The Monday after Easter. Wow. There are surely a few experiences happening for all that observe the events of this past month leading from Ash Wednesday through Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the important occasion which so many celebrate in essence on Easter Sunday.
The first and critical component... all those vices that were given up for lent are taken up with RELISH! (Would be interesting to check historic sales of chocolate on the day after Easter each year wouldn't it!?)
Also to all who gave up blogging or Facebook - WELCOME BACK! We missed you all, and only spoke lovingly of you in your absence! (Memo to self, check back dated posts for snarky commentary on giving up Bowdawg for lent!)
Obviously (or perhaps this is a news flash) those of us who are Buddhist converts do not celebrate Easter in the liturgical sense. We do not follow the prescribed calendar of the faith base. But I want to assure each of you (to whom it matters, or even if there is not such interest... but it makes for a way to kill 15 minutes reading your Monday blog updates, here it goes) I still like to "observe" Easter even as a Buddhist.
The ideas that are represented are of Universal hope, and WHO would not want to celebrate that? And also to acknowledge the spiritual and historical arising from the day of the Christ ascending. Anticipation of the return is something that (I believe)
Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, the students of
Kunzang Palyul Choling, the
Palyul community at large and all students of
His Holiness Penor Rinpoche are keenly aware of as we speak (or you know - the blogging terminology equivalent.)
I once heard a PROFOUND explanation of the meaning of Easter, and it was from a Buddhist. I want to impart a smidgen of my perspective based on that information, and hope that IN NO WAY do you see this as challenging anything you believe. Moreso - it is to take an inclusive attitude that we needn't all celebrate each others holidays to see the value in each of them. And if we expanded our efforts to include unfamiliar(to us) and foreign faith based rituals and events... HEAVEN forbid... we might better understand the fellow inhabitants of our planet!?
So... with Easter, comes the acknowledgement of Judas. MOST people I know would utter that name with a sense of disgust or with that label of "betrayer" - and I will not argue that point with them in that moment. Seems fruitless. But if we take a step back from the emotional display... we must admit SOME of us are in the role of Buddhist philosophers who grew up with Christian culture and traditions... so the holidays still hold an EMOTIONAL element as much as a spiritual memory. And for my beloved friends and readers who are practicing Christians, perhaps an teeeeeeeny offering to you of seeing our perspective can be had. And offer you a chance to mention yours if you like.
SO. Judas. Bad guy, right? Why on EARTH would one of the fortunate disciples even DREAM of telling the authorities where Jesus could be found that night in Gethsemane? If that had not occurred... the twelve disciples, their companions/consorts and the small entourage surrounding the man whose death (and subsequent arising) has had one of the largest impressions on our planet TO DATE... would not have come to pass. (EEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRT.) [How do you make the sound of screeching brakes in writing?]
Let us ponder that. IF Judas had not, performed his role (that is the best way I can state it without giving judgement to the action) then I do not know HOW the world could have witnessed the persecution of one of the most arguably NOT GUILTY men in history. His execution, and then the miracle of his power over the death of the body could not have then been witnessed.
It is a Buddhist story if EVER I heard one. But again, for different emphasis and reasons. Not because of the religion or beliefs of those before, during or after. The person involved had faith unlike most of us can even fathom (again - I insert disclaimer that I am not clergy, I am not historically speaking with advanced training, and I am not trying to convert, deny, or recruit any one elses's view. I am building a small conversational bridge we might use to cross a creek and meet on each other's shores.)
We, as Vajrayan Buddhists, study how to die. That sounds ODD doesn't it? Why, amongst the beauty of life... would you even THINK about the horror of dying? It seems so dang depressing.
But, there are those who might posit that Jesus had 2 choices for his method of showing the everlasting truth and JOY that he knew existed beyond the limitations of the flesh. He could (as I once heard it described PERFECTLY by a brilliant woman who knows SO MUCH MORE on this topic than I can pretend to know) he could have lasted FOREVER in his life. Walked his talk for hundreds of years, eons perhaps. And shown that the "rules" of humanity have no hold over he who has surrendered his life as a vehicle of service to the Ultimate goal. We Buddhist call that person a Bodhisattva. And Jesus was an EXEMPLARY Bodhisattva. And (not wishing to stir up controversy) there are others. It is, I believe WHY he kept saying and teaching the WAY to become this.
