Comments on: Why A Chinese Buddhist Became an Orthodox Athonite Monk

By: alexis banias

alexis banias — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:32:52 +0000

Very informative.

By: cynthia curran

cynthia curran — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:23:27 +0000

Well, this is a different reason for becoming Orthodox as those in the west do mainly because they are looking for the historical church rather than a personal God since those in the west come from other Christian Traditons that developed a personal relationship with God thru church service or Prayer or the Euchrist.

By: Wesley J. Smith

Wesley J. Smith — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:25:52 +0000

I respect Buddhism a lot, and consider it the most compassionate approach to life that man can conjure. Which, of course, is precisely why it is inadequate. It comes from the mind of man, not the mind of God.

My sponsor into Orthodoxy also came to the Church from Buddhism. I think it is quite common. I find myself quite taken with the Novice’s very crucial point about Buddhism and being alone. How lonely that must be! I never understood why a non theistic philosophy/religion would make up deities and demons, if there is nothing real except ultimate being. Now I get it.

We see the same phenomenon in other materialistic approaches. Radical environmentalism has begun personalizing the natural world, for example.

Thank you for this very interesting post.