gone

Gate gate paragate parasamgate!

Gone, gone beyond, totally gone beyond!

This is the essence of the Heart Sutra and of the Easter message.

When the women went out of loving compassion to the tomb in which Jesus's body lay, they found it empty. Jesus was gone, gone beyond, totally gone beyond!

I have often wondered why the Christian emblem was not the empty tomb instead of, or in addition to, the cross. Christian theology and preachings would move from suffering on the cross of existence (really, that gets so old after a while) to letting go, releasing, emptying ourselves of ourselves.

People would wear circles on their lapels as reminders of the practice of emptying. Rather than making the sign of the cross, one would make the sign of the circle. The empty circle.

No more wallowing in the agony of existence. The tomb, the old way we were, is empty. No clinging to that corpse, painting its face, and dressing it in finery. No matter how much we perfume it, it still stinks.

Nope. We follow the example of Jesus. We transcend, trance end. "He is not here. He is risen." Gone, gone beyond, totally gone beyond.

And we do not come back or maintain residuals. It's like Mr. Buddha said, when you get to the other shore, you don't hoist your boat up on your shoulders and carry it with you. It served its purpose. Leave it, let it go.

One old Zen dude said it this way: "The bee does not return to its abandoned hive." Nor did Jesus, our example in this matter, return to the tomb.

Gone! Gone beyond! Totally gone beyond!