>>Malkioni saints remind me vaguely of the bodhisatva of Mahayana
>>Buddhism, who chose not to enter nirvana in order to save others.
>
>And the parallel is flawed because in Mahayana Buddhism, Buddhas
>(and others who have attained Nirvana) can help others. One can
>look at Wu Ch'eng-en's 'Monkey' or the buddhist cults in Land of
>Ninja for examples.
Budhas have ascended to Nirvana and nolonger have access to the material world. Bodhisatvas choose _not_ to enter nirvana, and so do have access to the material world and can help mortals. I believe the cults in Land of Ninja, which I have not consulted recently, are presumably supposed to be Bodhisatvas, not Budhas.
Malkioni believe that the saints do live in Solace in Glory, but can still perform miracles, so the paralell is far from perfect. Perhaps some henotheists have similar beliefs about the nature of saints? I just think that the Mahayana Budhism paralell can add a little doctrinal variation to our Malkioni churches.
Simon Hibbs
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