"Immense erudition has been wasted in the attempt to show that Buddhism is the prototype of Christianity, but, apart from the difficulty of distinguishing the original creed of Gautama from later and possibly post-Christian accretions, it may be briefly objected that Buddhism is at best only an ethical system, not a religion, for it recognizes no God and no responsibility, that in so far as it emphasizes the comparative worthlessness of earthly things and the insufficiency of earthly delights it is in accord with the Christian spirit, but that in aim it is essentially diverse. The supreme aim of Christianity is eternal happiness in a state involving the employment of all the soul's activities, that of Buddhism the ultimate loss of conscious existence.((Catholic Encyclopedia, "Christianity," Joseph Keating)

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In comparing Buddhist enlightenment and Christian contemplation, we need to note a significant theological difference between Buddhism and Christianity that, when overlooked, confuses the issues so as to destroy any possibility of clarity, or of real understanding. For the one, the Buddhist, the natural world is all there is, while for the other, the Christian, a supernatural world begins where the natural world ends.

The Buddhist seeking "transformation" is "actively," and through self-effort,(gently or otherwise) directly intuiting or "knowing" the universe or field of "natural" sense data, here and now, in the fullness of mindfulness, cleared of the mental fog caused by self-reflection, future images, and memories from the past. He is "fully awake" to reality, and attends to it with a fullness of "enlightened" clarity unknown to the average man who goes through life with his attention divided between the external, incoming sense data, and the internal, self-reflections and images constantly arising from the never-ending desires of the ego. He sees the interconnected oneness of all things, and this is the end, and ultimate goal of his meditative practice. For, in the Eastern tradition from which he comes, the natural world, seen through the enlightened mind, is the one, ultimate reality, or divinity, and "all that there is."(pantheistic monism)

The contemplative Christian, on the other hand, is involved in more than the enlightened "oneness" of his own self-realization. He knows that attachment to such an experience, as to all forms of knowledge, keeps one bound to the natural level, and unavailable for participation in the "freedom" of supernatural Spirit and supernatural love. For he is involved in a personal, love relationship with another Being, a "dualistic" union of love between "two," who remain two, even though they are united in one Spirit. His "transformation" means perfection of self in a loving union, which involves both the natural and the supernatural levels. He leaves the natural world by "letting go" of the universe of sense data; and he "surrenders" to the supernatural through an infused inclination of the Holy Spirit, and under an infusion of "divine effort." He does this so that passively(more passive than active), in "infused unknowing," that which is beyond sense data, i.e., the Spirit of God, may "secretly"(in supernatural freedom, and without the natural knowledge of the intellect) fill his soul with supernatural charity and the works of the Holy Spirit.

And as we mentioned above, his transformation involves the perfection of the powers of the natural man(vegetative, sensitive, and rational) from their internal warfare and dysfunction as the false-self to their harmonious integration in the image of God, comprising the true-self. For grace perfects nature and gratuitously elevates it to the supernatural order, where we are "children of God," and, in Christ, "heirs to the Kingdom." For, as Fr. Jordan Aumann tells us, "God's love for us elevates us to his level and deifies us, so to speak, by means of a formal participation in the divine nature."

So the difference between Buddhism and Christianity on this point is the difference between the natural and the supernatural, and must be emphasized. The Christian must not be ashamed to admit that the gift of faith opens his soul to a level of supernatural perfection that is infinitely beyond the natural self-realizaton of Buddhism. It is the new life of self-giving charity made available to all men through the "Mystery of the Incarnation" and the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And the perfection of such supernatural transformation in charity, or divine union, can only take place in a soul that is free from desire and attachment to all knowledge and experiences, such as "enlightenment experiences," and those connected with self-realization and Buddhism, so that it may soar "on eagles wings," in the supernatural freedom of charity in the will and the obscurity of Infinite Spirit in the intellect.

