Dear Ole and group,

>I have therefore concluded that there is absolutely no evidence
>that would support the idea of Buddhist influence on Christianity. In short,
>the two traditions converge.

It's perhaps not so surprising that they do converge. Religions may differ in terms of doctrine and specific technique, but we are all human beings and have the same basic emotions, cognitive faculties and existential predicament.

It's rather like discovering that Japanese swordsmanship and Western fencing have a number of similarities in points of technique. There's no need to presume influence from the one to the other. Both are rather conditioned by physics, the desire to fight, and the anatomy of the human body: two arms, two legs and so on. What would be surprising is if they didn't converge.

Monastics are monastics, meditators are meditators, devotees are devotees, and even if they come from widely varying traditions I believe they often recognize that they have much in common when they meet. The elements are the same: recognizing suffering and craving, taming desires, concentration, tranquility, universal kindness.

What makes Theravada Buddhism remarkable (to me) is its no-nonsense detailed analysis of religious emotions, insights and techniques. Elements that are present in murky, mythological ways in other religions are placed in crystal-clear, sober, systematic order within the Theravada system.

(Back to the thread-topic, I still believe it likely that Tolkien was at least partly influenced by having read a translation of the Mahabharata, but that he didn't mention it for some reason)

best regards,

/Rett