Can some one explain to me the problem of being a Christian Buddhist ???

[Lily76_]

i have started to look into Buddhism as a philosophical way to help myself with my OCD mindfulness and meditation looking more at the mindfulness meditation my mental health has been good since starting this but i want to look even more deeper into Buddhism as a Christian Buddhist i have read that you can follow Buddhism and still follow your christian faith my mental health has gotten to the point where my husband has to lock the door and keep keys on himself to meds most of the time i am a danger to myself and others but the last week or so looking at this has helped me so much i am more positive and happy doing this i am still christian i still believe in Jesus , God and the Holy Spirit i still want to celebrate Christmas and Easter yet i feel a pull towards Buddhism i talk to one of my pastor who told me just to follow the meditation and the mindfulness i asked him if it ok for me to go and join a Buddhist meditation class and he said no i feel disappointed and upset that i cant follow this but what the problem with this i am still Christian Am still going to church every week am a member of the church voting member maybe i dont see why he said this can someone please explain not allowed to do this i am unable to talk to my pastor again until Tuesday he know i have mental health problems but he dont know how things are going since the last time i saw him i wanted to show him that Buddhism is a philosophical but i was unable to explain to him i know that most of you will say that Buddhism is new age and of the devil but really ??? saying things like that makes your go 1000 years backward where women who helped people with medicine where burt at the stake for being witches where black people where slaves are,nt we going too backwards with things like that its 2017
not that dark ages you know i feel some want angry and upset I AM A CHRISTIAN BUDDHIST weather people like it or not
CAN SOMEONE EXPLANE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS ???

 

[drjean]

First, to be a Buddhist means you reject the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ for the atonement of our sin. This is in direct conflict to Buddhism. That means you CANNOT be a true believer in Christ if you accept Buddhism.

Second, basically, Buddhism has no GOD.

Concepts within Buddhism i.e. mindfulness meditation inner introspection etc are all GOD's concepts, with true Spiritual basis. If that is what appeals to you, then a good Bible study on these things, i.e. "the mind of Christ" is what you need, after accepting Christ's payment for your sin.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

There is a difference between Mindfulness and Meditation - and Buddhism.

Buddhism, depending on the School, teaches that one should seek non-attachment. This entails not just staying away from the bad, but not getting close or caught up with anything. You loving your neighbour or your child, is as much seen as evil as anything else - as in the long run this will bring suffering when the beloved dies or decays.
Mahayana goes further in that the world is conceived as Void or Sunya - basically nothing really exists, including the Self, but is merely our illusory beliefs. Its stated goal is Enlightenment, which entails the extinction of the Self. This is not in the Christian manner of becoming More yourself, but as in complete disapearance.
In this way, it also denies Sin, as Bodhisattva are as much 'compassionate' toward the good and the bad, as all are caught within this illusion. It says there is just one ultimate Monistic One True Buddha Nature, which is an unchanging nothingness.
In fact, the gods or God is depicted as a being that itself should be freed from the misery of existence by the eightfold path of the Buddha. In essence, it is sort of a Suicide Cult, merely by metaphysical means.

It is thoroughly unChristian, entailing vain Autosoteriology, denies sin, and even denies our very existence, while worshipping our own ability to 'liberate' ourselves.
In forms like Pure Land, it borrows a similar concept to Christian Grace from their Amitabha, but its ultimate reality is not a Person, but a vast emptiness - a non-duality, where good and evil, up and down, what have you, all cease to have meaning.

 

[FireDragon76]

You might check out a book by Daniel Siegel called Mindsight. It is a non-religious presentation of the mental health benefits of mindfulness.

Buddhism is, strictly speaking, a religion involving seeking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and other religious rituals and doctrines. It is not just "mental health" or mindfulness.

Something else that might be helpful is biofeedback. You can actually get computer-based biofeedback training hardware that works over USB. This has alot of the benefits of meditation as well.

Having said that, I see nothing wrong with studying Buddhism as a religion. Being educated about the world and other religions is not wrong, and there is nothing wrong with learning truths from other religions, since there is alot of wisdom in many places. Just be careful about what you are believing in.

