Similarities Between Catholicism And Buddhism

One key belief that Catholics have about the question, ‘why is there pain and suffering in the world’ is that God created man with free will. God created man a rational being, ‘conferring on him the dignity of a person who can control his own actions’. Hence, God willed that man should be left in the hands of his own counsel, so that he has the opportunity to freely seek out his creator and acquire the full blessed perfection by cleaving to him. Freedom is defined as the power to act, or not to act, rooted in reason or will to perform deliberate actions based on one’s own responsibility. Humans were allowed freedom as a force for growth and maturity, which catholics believe reaches perfection when it is directed at god. However, as long as man has freedom, not bound
Both religions agree that suffering is going to happen and and people must be prepared to deal with it and lives there lives as best as possible. They also propose this in a similar manner, that a lack of material belongings and desires will make the loss less difficult. Just like buddhism details the cause of suffering as selfish desires and longing, the bible expresses somewhat similar views regarding our material attachments and desires. Matthew 6:19 Jesus says, ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven’. James 4:11 asks, ‘What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight’. From this we can see that Christian faith leads us to believe that our attachments can give rise to suffering. If we desire our brothers possessions and and ungrateful for what we do have, we will experience