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Easter for Buddhists
lobster
Crusty Veteran
Lobsters guide to Easter 
- Good Frigsday/Friday - this is when Almighty Baby Jesus, fully grown arrived in town on a miracle uber-donkey. The donkey could not talk, like in Shrek. Everyone shouted Havannah and gave him leaves as money was uncool in olden days.
- Easter Sunnyday - Thanos the god killer, nails Magic Jesus to wood (don't worry he escapes in the End Game)
- Moonday morning - Thor/JC is risen like dough/duh. It's a conjuring miracle!
To celebrate the Christian Pagan East-err we eat chocolate bunnies, vegan eggs made of consumer grade chocolate and offer the following prayer:
Go in Peace. See you at Christmas. 
Do you engage in this consumer sponsored minor holiday?
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Remember to leave out chocolate eggs and easter basket grass for the magical Snoop Easter Dogg on 420 eve!
I celebrate the Easter weekend for a couple of reasons but they don't have much to do with the death of Jesus.
It's usually the first really nice weekend of spring (not this year though) so I've made it a combination of New Years and the Spring Equinox. I've been doing that for years.
My daughter is 5 now and likes the egg hunt and fancies an Easter bunny. We tell her it's a celebration of life and that is pretty much what Easter is anyways.
I go through a lot of peanut butter dunking chocolate bunnies. But I don't need an excuse for that.
Not really... Easter's for Bunnies
There're lots of bunnies around these parts...and they breed like rabbits
. Hope you all have had a good Friday
Easter is not a Buddhist celebration. I enjoy a few days off work and watch people gorge themselves on chocolate.
Jesus who?
I take any excuse for a holiday going. I usually enjoy a bit of the Matthaus Passion on tv, might watch the odd Bodhi Jesus-oriented film, have Easter Brunch with the family. So I do celebrate it a little through participating.
My wife has taught me to hide a bunch of junky candy for her to find, and I've done it every year for the last 40. Then, on the day after, we invariably go to the grocery to pick up the marked down leftovers. Other than that, no.
It sometimes seems to me that there is a germ of the sense of rebirth lurking in here somewhere, but the Christians have yet to see or develop it. Maybe someday, but until then, really low-quality imitation chocolate will have to suffice.
Some personal reflections on Good Friday/Jesus' death:
Today is Good Friday, the day that traditionally commemorates the death of Jesus. What does Jesus' death mean to people today, over 2,000 years later? We're told it means salvation, new life, peace. To be honest, it's a bit hard for me to understand what that supposedly means on a deep, theological level. But Jesus' death on the cross can also act as a template for our own lives. Jesus had a mission, to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10). And when Jesus went out, he went out to teach, to heal, to feed, and to share God's love by loving others, which in itself is radical thing. But his faith, his love, and his compassionate action were threatening to many, from those among the elite to even some among the common people. And they all eventually tried in their own way, whether out of fear, ignorance, misunderstanding, ill will, or attachment to tradition, to take away these treasures he possessed. But try as they may, he wouldn't give them up, even under the threat of death. He held tight to his faith, his love, and his compassion for all of humanity, all the way down to the least among us, and he willingly suffered death on the cross rather than lose them to fear, hatred, selfishness, and inaction. In essence, his life wasn't just about himself, it was ultimately about his relationship to others, to the whole world, and to God. His life was an example to us, a mandala, a living tapestry meant to inspire and hearten us. His life was like a lamp shining forth the bright light of hope into the future in order to guide us and help us not lose our way to the kingdom of heaven, that joyful world we wish to one day see, born out of love in action.
The minor league baseball team here (Go Redbirds !! ) are hosting an Easter brunch before their game on Sunday...so I’ll be there. Should be fun! I’m determined not to go get the clearance candy the day after this year, since I’m trying to limit my sugar! They did an egg hunt at work, but I didn’t participate bec of course it involved prayer and praise. Not my cup of tea. No big deal...y’all have fun with it.
I am more looking forward to the post-holiday sales on Easter candy.
Some extracts from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Living Buddha, Living Christ:
“On the altar in my hermitage in France are images of Buddha and Jesus, and every time I light incense, I touch both of them as my spiritual ancestors.”
“It is not words or concepts that are important. What is important is our insight into the nature of reality and our way of responding to reality. If the Buddha had been born into the society in which Jesus was born, I think he, too, would have been crucified.”
“Before the Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc burned himself alive in 1963, he meditated for several weeks and then wrote very loving letters to his government, his church, and his fellow monks and nuns explaining why he had reached that decision. When you are motivated by love and the willingness to help others attain understanding, even self-immolation can be a compassionate act. When Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified, He was acting in the same way, motivated by the desire to wake people up, to restore understanding and compassion, and to save people.”