 

[FireDragon76]

QeV, I think its more proper to describe Buddhism as apophatic transcedentalism than some kind of "metaphysical suicide cult". In this way there are actually similarities to certain forms of Christian mysticism.

Buddhists, in non-attachment, are aiming for the sort of winsomeness that Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. If this is life-denying, then so is Jesus.

 

[mark kennedy]

There is nothing wrong with being a Buddhist as long as you still maintain the convictions of Christian belief. As far as I can tell Buddhists don't have an opinion regarding Jesus Christ. It's neutral regarding the faith but be careful about reincarnation, there are mystical elements in eastern mysticism that might create conflicts with the resurrection and final judgment.

 

[Aimz]

Hello Lily,

In short I would say because God tells us He is sufficient for all of our needs so what other source is needed? Every other philosophy, religion and ideaology is human made therefore insufficient and flawed. The One True Living God is perfect so why look elsewhere for temporary wisdom and comfort? Why look to fallen humanity for salvation? When the perfect God has provided the perfect means in His perfect Son? God is a jealous God and when we look elsewhere for what He freely provides we show disobedience, disrespect and unfaithfulness towards His generous and faithful self.
As tempting as it is to go elsewhere in reality it only leads to denial, rejection and death.

Please pray and consider carefully while God’s mercy is still with you.
Take care and all the best,
Aims.

i have started to look into Buddhism as a philosophical way to help myself with my OCD mindfulness and meditation looking more at the mindfulness meditation my mental health has been good since starting this but i want to look even more deeper into Buddhism as a Christian Buddhist i have read that you can follow Buddhism and still follow your christian faith my mental health has gotten to the point where my husband has to lock the door and keep keys on himself to meds most of the time i am a danger to myself and others but the last week or so looking at this has helped me so much i am more positive and happy doing this i am still christian i still believe in Jesus , God and the Holy Spirit i still want to celebrate Christmas and Easter yet i feel a pull towards Buddhism i talk to one of my pastor who told me just to follow the meditation and the mindfulness i asked him if it ok for me to go and join a Buddhist meditation class and he said no i feel disappointed and upset that i cant follow this but what the problem with this i am still Christian Am still going to church every week am a member of the church voting member maybe i dont see why he said this can someone please explain not allowed to do this i am unable to talk to my pastor again until Tuesday he know i have mental health problems but he dont know how things are going since the last time i saw him i wanted to show him that Buddhism is a philosophical but i was unable to explain to him i know that most of you will say that Buddhism is new age and of the devil but really ??? saying things like that makes your go 1000 years backward where women who helped people with medicine where burt at the stake for being witches where black people where slaves are,nt we going too backwards with things like that its 2017
not that dark ages you know i feel some want angry and upset I AM A CHRISTIAN BUDDHIST weather people like it or not
CAN SOMEONE EXPLANE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS ???

 

[Lily76_]

thank you for explaning this to me i now understand why i cant be a christian Buddhist i wasnt aware of this and am sorry for trying to seek an other faith i have been trying to seek help for my mental health some how i thought iot would help me a lot hoping that something in my life would be stable my head is a mess right now i feel so sad Please Jesus I am sorry for what i have done
please forgive me

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

QeV, I think its more proper to describe Buddhism as apophatic transcedentalism than some kind of "metaphysical suicide cult". In this way there are actually similarities to certain forms of Christian mysticism.

Buddhists, in non-attachment, are aiming for the sort of winsomeness that Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. If this is life-denying, then so is Jesus.

I did say "sort of", not exactly that. There are superficial similarities to Christian Mysticism, but gross differences as well. This is why Christians like Thomas Merton could gain from its practices as well, but on a metaphysical level, it is completely beyond the pale.

Mahayana teaches that ultimately Mind only exists as an ordering of Sense-data, which can only exist as long as Khandas accrue and pass away from experience. Thus, when all achieve enlightenment, the stated goal of Bodhisattva, then all mind ceases and all sense of self or existence. Only pristine Oneness would exist.
This is thoroughly different from Christianity. Jesus said to love your neighbour, but Buddhism teaches that you are neither to love nor hate, to simply be non-attached. Even their much vaunted compassion, is fundamentally different from how we would conceive the term. This is why Samurai can pillage and kill, while being compassionate Zen Buddhists, as they are serenely non-attached to the egregious acts of their bodies.
Christianity is non-attachment to the things of the world, but attachment to God and the Good. To empty so that God can fill. Buddhism merely empties.

