Tolkien spiritualty... A hint of Buddhism?

[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