But how could he have displayed that without the events that transpired? Without the betrayal, the death on the cross, and the resurrection... the students and disciples would have grown weary from waiting, or died off themselves because they did not know this method of eternal life... and all we would have to celebrate thes past few weeks would be that mysterious substance that Cadberry makes look like a yolk in the middle of that chocolate egg. (THAT is a miracle.)
Seriously though, lent is a sad little equivalent of a chance to sacrifice a piece of our comfort in modern life. Give up something we enjoy or cling to in acknowledgement of one who has made a MUCH bIgGeR sacrifice.
We, as Buddhist, are encouraged to renounce CONSTANTLY the phenomena of the Earth life we cling to so desperately. We are NEVER taught to throw away that life. And we are not told that we have no choice but to abandon the phenomena. You always have a choice.
There are some people who practice at that level of avoiding the ACTUAL phenomena (be it vows of celibacy, abstinence, and other components of the Vinaya or monastic lifestyle.) But there are also more subtle opportunities to not be HOOKED by the things in this life that are so tempting. To live among these things but not be CONTROLLED by them... intoxicated with them. Insatiable little buggers that we are.
I feel compelled to view Easter each year, to view Judas (who, honestly, became more human and worthy of attention in my life through the character portrayed in Jesus Christ Superstar) and to not just "jump ship" in this transitional period in our history as Americans. YES - what Judas did SUCKS both karmically and because it drove him to his own destruction. But I cannot see the world in absolute polarities. I could day that because I am THIS then I can only witness THAT as a bad thing. But I know that is not what the Buddha or Jesus taught. They teach us the EMPTINESS of phenomena. The hopeless cycle that evolves from judging this as good and that as bad. It leads to dying from THIS life and being born into THAT life and then arguing back with just as much conviction how bad THIS life is from THAT perspective. Endless. Pointless. SILLY.
Instead the Bodhisattvas show us that all this phenomena is child's play. And if you want to walk in the light that they display you must not only SAY you believe. You MUST change. You must go through your own crucifixion and arise from that display. You must walk the path.
I cannot tell you how to do that. I can only offer a perspective that says I grew up with the icons of Easter (and honestly - doesn't it seem confusing how we throw in the events of Palms and Communion with the original Pagan elements of Spring and then get the corporate sponsors involved and... TO DATE... I and most kids have no clue what coloring EGGS, hiding them - cavorting with a huge fuzzy Bunny that breaks and enters once a year and leaves you high caloric, tooth rotting loot has to do with ANY of it.) But we LOVE us some holidays don't we!? And don't even get me started on the spiral cut ham...
SO I didn't want to spoil the festivities of the holiday- but I wanted to lift the veil on the Monday that it usually all "goes away" (and all the chocolate goes on half price... MEMO to self... hit the candy discount aisle today!) I want you and me whether we are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish or Mormons... I wanted ALLLLLL the variety and spices in this boiling pot of soup we call humanity to GROW from our opportunities. Not just mark calendars, but take up the habits of our teachers and what they come to display for us. No need to run out and get nailed to a cross. But if this dorky little Buddhist can wake up today still in AWE of what that represented... 2000 some odd years ago. Well... I am guessing that Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene (one of the FIRST to witness and thus a KEY to the unfolding) all must have served their purpose quite brilliantly.
Without them... Hershey's would have NEVER given us that ~awesome~ little Peanut Butter eggy shaped thing at this time every year.
Be of good cheer. Pardon me for (yet another) discussion of the philosophies I study now in Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo's mandala with the beauty of the Christian faith I grew up with at First United Methodist in Athens Georgia. I am happier still about Easter's significance now through the study of P'howa and the teachings on Chod than I believe I was when I worshipped at the stage of Andrew Lloyd Weber. But I must say... I often wonder if Andrew was an incarnation of Judas Iscariot!?
Ok - rambling now so... I am off to raid CVS shelves of some malted milk ball eggs. Happy Trails, Peace and all that Jazz.
[Susan Hawk - not the TV reality star - this is my pal of the same name from my days at UGA and beyond.]
