Message #9795

[fodder]

What about eastern religions like Buddhism? They don't pray to anyone in particular, though they might venerate particularly enlightened humans or practice ancestor worship. Not SMA? Because I would actually say that SA has distinctly eastern influences - the Stars are not exactly gods (as only rarely are they described as having a conscious will), they are simply inherently divine, much like natural objects or places can be considered to have divine aspects in Shinto. Much of what SA teaches about their influence on the lives of men and the need to balance their influences within oneself is evocative of aspects of Buddhism and Taoism both.

that's why buddhism chinese style or for that matter, japanese style (and presumably just about any style that is for the masses) has tons of big fat half dressed blokes as statues/busts/etc that those idiot peasants pray at. whether you class them as gods or demigods or something more akin to saints is another matter.