“All of us possess the energy of mindfulness, the energy of the Holy Spirit, only its intensity and strength vary in each person. Our daily practice is to increase, to strengthen that power. There is no need to wait until Easter to celebrate. When the Holy Spirit is present, Jesus is already here.”
When did Good Friday become a holiday? It wasn't, when I was a kid and young adult. Where I currently live, in NM, it is, because it's a Hispanic state, which means--Catholic. But in CA it wasn't a holiday, nor in WA. Later, some businesses chose to make it one for their employees, but it's not a state holiday in West Coast states, AFAIK.
It's the Resurrection that I can't swallow. (Chocolate--I can swallow, though I shouldn't.
). I think Jesus recovered from his ordeal, as he'd been treated with herbs in the hope that he would, and went on to continue a life of teaching. I found reference to a couple of apocryphal books/scripture, that say that's what happened, but I didn't write down their titles, unfortunately.
Anyway, that's just me.
Personally ...it's just another day like any other day...nothing special...why should it be any different....Wake up ...meditate...go about the day in a mindful way....meditate...go to bed...enough said
Everyday/thing is special which means nothing is special
Friday was just as Good as any other day 
It's always been a public holiday in Australia. Recently though, businesses are starting to operate regardless.
....no doubt many will be doing just that.....and regretting it later
Happy Easter every one,
I am glad Jesus does not die, all superhero’s should be immortal. Buddha too is a superhero.
... who died.... but then again, don't we all? Even RDJ will one day rust and fade away...
Here in the Netherlands it is a pretty strong tradition, with all kinds of coverage on the media. There is this show called The Passion where a cast of characters take over a town and there is an organised procession of a cross through the town and the Jesus story is told in song and music on stage and by the characters around the town.
This time of year shows so much proof of resurrection. Living near the Great Lakes I am fortunate to experience huge differences in seasons. This particular season is filled with metaphoric absolution. The dirt that has accumulated over the course of the winter while we hide ourselves in our homes is washed away by the purity of spring rains. This anointing of water on the ground brings forth such astonishing beauty, as the trees bud and the bulbs slice through the earth to once again share their magnificence. Even our minds are renewed with the presence of a warm sun that we have not experienced in many months. Shake off the depressive nature of a long winter. Hear the birds sing and the children play after missing it for a time and you will know the truth of resurrection.
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Outside the library where I do tutoring.
The resurrection has often been cited as a metaphor for the renewal of life. This is why Christians purloined the Feast of Oestros as a pretty good explanation of Christ's rising from the dead.
Reincarnation was an accepted and very common belief in Christian circles, until it finally dawned on Church authorities that reincarnation meant that the threat of hell-fires and damnation wouldn't be effective, as part of God's authority, so they decreed reincarnation a no-no...
When you consider that the Feast of Easter is a moveable one (decided on the phases of the moon) it's easy to see why and how Church elders could happily move the goalposts to suit their stories....
I didn't know the Netherlands did that. I thought only Catholic countries did. That sort of thing is huge in Latin America. Isn't the Netherlands a secular society? Sorry, I'm a little confused here. Is the majority of the population religious? If so, do they actually believe in the Resurrection, or is the show/play/re-enactment more of a cultural heritage tradition?
Belief in reincarnation or rebirth doesn't stop some Buddhists from preaching hellfire and damnation. I don't see how that would conflict with belief in reincarnation or rebirth...?
It's different for a Theistic religion that needs to be in cgrge and the ultimate Authority on all matters Godly.... The Catholic Council outlawed it as a teaching, in Medieval times...
From here.
Going against ancient teachings and the existence of Christ's own secret teachings (to his most trusted disciples) meant that Church elders could exert more pressure, influence and power over their flock.
Yes, the Netherlands is largely secular now, with about 25% Christians, 50% “something”-ists, and 25% atheists. But it has a Bible Belt and a strong Christian heritage, with the Catholic Church being a slight majority of practicing Christians. It all comes out during the holidays, with Christmas and Easter still being quite strongly represented.
The 50% “something”-ists are called that because they believe there is something there, but they don’t affiliate directly with a church although in a pinch they might call that something god. So they sometimes come along and Christian or religious shows of various denominations get a pretty good audience.
The show The Passion has been quite clever in getting celebrities to turn up and do some of the singing on stage, and it’s quite a large production, with television coverage over several days. It’s more showbizz than religion.
In the Allah Dharma (currently unpopular) the often banned dervishes chant Who, Who or rather Hoo! Hoo!
Believe it or not they are not all followers of The Doctor
“This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me!”
— The Doctor, Season 1, Episode 2