Tolkien spiritualty... A hint of Buddhism?

[Wayland]

Originally Posted by THE Ka

As we all know, weither it came to Arda's languages or mythological structures, Tolkien strived to make a connection with that of Finnish mythology anf language.

This is somewhat true with his basic layout of arda's spirituality, the consept of Fëa and hröa (Spirit and matter(body) ). But, as i was looking at these consepts again, i found something that gave me the notion that the idea of basic buddhist principles were relative with the Fëa. For example, elvish Fea, is different from mannish Fea because, elves cannot die of old age or disease but, they can die if they are "killed" (Battle, shot, stabed, ect...) or of grief. When this happens, their soul (fea) leaves their hroa (Body) then the soul is reincarnated into a new-born body that is identical to the previous hröa. This is proably the most noticed element of Buddhism and older Teutonic (European) spirituality. Also is the consept of the "wait" in the Halls of mandos. If a fea performs many acts of evil, they are refused reincarnation. Also, men were quiet luckly because they could skip all of this and leave arda completely after death. in a way, this is a connection with the ideal of Nirvana, or Nibbana The mind experiences complete freedom, liberation and non-attachment. It lets go of any desire or craving. In this way, men get the easy way out.

As for elves, many in the lord of the rings discussed the idea of leaving "Arda" forever, instead of returning. This is an almost direct link with buddhism. In the story of Buddha, it explains how Buddha (originally prince Siddhãrtha Gautama) Sought a way to 'break free' from this cycle or reincarnation. An example of this in Arda might be the actions of Lúthien, who like buddha was left with the choice between two different paths.


What do you think of this connection?

If you would like to learn more about Buddha's life click on this link to use as a reference...
http://www.ancientindia.co.uk/buddha/story/sto_set.html

Tolkein drew much of his inspiration from the ancient myths of European tribes and in so much as there is a tenuous connection between them and the Aryan peoples who settled in Northern India we may expect to see some elements of commonality.

As far as I recall there was some belief in reincarnation amongst the Celts, although whether this was as systematic as the Buddhist view I do not know. There are strong elements of Celtic mythology underpinning the elven cosmos and thus, in my opinion, we see a form of reincarnation within this context.

This common Indo-Germanic heritage also contains Wyrd (or fate) / Karma and some *gods (Thor / Indra) which are similar, but do not feature in LOTR (see below).

As to the religious ‘tone’ of Tolkein’s LOTR, I would say it is monotheist, if not explicitly Christian, although any Christian reading it will find much material that accords with Christianity and I think would be able to make a fair claim that the work was essentially underpinned by a Christian, theological framework.

The “One” is hardly mentioned, but there are plenty of hints. The fallen Valar, Morgoth, is certainly Lucifer-like. As I read the book I could not help but equate Strider with Jesus; healing hands and all. *There are no other “Gods” mentioned, which is unusual for a fantasy work. The baddies all follow evil beings but they are never equated with gods, nor do the various tribes and races of Middle Earth have their own gods. Odd, if you think about it, but it makes sense within an implied monotheist context.

The work is a product of its times. C.S.Lewis delivers a similar ‘feel’ in his Chronicles of Narnia, for which he has been recently criticized (unfairly I feel).

Therefore, in my opinion, if there are any parallels between tLOTR and Buddhism it is thanks to the common heritage of the Indo-Germanic tribes. The subject is quite vast and interesting and this commonality manifests throughout the folklore, cosmology and native religions of East and West and will have, thus, seeped into tLOTR by default.

My knowledge of things Tolkein is poor, so I may be mistaken on a few points. Please feel free to correct me here.