While not working in any formal way on this subject, I'm curious to
see what y'all think about this subject.  After re-reading _The
Mysterious Stranger_, I began musing over the possiblity of Eastern
religous influence on Twain.  _MS_ reflects a number of Buddhist
concepts, notably the dream-self being uncluttered with the
confusions of corporal life, and the final idea that we are vagrant
thoughts, dreams, spirits more than individual selves parallels
Buddhist thinking.  For one recent critic, _MS_ resolves Twain's
mind/body dualism by using the dream state, again, a notion
strikingly Eastern.

Alan Gribben tells me Twain was deficent in his reading of Eastern
texts, and _Ah Sin_ certainly reflects stereotypical concepts of
the Chinese rather than any attempt to explore the Confusciousism
dominant in the immigrant population in the west.  Still, there
must be at least paralelles and indirect influences on Twain's
thought, so I thought I'd throw the idea to the Forum and see what
you think.