Can Buddhist lore make for a decent setting? What sort of stuff would go down? I see all kinds of cool shit in the artwork from Google images
I read about Buddhist Hercules winding up in Japan and became intrigued
>>48035122
So-called Buddhist lore is just other religions and myths whose aspects were blended with Buddhism by people who never actually received any education on Buddhist thought.
>>48035175
Isn't that every religion?
IIRC the nips called the kami "emanations" of the bodhisattvas
Like how european pagan gods became saints and demons
>>48035122
Nigga do you even Kill Six Billion Demons?
>>48035645
>God committed suicide because he was lonely
Wasn't that what Jim Starlin wrote as the origin of the Infinity Gems?
>>48035817
>God committed suicide because he was lonely
Shit Anon. We are made in his image.;_;
>>48035122
Lord Yama is the motherfucking shit.
>>48035270
The difference is that Buddhism wasn't meant to be a religion at all.
>>48035122
Buddhist lore as taught by the Japanese steals a ton of shit from Hinduism. Actual Buddhist lore consists of "There was a man who became the Buddha and sought to teach others how to achieve enlightenment."
Source: I'm a Practicing Buddhist.
>>48035175
Yes and no. In the west pop-Buddhism is definitely a thing but the dharmic religions are definitely more fluid about their iconography and rituals than the abrahamic faiths.
You can't seriously tell me a Japanese Homa ceremony doesn't have more than a passing similarity to an Indian Agni pooja?
>>48036362
Er, Chinese
And listen to >>48036330
Buddhism is supposed to be secular. The Chinese pretty much fucked it all up.
>>48036330
Anon
There are people who think they can magically turn symbolic bread and wine into flesh and blood
>>48036181
“Then the one called Raltariki is really a demon?" asked Tak.
"Yes—and no," said Yama, "If by 'demon' you mean a malefic, supernatural creature, possessed of great powers, life span and the ability to temporarily assume virtually any shape—then the answer is no. This is the generally accepted definition, but it is untrue in one respect."
"Oh? And what may that be?"
"It is not a supernatural creature."
>>48036401
The difference here is that Buddhism literally just teaches you to meditate to the point where you can feel every single atom in your body simultaneously, then keep doing it until you reach enlightenment.
>>48036401
Yes, but the teachings of Buddha never involved any religious beliefs in the first place. He never asked anyone to believe in any deities or afterlife or divine order. He spoke of suffering, of the arising of desire and attachment, and how to control and make them cease, so that one wouldn't have to suffer. It involved, or involves, self-reflection and meditation, not prayer or sacrifices or anything of the kind.
>>48036454
Gold star for you, sir.
>>48035122
Buddhism is a hodge podge of various religious belief of the local people as the priest left from India and went further east.
And with the way spirituality is treated in the east versus the west it wasn't hard for dieties to either become manifestations of dieties learned about via the Buddhist priest and you have various names piled on them and added on in some way or another, hell there is even a hellenistic version of Buddhism where certain images of wrathful dieties may have drawn inspiration from.
So in essence this is perfect for a setting because it allows for a kitchen sink setting that is all unified under a few assumptions:
1. All things are a manifestation of the cosmic entity known as "god"
2. All beings are essentially "equal" because of this regardless of their status but Gods are essentially no better then a human or a demon as they themselves have not escaped the wheel of reincarnation
3. Just because something is a "demon" doesn't automatically make it evil as all beings can learn the Dharma so while certain spirits or creatures and eminations or whatever can be hostile doesn't mean they always have to be unlike the D&D depiction of orcs who are suppose to be always chaotic evil just by existing
