Buddhist Thoughts is the SLC Buddhist Temple newsletter which is mailed to Temple members each month. Here we provide excerpts from archival Buddhist Thoughts.

2004 April

The Resurrection of Buddha
by J.K. Hirano

Redemption and resurrection are neither words nor objects of belief. They are our daily practice. We practice in such a way that Buddha is born every moment of our daily life, that Jesus Chirst is born every moment of our daily life.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh, Going Home

It's interesting how many holidays coincide on similar times of the year. For us Buddhists, living in the predominantly Christian society, we can't help but notice that Christmas is in the same month as Bodhi Day. Our Hanamatsuri service is usually very close to Easter. Living in Utah, our Bazaar seems to also fall very close to the L.D.S. Fall general conference and our Hanamatsuri very close to the Spring general conference. The way I tend to look at all of this, is that it's good to live in an area where religion is important. We should respect our L.D.S. and Christian friends and let's hope they will do the same for us.

If you look at many of my articles over the years, I have spoken or written about my personal feelings about Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. At least that is what it has become. Even the word Christmas comes from Jesus Christ. That is why some people have called Christmas X mas. Trying to create a secular form of the Christmas holiday. I have stated that I love Christmas and the entire season. I feel gratitude for the birth of Jesus Christ and I have no problem celebrating his birthday. However, I had often said, that Easter is a different story. Easter was a holiday that was just too Christian for me.

However, to a certain degree I may have to revamp my own understanding and view of Easter. First of all, I knew that the word Easter was not Christian in origin. It was a pagan festival held at the vernal equinox to honor Eastre, the goddess of Dawn. Since the Christian celebration of celebrating Christ's resurrection was at about the same time. This pagan word was borrowed and the spelling changed to Easter, when Christianity was introduced into England. In addition in looking up the word resurrection, I found that the unabridged Webster's Dictionary listed the first meaning as: a rising again; the resumption of vigor. If we view the resurrection of Jesus Christ in this manner, I can see us celebrating or at least learning from this interreligious understanding.

The famous Buddhist monk Thich Naht Hanh in his book Living Buddha, Living Christ, writes "When we understand and practice deeply the life and teachings of Buddha or the life and teachings of Jesus, we penetrate the door and enter the abode of the living Buddha and the living Christ, and life eternal presents itself to us." If we accept Easter as the resumption of vigor towards the teachings of Jesus Christ, it would be a very difficult thing to argue against. The teachings of Jesus Christ is quite different then the interpretation many churches have given them. If we were to compare side by side, the words of Jesus Christ to the teachings of the Buddha, it would be very difficult to find contradictions. For it is the commentary about the rising from the dead of Jesus Christ that I have problems with, not his teachings.

Thich Naht Hanh also wrote, "Redemption and resurrection are neither words nor objects of belief. They are our daily practice. We practice in such a way that Buddha is born every moment of our daily life, that Jesus Christ is born every moment of our daily life." If we are to view resurrection as the moment to moment introduction of the teachings of the Buddha into our lives, let the resurrection of Buddha be celebrated on Easter and everyday. On April 11th we will be celebrating our Hanamatsuri service, to commemorate the birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha. Please join us in celebrating and taking part of the resurrection of Buddha. Namo Amida Butsu.

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