I cannot sufficiently cover this topic on a blog, as one could teach an entire college semester course on the comparisons between Eastern and Western philosophies.
Some people who are Catholic do not care about philosophy, as they do not understand that how we think, the method of thinking and the basis for thinking must precede moral decisions as well as theology. This forms one of the reasonings behind all seminarians being required to take philosophy before they take theology.
Even if I use the simple, wiki definition of philosophy, one can see how this study involves most aspects of both the material and spiritual life.
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values,reason, mind and language
In a discussion with someone about Tai-Chi, the problem of interpretation of so-called arts, whether military or not, from the East, must involve a discussion of the philosophy behind activities.
Yes, Eastern philosophies are not compatible with Western views of reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, the mind and language.
Obviously, unless one understands that philosophical ideas created an invisible thread tying together religion and all aspects of life, one will fall into either cynicism or New Age fantasies regarding life.
God created Western Civilization through Revelation and the cultures of Judaic, Greek and Roman peoples. God, in His Wisdom, could have created His plan for reaching Him through other philosophies, but He did not. There are complicated reasons for understanding that our religion of Catholicism, although originating in the Middle East, is absolutely not an "Eastern Religion".
How we think about ourselves and the world around us determines how we worship God. God demands that we worship Him in spirit and truth, not in fallacies or confusion about the material world.
The more one accepts Eastern religions and even alternative medicines, the more one moves away from the revealed truth from God as found in the Scriptures, and in Catholic Tradition.
Remember, confusion is never from God, never.
More on this later...I am going out for a bit.
