Buddhism predates Christianity. Like Taoism, the Holy Spirit guides souls seeking the truth,
even before Jesus came.
In our own time, how Buddhists were treated by Catholics is a stumbling block for any hope
of them converting.
As an example, back in the 1960s in Vietnam, when we witnessed Buddhist Monks setting themselves on fire,
we were told that they were protesting against Catholicism. Well, it turns out not to be true.
Instead, they were protesting the shooting of nine innocent civilians, who were protesting against
the prohibition of the Buddhist Flag, by then President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam.
From the CCC:
"Outside the Church there is no salvation"
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."
A person's ignorance can be the result of how Catholics treated them which set up a mental block against Catholicism.
Just being told that the Catholic Church is the source of revealed truth, isn't enough.
