Quoted By:
A team themed around Pokemon based on or alluding to Buddhist practices, themes, or otherwise culture (mostly Mahayana).
Kommo-o is based on monks and Boddhisattvas that seek to inculcate their training in others, Mienshao is based on the Shaolin Monks that practice Kung Fu and Chan Buddhism, Mandibuzz is based on the Tibetan vultures that feed on the corpses interred in a sky burial in Vajrayana Buddhism and that cultivates karma, Darmanitan is based on achieving Buddhahood through practices of Zen Buddhism (I thought it might be a neat gimmick if the Darmanitan were uniquely permanently in Zen mode, but if this was too outlandish it could simply be a regular Darmanitan with Zen Mode as its ability), Bellsprout is based on the use of Bellsprout by the Monks at Sprout Tower which is intended to represent the strength of co-operating and adapting to ones environment (I consider Bellsprout more integral to that ethos than Victreebel or Weepinbell), and Spiritomb is based on a Buddhist Japanese tradition of the 108 temptations that inhibit the attainment of enlightenment.
There are possibly others that fit and perhaps too ones that tighten up the typings, but it was a fun exercise anyway. Overall, I think this team represents a good variety of (Mahayana) Buddhist themes - meditative practice that trains both the body (Meinshao), the mind (Darmanitan), and the spirit (Mandibuzz), that reminds one of the constancy of temptations (Spiritomb) but also of strength through non-attachment and adaptation (Bellsprout), and that seeks to teach these practices to others (Kommo-o).
