> A symbol which looks a lot like a swastika exists as hindu iconography.
> I also saw that same symbol in many Buddhist temples in Japan. I don't
> know this for sure, but I suspect that the symbol is there because it was
> a Hindu symbol which got transferred to China and later to Korea and
> Japan in that great memetic vehicle (pun intended), Buddhism.
Probably... However, the question might come down to: would
Hitler have used a symbol that he could have traced to origins other
than the Teutonic? We should also consider the existence of the
Triskelion and its similarity to the Swastika as well... and the
connection of the spinning nature, four-armed structure, and solar
connotations of the symbol to the traditional seasonal element in
Teutonic folk religions (if I remember correctly, Hindu sects by and
large do not concern themselves heavily with seasonal
transitions)....
But this is all academic, unless we're looking at reconstructing
traditional Germanic religious structures (that's more the focus of
the OJB).
Toward the accumulation of useful information,
Noctem
P.S.: Is this an example of memetic twins (triplets, &c.)? Where two
or more memes look identical but in fact have completely different
natures?
Is this a concept we could apply to help along the
propogation of the Church?
P.P.S.: Mahayana, Mahayana, Mahayana.... Dang, it won't start!