 

[Aimz]

Hi Lily,

It is a lesson I am learning too, to trust Him fully and not to rely on my own or other peoples ideas and instincts. It is difficult like going through childhood again deferring to a parent and trusting them without a doubt navigating the Spiritual awkward toddler and teenage years. It is a relationship, one that in this life we have to accept we will never be the dominating adult of. Many in the world find this idea disgusting because they are proud and independent they cannot fathom why anyone would choose to be inferior but the joke is on them and many will find out too late.
Pray and surround yourself with bible believing God fearing people.

thank you for explaning this to me i now understand why i cant be a christian Buddhist i wasnt aware of this and am sorry for trying to seek an other faith i have been trying to seek help for my mental health some how i thought iot would help me a lot hoping that something in my life would be stable my head is a mess right now i feel so sad Please Jesus I am sorry for what i have done
please forgive me

 

[Noxot]

they have useful practices that help me so that I can in my actions and how I am in my self not be as terrible as I would otherwise be. it sucks when you get attached to the evils wanting to live in yourself. so I see dying to those things by refusing to even think about them as a kind of cross.

 

[Monna]

As I understand it eastern meditation, including Bhuddist meditation, aims at "emptying" the mind. The Biblical message is that your mind matters - it matters a great deal. Meditation for the Christian aims at filling the mind with Christ, allowing the Spirit to transform our minds. Filling our minds with Christ, of course, means that there is no room for other stuff. It is very difficult in practice to empty your mind ... as soon as you stop concentrating on emptying it, all sorts of stuff crowds in. Your brain, where your mind resides, continues working at the subconscious level even when you think its "empty."

Those of you who are experts in Bhuddism may please correct me if I am wrong here.

Many people have an idea that Bhuddism is a religion of peace above all else and are attracted to it for this reason. Please pay attention to what is happening in Burma/Myanmar now, and recall the long civil war in Sri Lanka. Bhuddists are people like the rest of us. (And God loves them too.)

 

[faroukfarouk]

I would say because God tells us He is sufficient for all of our needs so what other source is needed?

The Lord Jesus said: "Thy Word is truth" (John 17.17) so we can trust what He says.

 

[SkyWriting]

i have started to look into Buddhism as a philosophical way to help myself with my OCD mindfulness and meditation looking more at the mindfulness meditation my mental health has been good since starting this but i want to look even more deeper into Buddhism as a Christian Buddhist ... I AM A CHRISTIAN BUDDHIST weather people like it or not
CAN SOMEONE EXPLANE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS ???

You are free to identify yourself just as you choose.

Galatians 5:14 The entire Law is fulfilled in a single decree:
"Love your neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:8 Be indebted to no one, except to one another
in love, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.

 

[Bluerose31]

i have started to look into Buddhism as a philosophical way to help myself with my OCD mindfulness and meditation looking more at the mindfulness meditation my mental health has been good since starting this but i want to look even more deeper into Buddhism as a Christian Buddhist i have read that you can follow Buddhism and still follow your christian faith my mental health has gotten to the point where my husband has to lock the door and keep keys on himself to meds most of the time i am a danger to myself and others but the last week or so looking at this has helped me so much i am more positive and happy doing this i am still christian i still believe in Jesus , God and the Holy Spirit i still want to celebrate Christmas and Easter yet i feel a pull towards Buddhism i talk to one of my pastor who told me just to follow the meditation and the mindfulness i asked him if it ok for me to go and join a Buddhist meditation class and he said no i feel disappointed and upset that i cant follow this but what the problem with this i am still Christian Am still going to church every week am a member of the church voting member maybe i dont see why he said this can someone please explain not allowed to do this i am unable to talk to my pastor again until Tuesday he know i have mental health problems but he dont know how things are going since the last time i saw him i wanted to show him that Buddhism is a philosophical but i was unable to explain to him i know that most of you will say that Buddhism is new age and of the devil but really ??? saying things like that makes your go 1000 years backward where women who helped people with medicine where burt at the stake for being witches where black people where slaves are,nt we going too backwards with things like that its 2017
not that dark ages you know i feel some want angry and upset I AM A CHRISTIAN BUDDHIST weather people like it or not
CAN SOMEONE EXPLANE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS ???

