Tolkien spiritualty... A hint of Buddhism?

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

A good story takes you where you never had been before. A great story takes you back to the places you knew, points at something, and makes you say, "Oh, something I missed!"

I made the quote up (just yestre day, really!) For you, Baran, LR is just a good story, because you've never been in the same "place" (i.e., the same mindset, for lack of better words) as Tolkien have. For me, Tolkien's pacifism and distaste for machinery is a place I've never been in. But from my Christian point of view, LR (and the Silm) takes me to places I know--my thoughts, my experiences--and it show it to me in a new light. So for me, LR is more than a good story.

Kinda like how you rep people, eh. The ones that make you slap your head and say "Why didn't I think of that?!"

Well, mostly: except davem's. I know I could never think like that.

You're just rambling here now . . .