For Buddhist meditation, and related practices, are centered around efforts to produce, pre-conceptual, single-minded clarity of intuition of the "here and now," natural world, before it is translated by the dualistic mind, while Christian contemplation is based on humble "unmindfulness" and "unknowing" in regard to the natural world, so that the soul may receive the gift of "the Eternal World" through actuation of "Wisdom" and the "Gifts of the Holy Spirit." The one results in a transformation of one's experience of reality that is limited to the natural realm, and can be mimicked by natural intensive techniques, as well as psychedelic drugs. The other results in a supernatatural transformation of "the will" in a self-giving charity beyond the capacity of nature to mimick, for it is a supernatural gift of grace beyond nature, and where "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man the things God has prepared for those who love Him."

(The reason that Christian contemplation transforms the soul "in secret" is that God, in Himself, cannot be "directly" intuited or apprehended by the faculties of the soul in this life. His Being is ever beyond our powers of directly "knowing." So, in humility, we lovingly surrender, or open, our spirits to Him in "infused" unknowing, and find the evidence for His secret acitivity in the very recognizable effects(light or dark) transforming our souls, in the "abundant life," holy joy, and "fruits of the Spirit" found in every New Man in Jesus Christ.)

Pope John Paul II provides an important point in regard to Buddhism compared to Christian spirituality when he states:

"Christian mysticism begins at the point where the reflections of Buddha, along with his instructions for the spiritual life, end."(Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope)

And in connection with the awesome dimensions of man's spirit, and the perfection of the true-self, Fr Jordan Aumann describes the vision of the soul during contemplative prayer:

"In the measure in which it is possible(through gift of Wisdom),... the gaze of the soul resembles the vision God has of himself and of the entire universe.(Spiritual Theology, Fr Jordan Aumann, "Wisdom")

Fr. Garrigou-LaGrange tells us much the same thing:

"Each soul therefore is a "Spiritual Universe" which gravitates toward God, the sovereign good.(Fr Garrigou-LaGrange, "Life Everlasting")

And Fr. Louis, O.C.S.O, points out how we regain the awesome nature of our true-self:

"The secret of my identity (the image of God) is hidden in the love and mercy of God...If I find him I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find him...The only one who can teach me to find God is God himself, alone.(Thomas Merton)

So, I am made in the image of God’s Spirit, which is an image meant to refelct the likeness of God. And the soul God has given each of us is a "spiritual universe" in its own right, a being, in union with the body, made to mirror the life, ecstasy and joy of God. In addition to its participation in the divine life, this soul was created to know and enjoy all the wonders of creation through seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling the creatures comprising the natural world, a garden of delight.

Moreover, this image of God is manifested thorugh the qualities, or fruits, of Spirit St Paul describes as charity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, self-control, and joyful-peace. My true-self was made for perfect happiness and to reflect these qualities at both the natural and supernatural levels. Such perfection carries its own measure of joy at each level, natural and supernatural. As Thomas Merton points out, only God can restore me to the fullness of this perfection in both dimensions. Only when I fully “put-on the Mind of Christ,” through a prayer-life based on the spiritual program of the Church and sacraments, will I find the complete perfection of my true, natural self, in Jesus Christ, as well as supernatural transforming union of the faculties, through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

St Albert the Great comments on how we are to incorporate the fullness of the image of God in this life through spiritual perfection:

"Now the image of God as found in the soul consists of these three faculties, namely reason, memory and will, and so long as they are not completely stamped with God, the soul is not yet deiform in accordance with the initial creation of the soul. For the true pattern of the soul is God, with whom it must be imprinted, like wax with a seal, and carry the mark of his impress. But this can never be complete until the intellect is perfectly illuminated, according to its capacity, with the knowledge of God, who is perfect truth, until the will is perfectly focused on the love of the perfect good, and until the memory is fully absorbed in turning to and enjoying eternal happiness, and in gladly and contentedly resting in it. And since the glory of the beatitude which is achieved in our heavenly homeland consists in the complete fulfilment of these three faculties, it follows that perfect initiation of them is perfection in this life." (St Albert, "Cleaving to God through Jesus Christ")

Fr Jordan Aumann, with a profound background in Catholic theology, notes that, through the gift of Wisdom, "the gaze of the soul resembles the vision God has of himself." In other words, the First Man, before he lost the gift of Wisdom through Original Sin, had a vision of reality which, like God, intuited all of Creation in some kind of unity and inter-connectedness of spiritual vision. His seat of consciousness, or center, in union with God, was within "his spirit." His conscious center hadn't as yet "fallen" down within the limits, and isolation, of his animal being. He didn't see himself as just a material animal, one little material object looking out at other material objects in the world.

