Baran -
Thanks for that interesting explanation. I do not have your knowledge of Buddhism, but I have heard similar reservations expressed by others who do have such a background.
My only question would be your characterization of Tolkien's writings as "escapist":
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When I wrote that I find Tolkien's writing to oppose with much of Lord Buddhas teaching, I meant the escapist-aspect of it. I really like the books, but the concept of making a kind of parallel world disaccords with the Buddhist attempt to live in the present. That goes of course for all kinds of escapism, like tv-shows and entertainment flicks. The thing with LOTR is that it's so well-written that through the books you can almost move to M-E on a permanent basis. I am a big consumer of popular culture, but I believe that loosing yourselfe totaly in a book like LOTR might not be good for you. But that a different discussion, fit for its own thread.
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My own reading experience has been different. While Tolkien tells a whopping good story in the context of a different "age", I also find myself drawn face to face with some themes that stand at the heart of who we are: the nature of courage, the importance of mercy, the price that sometimes has to be paid for "goodness" to prevail. This list could go on at length. From my perspective then, the book is not escapist.
That is not to say a person couldn't "abuse" the book by focusing so completely on it that other essential things are lost in their life. This could happen not only with Tolkien, but with many good things. Food, family, friends, literature/art, and work all have a place in our life, but even good things may get "out of balance" if we lose a sense of perspective. And, in this limited sense, Tolkien's writings are as capable of abuse as many other things.
One last question.....are you (or is anyone else out there) familiar with the book
The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons, Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy by David Loy and Linda Goodhew? The book is not widely known but has gotten strong reviews in both general publications and those written within the Buddhist community (at least the reviews I bumped into on the internet). Among the author's examined are Tolkien, Pullman, Ursula K. LeGuin and the anime movie Princess Mononoke.
Loy and Goodhew apparently make the argument that Dharma is found in all good and complex tales, and that it is therefore possible to see certain aspects of Budddhism's teachings reflected in stories such as those of Tolkien and LeGuin. In terms of LotR, they specifically focus on two things: those portions of the book that stress non-violence, including the repeated sparing of Gollum's life, and the idea of Frodo's quest as one of renunciation, virtually a lesson in detachment.
This might be interesting to read, if only because the authors take such a different perspective than the one I personally bring to the text. But nowhere, in any of the reviews, is there any mention of "reincarnation"...