You can be a Christian Buddhist. I am a Christian Pagan though I do not write or talk about it much because it is viewed as demonic. I know it is not demonic. I love Jesus and follow Jesus but I also pray to a Goddess. I feel you can be a Christian Buddhist and still have a beautiful relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

[YesMe]

You can be a Christian Buddhist. I am a Christian Pagan though I do not write or talk about it much because it is viewed as demonic. I know it is not demonic. I love Jesus and follow Jesus but I also pray to a Goddess. I feel you can be a Christian Buddhist and still have a beautiful relationship with Jesus Christ.

If I may ask, why do you pray to a "Goddess"? Can you provide more details, please

 

[Bluerose31]

If I may ask, why do you pray to a "Goddess"? Can you provide more details, please

You are kind to ask. It is that I am feminine and it feels good to connect with a feminine divine. I pray to her about female concerns like my body or feeling less than other women. I still love Jesus Christ very much.

 

[One Of The Elect]

You can be a Christian Buddhist. I am a Christian Pagan though I do not write or talk about it much because it is viewed as demonic. I know it is not demonic. I love Jesus and follow Jesus but I also pray to a Goddess. I feel you can be a Christian Buddhist and still have a beautiful relationship with Jesus Christ.

John 14: 6 Jesus said to him,"I am the way , and the truth and the life; no one comes to the father but by me." Colossians 2:9 "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority." You can call it what you want. Christ died for you Buddha didn't. You are being an adulteress to the law of God which calls us to obedience. The first commandment states." Do not have strange gods before me, for I am a jealous God" are you trying to provoke God to anger? To go to other gods is demon worship. You can not have it both ways. Rev3:15 is very clear: "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. Christianity is an all or nothing call. I am not sure what part of Christianity you do not understand. And those using scripture wrongly to encourage the lie you are living obviously are lukewarm Christians too.

 

[YesMe]

You are kind to ask. It is that I am feminine and it feels good to connect with a feminine divine. I pray to her about female concerns like my body or feeling less than other women. I still love Jesus Christ very much.

I see, thank you very much! If I may ask you, why the need for a "Goddess" when God created us, when He knows every single detail about our beings? When you are sad, God knows, when you are happy, He also knows, when you are hurt and brokenhearted God is close.Jesus was as a human, the perfect representation of God, but in God's place, it's all about the spirit, there, humans are like the angels of God.

Luke 12:7 "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows."

Luke 12:7 are the very words of God, as I said, He knows us, please, if you may want, read God Knows Us Intimately from Psalms 139:1-24 Some beautiful psalms about God knowing every single detail about us, no need for a Goddess when we have the almighty God

Thank you!

 

[Bluerose31]

John 14: 6 Jesus said to him,"I am the way , and the truth and the life; no one comes to the father but by me." Colossians 2:9 "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority." You can call it what you want. Christ died for you Buddha didn't. You are being an adulteress to the law of God which calls us to obedience. The first commandment states." Do not have strange gods before me, for I am a jealous God" are you trying to provoke God to anger? To go to other gods is demon worship. You can not have it both ways. Rev3:15 is very clear: "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. Christianity is an all or nothing call. I am not sure what part of Christianity you do not understand. And those using scripture wrongly to encourage the lie you are living obviously are lukewarm Christians too.

John 14: 6 Jesus said to him,"I am the way , and the truth and the life; no one comes to the father but by me." Colossians 2:9 "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority." You can call it what you want. Christ died for you Buddha didn't. You are being an adulteress to the law of God which calls us to obedience. The first commandment states." Do not have strange gods before me, for I am a jealous God" are you trying to provoke God to anger? To go to other gods is demon worship. You can not have it both ways. Rev3:15 is very clear: "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. Christianity is an all or nothing call. I am not sure what part of Christianity you do not understand. And those using scripture wrongly to encourage the lie you are living obviously are lukewarm Christians too.

I was pagan before becoming a Christian. I sometimes miss my goddess.