With purified vision, similar to that of God, Himself, the First Man saw himself, his true-self, as pre-eminently spirit, the Image of God, a mysterious being extending in a spiritual universe in his own right. And he participated in God's love for that universe. He knew that he was natural, not divine, connected to material being, and that he yet possessed all the grandeur and beauty of all bodies and forms in the never-ending flow of a consciousness filled with a universe of creation. In the image of God, His center of consciousness expanded to embrace the ends of the Universe, rather than the limits of his body. This gave him a spiritual perspective on existence that filled him with the joyous mystery of his connection, and his union, with all being.

Man was naturally perfect, and underlying the supernatural gifts, and the gift of supernatural happiness, he was filled with supreme "natural" happiness arising from the integrity and perfect harmony flowing within body and spirit. He enjoyed the intuition that he was somehow, like God, a spirit possessing and containing everything that existed. He was mysteriously and wonderfully one with all phenomena in a consciousness filled with natural unselfish love for all of it. With Vision like God, he looked out lovingly on creation and saw that all of it was good.

Then, when man rebelled against God in favor of the self-centered worship of his own ego, he simultaneously undermined his true self, which had been created to image the humility, self-giving love and charity characteristic of God. By the very nature of his proud act of "self-deification," man reversed the priorities governing created being. He reversed the control and the pre-eminence of his spirit over his bodily and sensual desires, and lost the resulting harmony of operation which gave him such strength and happiness. And instead of harmony, man now found ongoing warfare within himself, as his body raged against his spirit demanding the right to satisfaction of its runaway desires. And with energies now drained from such internal warfare, man found himself thrust into external warfare as well, pitted against other men in violent competiton for survival and possession of the goods of creation. By his own choice, man no longer had any peace, nor was he at home in the Universe; and the joyous spiritual vision for which he was created was replaced by a world of ongoing fear: the fear of others, the fear of death, the fear of disease, and the fear of suffering characteristic of his animal life as in a dangerous, unpredictable world of fear and suffering.

Now Buddhism is a teaching, and a way of life, which is all about finding a natural way to reverse the unhappy condition in which man finds hinmself in this world. It is about eliminating suffering by re-taking control of life from the compulsive behavior of the ego, with its out-of-control concupiscense and self-centered desires. It seeks through meditation and right living practices to gain enlightenment as to the true nature of the dualistic life in the natural world, and to re-establish a certain measure of the spiritual vision and control of the true self. And contrary to what is sometimes taught, Buddhist enlightenment does not destroy the ego as a separate entity, rather it provides insight into its workings so that the enlightened one no longer falls victim to its compulsive illusions connected with self-seeking, pride, hatred, and greed.

So the spiritual vision achieved by the Buddhist seeker, through efforts at mortification of selfishness and the concommitant partial rehabilitation of the true-self brings a measure of the "natural" happiness man enjoyed before the Fall. Such natural happiness, however, can lay no claim to the gift of supernatural joy, and supernaturally engendered qualities of spirit, that come from faith, sanctifying grace, and union with God. For as Fr. Thomas Hand, S.J., tells us, "Zen in its way is to seek for the true self within yourself, your own self, whereas the Christian path is to seek for the true self within Christ Jesus, so you look at and learn of Christ and find yourself."

We also need to emphasize a significant difference between the attitude of spirit of a Buddhist seeking self-realization versus a Christian seeking union of his true-self and God. For a Christian seeks his true self through an attitude of humility, trust, and reliance on God, because only God's gratuitous gift can provide him with this grace. A Buddhist seeks "to awaken" his true self through his own efforts, in a spirit of total self- reliance. And, as we said above, through his own efforts he may succeed and achieve some natural enlightenment experiences, and even re-establish some degree of happiness by the dominance of his soul over his body. However, he may also embrace a certain amount of pride in his spiritual accomplishment, particularly when he compares himself to those who have not yet "awakened."

