Jesus, Easter, Pharisees
It’s been a long day of work today but I still wanted to say something about Jesus, as it is Easter Friday.
Long time ago today, Jesus was crucified and killed by the ruling religious authorities, the pharisees, carried out by the Romans. I have often thought about this and the way how ruling authorities use their power when they are challenged or if they feel threatened. That very same clash of mentalities, one dogmatic and the other pragmatic keeps happening today, even though in most countries of the modern world forms of physical punishment are no longer. It wasn’t long ago though that Tibetan spiritual authorities would order whippings and in some islamic countries they still punish people with physical violence. Anyway, in most areas of the world such practices are long gone.
I don’t think there ever was an enlightened master who wasn’t passionate about what they had and needed to share. Some stories of Jesus paint an image of a passionate character with a radically different spiritual message than what was known at the time, and it is because of the compelling internal energy of compassion that made him do what he did and say what he said, that lead to the clash that got him murdered. I don’t think we could find a single person alive today who knowing of the story agreed with the pharisees that Jesus got exactly what he deserved. That’s an interesting angle, isn’t it? So I think most people today think he was unjustly murdered but I wonder what the popular opinion back in the day might have been. After all the pharisees were the ruling religious authority with lots of power and influence.
Even today, dogmatism is widely practiced. In all walks of life including anything from science, politics and art it is still the same. People are very passionate about their beliefs, blinded by their investments that we are lucky to find one person out of hundred who can keep an open mind for new ideas. It seems that it is hard to find open mindedness and fearless objectivity from areas where one would expect to find it easily but it is not so.
I know from personal experience how the world of dharma is full of fundamentalists who get as brutal as the pharisees the very moment their ways and views are challenged. I wasn’t killed like Jesus but I have wondered if it had been easier for me if I had because I’ve had to deal with the crucifixion of my name and reputation that the internet pharisees of buddhism did. Because of this I have stopped using my given name, had to change the name of my sangha, stopped being a ”buddhist” and was verbally abused countless times during the past years . I am not comparing myself to Jesus but I think I know how he felt hanging on that cross. All he tried to do is to help people. All I can say of both his and mine cases that apparently there is no way avoiding these kind of situations.
Anyway, it all happened and Jesus died. As we know his remains were put inside a sealed tomb, and three days later his corpse was nowhere to be found. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll continue about resurrection in three days.
May all beings be free and happy.
Many Easter blessings,
Baba, 7 April 23