Q: As a Catholic, am I allowed to pray to the Buddha for guidance?

In this article from Buffalo News, Rabbi Marc Gellman answers the question of learning from faiths other than your own. The full question was:

"Q: I’m a practicing Roman Catholic and I recently purchased a book about Jesus and the Buddha. It’s interesting to see that Jesus and the Buddha did say and act in much the same ways, which leads me to ask: As a Catholic, am I allowed to pray to the Buddha for guidance, wisdom and understanding, or is that a big no-no in the eyes of Roman Catholic teaching?


I don’t view or recognize the Buddha as a god, but I do see him as a very holy and wise man, and after all, Catholics pray to saints because they were holy and wise men and women who can intercede for us. — S. "

My favorite part of Rabbi Gellman's answer was:

"Human beings naturally possess different interests, so it’s not surprising that we have many different religious traditions with different ways of thinking and behaving. But this variety is a way for everyone to be happy. If we have a great variety of food, we will be able to satisfy different tastes and needs. When we only have bread, the people who eat rice are left out. And the reason those people eat rice is that rice is what grows best where they live.


So go and study, but remember to eat what grows best where you live."



Read full article.