In seeking the "awakening" or "enlightenment" experience, a Buddhist engaging in meditation practices, such as "mindfulness," is directed to concentrate on his breathing, while allowing the "experience of everything" taking place in the now, including that which arises internally in his spirit. Over time, such a practice releases energies formerly bound-up in avoidance-behavior, and habitual represssion of unwanted memories and negative experiences. Such painful memories gradually lose their power as the mindful meditator attends to present reality(concentrating on breathing) and ignores them. As a result, he may have more energy available for conscious natural activities as former represssions are allowed to surface in the present. And through this practice, he may find more courage for facing difficult events in daily life. However, he is under no ethical constraints of Church, or commandments of God, to use his new found powers for the good of others. On the other hand, through pride in his own self-realization, he could even use his "self-empowerment" for the evil domination of others, seeking their favor for further self-aggrandizement.

Now you may be struck by the memory of a few famous Buddhists who appear to be more loving than many Christians. And in some cases this may be true. These individuals have made certain loving, self-giving decisions about service to others that has taken them beyond the natural, self-absorbed meditation of self-realization and personal enlightenment in traditional Buddhist philosophy. And by such compassion and self-giving, probably under actual grace, they may very well open themselves to the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit available to all mankind through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. However, the personal transformation of a few, who responded to grace, changes nothing about the basic differences between Buddhist philosophy and Christianity.

For with all his improvement in natural abilities and mental strength, the traditional Buddhist still would not possess the full potential of the true self which has the characteristics of the image of God, or "the mind of Christ." This latter is only possible when the enlightened natural mind makes a decision, under the impulsion of grace, to live a loving, self-giving life, and through the gift of grace has its heart softened and strengthened with the supernatural characteristics of the Holy Spirit mentioned by St Paul,i.e., humility, charity, patience, kindness, meekness,long-suffering, etc. For the true spiritual transformation of man involves a transformation in charity, which is the very Life of God. And St Albert the Great tells us something about this transformation in Christian charity:

"For the nature of love is of a unitive and transforming power which transforms the lover into what he loves, or alternatively, makes the lover one with the other, and vice versa, in so far as is possible. This is manifest in the first place with regard to the mental powers, depending on how much the beloved is in the lover, in other words depending on how sweetly and delightfully the beloved is recalled in the mind of the lover, and in direct proportion, that is, with how much the lover strives to grasp all the things that relate to the beloved not just superficially but intimately, and to enter, as it were, into his innermost secrets. It is also manifest with regard to the emotional and affective powers when the beloved is said to be in the lover, in other words when the desire to please the beloved is found in the will and established within by the happy enjoyment of him. Alternatively, the lover is in the beloved when he is united with him by all his desire and compliance in agreement with the beloved's willing and not willing, and finds his own pleasure and pain in that of the beloved. For love draws the lover out of himself (since love is strong as death), and establishes him in the beloved, causing him to cleave closely to him. For the soul is more where it loves than where it lives, since it is in what it loves in accordance with its very nature, understanding and will, while it is in where it lives only with regard to form, which is even true for animals as well."

Fr. R. Garrigou-Lagrange points out how it is possible for one, e.g. a Buddhist, to grow in the acquired virtue of prudence, i.e., a natural virtue, "under the light of natural reason," and yet fall short of the infinitely greater perfection coming from the infused virtue of prudence received, "under supernatural grace," at baptism:

"The acquired virtue of prudence proceeds under the light of natural reason and moral knowledge, making this rational light descend into our sensibility, our will, and all our activity. Under the direction of acquired prudence, justice gradually reigns in the will; rational fortitude and a reasonable moderation prevail in the sensible appetites. However, in order that the acquired virtue of prudence exist in the state of a stable virtue, and be in truth firmly connected with the other moral virtues, we must have supernatural charity, we must efficaciously love God, our last end, more than ourselves. Consequently, without sanctifying grace, the virtue of acquired prudence can be only in the state of a slightly stable disposition.(Fr. R. Garrigou-Lagrange, Three Ages of the Interior Life, "Prudence")

So the Christian perfection of the natural self from the old Man in Adam to the New Man in Jesus Christ, will never be accomplished by natural efforts, alone, such as Buddhist efforts at natural meditation and "mindfulness.' As St John of the Cross reminds us in "The Dark Night of the Soul, BkI, Ch.7, "However much the beginner in mortification exercises himself in controlling his actions and passions, he cannot ever control them perfectly until God mortifies the soul passively through the purification of the night." And that latter purification does not take place in one who is totally "self-centered," and self-absorbed, knowing nothing to exist beyond the limits of his expanded, unself-aware, universal self.

