Tolkien spiritualty... A hint of Buddhism?

[Ainaserkewen]

Ahh, the voice of the knowing. Thank you Suldaledhel.

Though I agree that Buddhism might be too different to be wholly comparable to the Elves death cycles, I have a different side thought. When I think of the story of the elves, it seems very Japanese to me. And when I say Japanese it means that I've made my way through a lot of Japanese manga (comics) and many stories. All these fantasy stories are directly influenced by the Buddhist natures in Japanese culture. The story of the elves, though much more developed than most manga, is roughly similar. What I mean to say is that though I don't know the intricasies of the Buddhist religion, I can see where the Ka is coming from. The idea of reincarnation, though it is a Christian idea, when you think of it physically, it feels very foreign and exotic, and I'm a devote Roman Catholic. So, yes, it is probably coincidence that the elves resemble Buddhism, but it is still an interesting approach to the idea.