Ask HN: Was Douglas Adams a Buddhist?
This might sound a little off the wall but I was wondering whether there has been any discussions about Douglas Adams' beliefs? Or did he admit to anything in his lifetime?
I have come to believe that Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy could be retitled to Hitchhikers Guide to Enlightenment! Hence I suspect that Adams had insights into Buddhism and perhaps even had enlightenment himself - I dunno.
Three examples that come to mind:
- the girl who finds an answer to the ultimate questsion in a cafe in Islington is Adams telling us that enlightenment can be found anywhere, you don't need to be a Buddhist in a monastery to achieve it.
- Marvin the paranoid android is Adams himself and when Marvin says: "here I am a mind the size of the Universe and what am I doing? Parking cars." This was a reference to Adams reaching enlightenment and all he's doing is writing books.
- The cow in the restaurant at the end of the universe wanting to be eaten is a reference to providing happiness to others to reach your own personal Nirvana, even if it means death.
If anyone has ideas/references/insides that would be great.
Cheers and thanks for reading this far!