Tolkien spiritualty... A hint of Buddhism?

[Baran]

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.

Of course it is possible to read LotR and enjoy it for what it is, a highly enertaining book. I don't think Tolkien tried to make a statement or to preach anything, he wanted to write a great story. And he did, he created a vaste world you can "dwell" in, and many people define their identity from it. Who of you didn't find it sad to put LotR down after finishing reading it, because you were going to miss all the characters and places in the book? i know I did. And some people might distance themselves from their own world, replacing it with the fictional world of M-E. As Child of the 7th age wrote, this is of course not only a phenomen of Tolkiens work, humans do this all the time, with drugs, movies, star-wars, fassion, stamp-collections...
I personaly can't compare the work of Tolkien with other great books I've read. I don't feel I learned much from reading it, I was just highly entertained. Where really good books invites you to take a look at yourself and the world around you from a different perspective, for me LotR just was a good story.

Earlier i wrote that people define their identity from LotR. Imo this is one of the basic needs people have. Thats where everything from religions to fan-clubs steam from, and that's how you create yourself and the sense of a soul. The goal of Buddhism is to rid yourself of this "illusion" of self and soul. This is my opinion of the books from a personal Buddhist-infuenced perpective, and I won't argue that what I'm saying applies to other people. You might read the books and get to know yourself better, I just didn't.

[Assasin]

Tolkien was a Creationist, not a Buddhist.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Tolkien was a Creationist, not a Buddhist.

Yes, I think we can all agree that he was not a Buddhist. And we can also agree that Tolkien's writings primarily reflect the ideas he had garnered from his study of northern myth, his own vast knowledge of languages, and his commitment to his Catholic faith.

Yet, a piece of writing has a life of its own: it is more than what an author puts into it. The readers who come to Lord of the Rings bring their own knowledge and background, and these are certainly not identical to Tolkien. When an individual looks at the stories and filter them through his minds, his response to the text will be unique, different than that of any other reader. This is what makes literature so exciting. If it was just a set piece that could be understood in only one way, things could get boring very fast.

Sometimes, our response to the text is a personal one. We see something that's happened to one of the characters, and we can see how it's similar to something that's occurred in our own life. It's as if a light goes on, and a door opens up. A passage that we'd read a dozen times before suddenly has new meaning. Tolkien didn't necessarily put that meaning there intentionally, but we see it through the prism of our own experience.

This one-on-one encounter applies not just to personal experiences but also to the more general set of knowledge each reader brings to the text. If someone is familiar with a particular religion, historical period, or philosophy they may look at the book and see echoes that remind them of related themes or examples. That doesn't mean that Tolkien was an adherent of that particular religion or movement, or that he put something in intentionally for that reason. What it does mean is that, despite all our differences, there are underlying, universal themes that find expression in many different mythological, religious and historical forms.

Tolkien, for example, may have presented war and non-violence as an early twentieth century man who was influenced by his own Christian beliefs and by examples from his beloved northern myths. Yet there are other myths and religions. even other historical epochs, that also have something to teach us about these same universal themes. In my opinion, it is legitimate for a reader to point out such similarities and differences. Whether you would agree with a particular interpretation or not, whether you see a similarity or difference, is something else. Like any reader, you have the right to agree or disagree.

Child, newly converted proponent of the reader's right to interpret the text

[Aiwendil]

Assassin:

Tolkien was a Creationist, not a Buddhist.

Tolkien was a creationist? That's news.

[The Saucepan Man]

Child, newly converted proponent of the reader's right to interpret the text.

Welcome to the club!

[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 . . .

[Child of the 7th Age]

I ran across an article on the net entitled A Buddhist Reading of J. R. R. Tolkien: Middle Earth and Middle Path.

While I know nothing of the author or his background, it seems carefully written and pertinent to this thread so I am posting the link here.