich Nhat Hahn. Simple book, quick enjoyable read.

I will say this. . . not everyone has figured out that two different religions can be held in the head at the same time without making one insane. There will be people who think you are doing wrong. But this is because they do not understand your needs and experiences.[/QUOTE]I think I'll check out that book by Nhat Hahn as soon as I can.  I'm a Christian but also believe in meditation.  I've been studying up Buddism.  I should look into more closely.
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5 years ago  ::  Apr 27, 2008 - 1:19PM #12
lovethelight
lovethelight
Posts: 3
Very nicely put....and that actually helps me to understand my new found faith. I have put off spirituality for a long time because my beliefs do not fit neatly into any religious package. I am now gaining the confidence to explore what I really believe to be my relationship to God.
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