Moreover, aside from the measure of natural happiness gained from partial liberation from suffering through Buddhist meditative practices, the enlightened one, inhabits a cold, dark, impersonal universe of ongoing impermanence, with no God, and no self, and no supernatural love. And Christians should not be ashamed to offer a remedy for this. For God's grace is available for such as these, who have sought happiness through natural meditative techniques, and who have experienced, instead, the existential loneliness of the solitary "one" characterizing the Buddha-mind: "For the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." And this light illumines the Buddha-mind with the supernatural "Presence of God."

St Albert the Great, in "Cleaving to God through Jesus," reminds us of the way to a Christian mindfulness which baptizes the solitary Buddha-mind and imbues its existential loneliness with the Holy Presence of a "Beloved Other:"

"So accept everything, separately and in general, wherever it comes from and whatever its origin, in silence and peace, and with an equal mind, as coming to you from a father's hand and his divine providence. Happy is the person who by continual removal of extraneous fantasies, by turning within, and raising the mind to Jesus, finally manages to dispense with the secular products of the imagination, and by so doing works within, nakedly and simply, and with a pure understanding and will, on the the simplest of all objects, the Presence of Jesus Christ.(St Albert the Great)

So for the Christian employing Buddhist meditation and philosophy, seeking this naturally enlightened mind can promote an attitude of natural "self-reliance," and mental toughness which is conducive to the maintenance of conscious oneness with reality, or "mindfulness," but it may become a big obstacle to supernatural transformation through the heroic self-sacrifice required by the Beatitudes, such as "turning the other cheek," and "going two miles instead of one." Moreover, there can be no reception of the gift of contemplative prayer in one who maintains total trust in self-reliance. Such contemplative gifts are only available to one with an attitude of "spiritual surrender," who humbly seeks the gift of the Other by first offering the gift of self in a spiritual exchange between persons, involving both the giving and the receiving of love. Moreover, one practicing Buddhist meditation techniques is in danger of "being satisfied" with the natural joy coming from self-empowerment, and will, therefore, not have the incentive to advance into the dark fires of "self-dying" leading to true transformation. For, as we have already stated, to advance beyond the psychology and insights of such meditation as found in Original Buddhism, one needs to move into the realm of "supernatural faith," a gift requiring humility and openness to the Other, i.e., Almighty God, a relational dimension of existence closed to one who considers that "there is no other."

Speaking of the virtue of faith, Fr. Jordan Aumann tells us:

The virtue of faith is an infused gift of God, but man "cannot give his adherence to God when he reveals himself unless, drawn by the Father, he submits to God with a faith that is reasonable and free."(2) The act of faith is an act of belief in truths revealed by God, and therefore it requires assent of the intellect. But the act of belief does not follow upon any discursus of the intellect or any evidence that necessitates belief; it rests on the authority of God revealing, and therefore it requires the command of the will preceding the faith-act. But proceeding as they do from a supernatural virtue, both the command of the will and the assent of the intellect in faith are supernatural acts, and hence the third element in the act of faith is the movement of divine grace, for actual grace is the intrinsic principle of all supernatural acts. As St. Paul says: "I repeat, it is owing to his favor that salvation is yours through faith. This is not your own doing, it is God's gift" (Eph. 2:8)."(Fr. Jordan, Aumann, "Faith," Spiritual Theology)

St Paul has some observations(1 Corinthians 13) that should be considered in comparing Buddhist enlightenment with the Christian transformation in supernatural charity:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

St John of the Cross points out how those seeking experiences are grasping and clinging for spiritual riches and attachments, and are on the wrong path:

"But the soul must be voided of all such things as can enter its capacity, so that, however many supernatural experiences it may have, it will ever remain as it were detached from them and in darkness. It must be like to a blind man, leaning upon dark faith, taking it for guide and light, and leaning upon none of the things that he understands, experiences, feels and imagines. For all these are darkness, which will cause him to stray; and faith is above all that he understands and experiences and feels and imagines. And, if he be not blinded as to this, and remain not in total darkness, he attains not to that which is greater, namely, that which is taught by faith.(St John of the Cross, "The Ascent of Mt. Carmel," BkII,Ch.4)

