Thich Nhat Hanh has looked deeply into the Christian story of the Resurrection. From No Death, No Fear:
The practice of resurrection, or re-manifestation, is possible for all of us. Our practice is always to resurrect our selves, going back to the mind and the body with the help of mindful breathing and walking. This will produce our true presence in the here and the now. Then we can become alive again. We will be like dead people reborn. We are free from the past, we are free from the future, we are capable of establishing ourselves in the here and now. We are fully present in the here and now, and we are truly alive. That is the basic practice of Buddhism. Whether you eat or drink or breathe or walk or sit, you can practice resurrection. Always allow yourself to be established in the here and now -- fully present, fully alive. That is the real practice of resurrection. (pp. 98 - 99)
The practice of resurrection should be taken up by each of us. When we practice it with success we will also help other people around us. This is the true practice of being alive. Whatever we do in our daily practice -- walking, sitting, eating or sweeping the floor -- the purpose of all these things is to help us become alive again. Be alive in every moment, and by waking up yourself, you will wake up the world. (p. 118)
Thus the message of Easter is: wake up!
Wake up!
Wake up!
It appears, according to Thầy, that Christmas is Jesus' no-birthday, and Easter is his no-death day. Both are his continuation days.
Happy Continuation Day, JC!
Credits:
"The Resurrection" by William Blake; source http://www.Artchive.com
"Padmasambhava Statue", Tibetan; source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Guru_Rinpoche_-_Padmasambhava_statue.jpg
"I OPEN WIDE MY EYES BUT SEE NO SCENERY. I FIX MY GAZE UPON MY HEART, 2007," by Takashi Murakami; source http://www.creativepooldesign.de/mood_art/murakami_05_06.html It is our old lidless friend, Bodhidharma.
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