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To: John Leland 1789; Natural Law
These go to the church and nobody questions anybody about their loyalty to Christ, or whether they have merely added a form of Christendom to their Buddhism. They still also abide my many of the Buddhist superstitions. You can purchase books on this very subject in the National Bookstore (chain).

1. Buddhism in it's "pure" form (Theravada) is anti-superstition.
2. You talk about "questioning their loyalty" -- do you mean an inquisition? I get what you're saying, but it is a difficult line to walk between making people "Westernised" and "Christianised". Take for example, India. There, the Christians are of two kinds:
a. Type A: the ones in the big cities who have been Christians for centuries + the ones in the North-East (Baptists) who have been converted a couple of generations ago. Both are very Christian, have not kept any Indian customs. But the problem is that they are highly Westernised and Americanized. And that is noticeable, especially to Hindus, so it seems almost that you have to toss aside your old culture to become Westernised (in dress, customs, food etc.)
Type B: the ones who retain their Indian customs

how do you balance the two?
8,346 posted on 02/04/2010 7:27:14 AM PST by Cronos (Philipp2:12, 2Cor5:10, Rom2:6, Matt7:21, Matt22:14, Lu12:42-46,John15:1-10,Rev2:4-5,Rev22:19)
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To: Cronos

“Buddhism in it’s “pure” form (Theravada) is anti-superstition.”

What is the Vatican’s position, then, on “pure”-form Buddhism? Can one be a “pure”-form Buddhist and at the same time a member of the Catholic Churdh?

We have oft contact with Buddhists, and we visited a Buddhist seminary in Suzhou, China over Christmas. We are 20 minutes from Jilin Temple, the largest and most influencial temple in Shanghai and this region of China, and 10 minutes from Qibao Temple, another very large one. It wouldn’t matter much in practical terms whether Buddhists claim not to be superstition in their pure form, because that is certainly not what we meet here. Nor have we seen it in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or the Philippines.

If confronted directly and asked if they were superstitious, they would all probably say, “No.” But you will find them in the parks in the morning trying to get energies and vibes from the trees and rocks. You will find them worshipping their dead ancestors as deities. You will find them going to holy mountains with bags full of either printed “Hell Bank Notes” or just rolls of crape paper to burn to spirits. And on and on. We see the Buddhists priests going over builging plans with architects to make sure the Ying and the Yang is just right in the design.

These are not “pure” Buddhists. Well that does not help us.


8,486 posted on 02/04/2010 2:44:06 PM PST by John Leland 1789 (But then, I'm accused of just being a troll, so . . . .)
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