The believer agrees with the Buddhist that this world of change is inherently unsatisfatory, and a cause of suffering when loved for itself, alone, due to the impermanence of change, sickness, death, and dying. However, through faith in Jesus Christ, the believer finds this same unsatisfactory world resurrected as a New Creation, raised up by God to share in the Incarnation, death, and Resurrection of His Son, and in the Redemption of the human race "where it will put on incorruption." And therefore, the believer has a positive view of creation, and sees all of it as intrinsically real and good and loved by God. And he actively participates in the drama of history and the reality of creation in order to bring God's saving will to fruition, "so that all things in heaven and earth may be brought together under the headship of Jesus Christ."

On the other hand, Eastern or Hindu cosmology, from which Buddhism is derived, has a completely negative view of the value and purpose of created reality and human relationships. For it is posited that the One Indivisible Self, Infinite God, "plays" at the illusion or mirage of being the manifest "many" little selves and finite beings of creation. Our ego selves and all created beings are part of this illusion of play. They are void or empty of reality. Reality only exists in the One Indivisible Self.

This playtime illusion of finite separate beings includes the mirage of what we call the world and history. Each of us, a little being, in our ultimate, true self reality, are already perfect since our egoless true self is really the One Indivisible Self. Nevertheless, we suffer as long as we think we have real existence in this little ego dreamworld of mirage. Through right action and detachment from everything that pretends to exist in this illusionary world, e.g., civilization, history, music, art, science, work, marriage and family, the little self must work his way back to extinction, and liberation from reincarnation, so that only the One Indivisble Self exists, as It always has.

If he doesn't live his life virtuously or selflessly, and gives way to selfish evil passions, the illusionary self of man can reappear as a stone, an insect, an animal, or even a demon surrounded by the darkness of hell. On the other hand, through progressively more selfless right living, his individual life can evolve through successive births, including birth as man, the current apex of the illusion of physical evolution, until the One Indivisible Self is once again liberated from the illusion of separate beings and his little false self or ego. ( Progressive physical and spiritual evolution, and the constant change between dying and new birth, destroying and creating, are part of the illusion of this separativc world and ego existence because there can be no progress or progressive change in Ultimate Reality, the Eternally Already Perfect, One Indivisible, Infinite Self. ) This is extinction or Nirvana from the standpoint of illusionary man; and it is reestablishment of the original freedom, joy and bliss from the stanpoint of the One Indivisible Self.

Now the Eastern view sees the world as a cause of suffering because belief in the reality of the separate ego creates a world of separate being out of the One Unity, with illusionary opposites which entangle the ego in desire, and for which the ego must make preferences. One must constantly make preferences for this versus that, right versus wrong, good versus bad, goods which enhance the ego versus those which reduce the ego. There is mental suffering from the pain and guilt from wrong choices. There is the pain of humiliation, really death threats to the ego, which expose its vulnerability, and threaten its illusionary autonomy and its very existence.

So for the enlightened one, the ego is an illusion. There is no independent actor on the world stage growing old, and suffering sickness and misfortune, or suffering guilt and misery as life fails to follow his expectations. So, because of this oneness view, the so-called enlightened one lives his life more and more in conformity with that view. In other words, he progressively detaches himself from everything we call individual, personal reality, family, civilization, and history and thereby, in a state of indifference, extinguishes the suffering that comes from desire, attachment, passion, and caring about life and death and what we call the world of independent things, or dualism.

