Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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Wesley1982
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Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by Wesley1982 »

Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..
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dharmagoat
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by dharmagoat »

Wesley1982 wrote:Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..
Yes, Grasshopper, a Christian can convert to the Buddhist faith.
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Wesley1982
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by Wesley1982 »

Then the the dharma must be manifested as grace.
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conebeckham
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by conebeckham »

Wesley-

What is grace?
དམ་པའི་དོན་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ཆེ་བ་དང་།
རྟོག་གེའི་ཡུལ་མིན་བླ་མའི་བྱིན་རླབས་དང་།
སྐལ་ལྡན་ལས་འཕྲོ་ཅན་གྱིས་རྟོགས་པ་སྟེ།
དེ་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ལ་ནི་ལོ་རྟོག་སེལ།།


"Absolute Truth is not an object of analytical discourse or great discriminating wisdom,
It is realized through the blessing grace of the Guru and fortunate Karmic potential.
Like this, mistaken ideas of discriminating wisdom are clarified."
- (Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, from his summary of "The Ocean of Definitive Meaning")
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Wesley1982
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by Wesley1982 »

If from a Christian family you say 'grace' at meals its a form of manifest prayer and merit/favor.
DGA
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by DGA »

Yes. Anyone can become a Buddhist.

And yes. Most Buddhist traditions use some kind of benediction or reflection before eating a meal.
krodha
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by krodha »

Wesley1982 wrote:If from a Christian family you say 'grace' at meals its a form of manifest prayer and merit/favor.
Grace, she passed away 30 years ago.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZcZVugtF6w
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Wesley1982
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by Wesley1982 »

I probably need some kind of schedule for daily activities.
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明安 Myoan
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by 明安 Myoan »

If I recall, the Dalai Lama generally advises against conversion, using the analogy that it's better to dig one well fifty feet deep than ten wells five feet deep. I also know of several people who have married their Christian faith with Buddhist teachings. Unless you're an evangelical literalist, there's very little that conflicts in my opinion. Thomas Merton is an example, and he's written very insightfully about Zen and Catholicism. You may also benefit from looking into the contemplation practices of Christianity, such as St. John of the Cross.
Namu Amida Butsu
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KathyLauren
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by KathyLauren »

duckfiasco wrote:If I recall, the Dalai Lama generally advises against conversion, using the analogy that it's better to dig one well fifty feet deep than ten wells five feet deep.
While that is so, and with all due respect to His Holiness, when one hits bedrock five feet down, it is better to start over again somewhere else.

Om mani padme hum
Keith
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Dave The Seeker
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by Dave The Seeker »

I also think it matters more in how a person "feels" about the "faith" they are leaving.

If one were raised in a Christian family, and religion was more or less forced on them, also if they didn't agree with the beliefs finding something they feel is right for them is important.


Kindest wishes, Dave
Everyday problems teach us to have a realistic attitude.
They teach us that life is what life is; flawed.
Yet with tremendous potential for joy and fulfillment.
~Lama Surya Das~

If your path teaches you to act and exert yourself correctly and leads to spiritual realizations such as love, compassion and wisdom then obviously it's worthwhile.
~Lama Thubten Yeshe~

One whose mind is freed does not argue with anyone, he does not dispute with anyone. He makes use of the conventional terms of the world without clinging to them
~The Buddha~
greentara
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Re: Can a Christian convert to Buddhist faith?..

Post by greentara »

I don't know about convert but certainly get interested in. There's a great story of a Catholic monk who came to India; Dom Henri Le Seux became interested and then mesmerized by advaita, it caused him great spiritual difficulties trying to blend the two belief systems, eventually he found his peace but not without a great inner battle to make sense of it all.
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