"The majority of the "great religions" which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as "the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions," neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful "so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured."(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ch. V, "Questions of Method)

According to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in the name of "seeking enrichment" for the Catholic Faith from Eastern and Buddhist practices, the following serious errors are creeping into the beliefs and practices of some Catholics, resulting in the dilution of the true faith through the heresy of "syncretism":

"With the present diffusion of eastern methods of meditation in the Christian world and in ecclesial communities, we find ourselves faced with a pointed renewal of an attempt, which is not free from dangers and errors, "to fuse Christian meditation with that which is non-Christian." Proposals in this direction are numerous and radical to a greater or lesser extent. Some, using different techniques, try to generate spiritual experiences similar to those described in the writings of certain Catholic mystics. Still others do not hesitate to place that absolute without image or concepts, which is proper to Buddhist theory, on the same level as the majesty of God revealed in Christ, which towers above finite reality. To this end, they make use of a "negative theology," which transcends every affirmation seeking to express what God is, and denies that the things of this world can offer traces of the infinity of God. Thus they propose abandoning not only meditation on the salvific works accomplished in history by the God of the Old and New Covenant, but also the very idea of the One and Triune God, who is Love, in favor of an immersion "in the indeterminate abyss of the divinity." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ch. III, "Erroneous Ways of Praying," Letter to the Bishops, l989 )

In discussing psychological-corporal methods connected with prayer, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith encourages the adoption of those methods and those postures which help one toward recollection and preparation for prayer. For example, for many persons, a sitting position, with a straight spine, is helpful in quieting the mind and achieving natural peace and recollection. Bodily positions are not the property of any particular religion. So if it is helpful in prayer, one is free to adopt such methods. However, the Congregation warns that one must not make "an idol" out of a partcular posture or technique. God's grace is a gift, which can come to man's spirit regardless of the position of the body. There is no technique, no matter what good feelings it produces, to which one should be come rigidly "attached" as the right way, or the only way, to "experience" God.

"In prayer it is the whole man who must enter into relation with God, and so his body should also take up the position most suited to recollection. Such a position can in a symbolic way express the prayer itself, depending on cultures and personal sensibilities. In some aspects, Christians are today becoming more conscious of how one's bodily posture can aid prayer...It can range from a specific bodily posture to the basic life functions, such as breathing or the beating of the heart. The exercise of the "Jesus Prayer," for example, which adapts itself to the natural rhythm of breathing can, at least for a certain time, be of real help to many people. (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ch. VI, "Psychological-Corporal Methods)

"Understood in an inadequate and incorrect way, the symbolism can even become an idol and thus an obstacle to the raising up of the spirit to God. To live out in one's prayer the full awareness of one's body as a symbol is even more difficult: it can degenerate into a cult of the body and can lead surreptitiously to considering all bodily sensations as spiritual experiences.(Ibid)

"Some physical exercises automatically produce a feeling of quiet and relaxation, pleasing sensations, perhaps even phenomena of light and of warmth, which resemble spiritual well-being. To take such feelings for the authentic consolations of the Holy Spirit would be a totally erroneous way of conceiving the spiritual life. Giving them a symbolic significance typical of the mystical experience, when the moral condition of the person concerned does not correspond to such an experience, would represent a kind of mental schizophrenia which could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations.(Ibid)

Christians practicing Buddhist techniques and philosophy should be aware that, in the Buddha-mind oneness, there is no room for the knower and the known, egos, individual selves, loving relationships, for "Jesus," or for the Church and Revelation. These latter are an "impediment," as is all dualistic knowledge, to the "experience" of Buddha-mind ultimate truth. And the Catholic religious and laity who are caught up in Buddhist "sitting practice" always end up in an ongoing conflict between the dualistic, knowledge of their Faith and this aversion to knowledge in Eastern practice. And for many, this leads to spiritual doubt, unnecessary anguish, and, as we have unfortunately seen too much of in recent years, even to loss of faith.

It is also helpful in comparing Buddhism and Christianity to keep the difference between the natural and the supernatural in perspective, and to remember that natural Buddhist enlightenment is the same expansion of consciousness that can be produced by mind-expanding drugs, or commercial programs that guarantee enlightenment through a few days of intensive enlightenment seminars. Such is a natural experience, under the control of man’s efforts, which ends where Christian spirituality begins.

Also, we often find that Eastern religion, compared to the Christianity, is lukewarm both as to motivation for dealing with suffering, and as to the consequences of serious sin. In their worldview, suffering and evil are just part of the illusion of this manifest life caused by the ignorance of one's real self, or ignorance that one is "Very God." It may take one a great number of lifetimes of reincarnation to work things out and put an end to evil and suffering for oneself, however, in the end, since one's real self is identical to the One Indivisible Self, God, everything turns out alright and everyone gets re-absorbed into the Source. So don't get uptight about salvation,or the worst evils, because all of it is, after all, just God "playing." Jesus death and suffering on the Cross don't amount to much since it is just part of the charade of life in this world.

So, for all of the above reasons, we must conclude that, even though Eastern pursuits and Buddhist practices may be lawful for Christians to employ in order to better understand their own faith, they are fraught with dangers and not necessarily good for us. And, we repeat the words of Thomas Merton, quoted above:

"The secret of my identity (the image of God) is hidden in the love and mercy of God...If I find him I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find him...The only one who can teach me to find God is God himself, alone.(Thomas Merton)

For, as we have seen above, the Buddhist, just like the Christian, seeks a bare and undivided mind, purified from attachments to shapes, forms, and images constructed by man from the nameless, general field of "suchness" data coming through the five senses. However, the Buddhist seeks this undivided, oneness mind as an end in itself, the way to end worldly suffering through a, more or less, permanent disconnect from the world. The Christian seeks the same undivided mind through liberation from the same worldly attachments, however, not as an end in itself, but in order to "free" his will from slavery to his animal nature so that he might "soar on eagles wings" through transformation as a New Man in Jesus Christ, filled with both the natural perfection of the full enlightenment of his true self, and the supernatural perfection of his soul in participative union with "the utter fullness of God!"

Finally, through St John of the Cross, God has a word of wisdom, and caution, for those who have taken their eye off His Son, Jesus Christ, seeking spirituality in new ways outside the fullness of Revelation already delivered to the Church:

"Wherefore he that would now enquire of God, or seek any other revelation, would not only be acting foolishly, but would be committing an offence against God, by not setting his eyes altogether upon Christ, and seeking no new thing or aught beside. And God might answer him after this manner, saying:

'If I have spoken all things to thee in My Word, Which is My Son, and I have no other word, what answer can I now make to thee, or what can I reveal to thee which is greater than this? Set thine eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have spoken and revealed to thee all things, and in Him thou shalt find yet more than that which thou askest and desirest. For thou askest revelations, which are the part; but if thou set thine eyes upon Him, thou shalt find the whole; for He is My complete answer, and He is all My vision and all My revelation; so that I have spoken to thee, answered thee, declared to thee and revealed to thee, in giving Him to thee as thy brother, companion and master, as ransom and prize."

'For since that day when I descended upon Him with My Spirit on Mount Tabor, saying: 'This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him, I have left off all these manners of teaching and answering, and I have entrusted this to Him. Hear Him; for I have no more faith to reveal, neither have I any more things to declare. And now, any who would enquire of Me, and desire Me to speak to him or reveal aught to him, would in a sense be asking Me for Christ again, and asking Me for more faith, and be lacking in faith, which has already been given in Christ; and therefore he would be committing a great offence against My beloved Son, for not only would he be lacking in faith, but he would be obliging Him again first of all to become incarnate and pass through life and death. Thou shalt find naught to ask Me, or to desire of Me, whether revelations or visions; consider this well, for thou shalt find that all has been done for thee and all has been given to thee -- yea, and much more also -- in Him."

'If thou desirest Me to answer thee with any word of consolation, consider My Son, Who is subject to Me, and bound by love of Me, and afflicted, and thou shalt see how fully He answers thee. If thou desirest Me to expound to thee secret things, or happenings, set thine eyes on Him alone, and thou shalt find the most secret mysteries, and the wisdom and wondrous things of God, which are hidden in Him, even as My Apostle says: 'In this Son of God are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of God. These treasures of wisdom shall be very much more sublime and delectable and profitable for thee than the things that thou desiredst to know. Herein the same Apostle gloried, saying: That he had not declared to them that he knew anything, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And if thou shouldst still desire other Divine or bodily revelations and visions, look also at Him made man, and thou shalt find therein more than thou thinkest, for the Apostle says likewise: 'In Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.'

'So set your eyes on Jesus Christ! For as the Apostle says: 'In this Son of God are hidden all the treasures of the mysteries, the wonders, and the loving wisdom of God.'