Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos)

Why would anyone think we were mourning the dead. We are celebrating life. They still live.

Wheel of Life/Death (Bhavacakra)

Why are Mexicans and other Hispanics in Latin America obsessed with a Day of the Dead? It is to remember and honor loved ones who have passed. They are still here. We still love them and want the best for them. (Filial piety is common in the culture just as it is in Asia and used to be around the world). The idea of death is not a ghoulish thing in that context, but it mixes with spooky American Halloween or tainted by Catholic All Hallows Eve and loses its Obon and Samhain (Sau-in) echoes, which aim to honor and remember, connect and care for those lost to Death.

Countless worlds, 31 planes

In Buddhism, who is the Grim Reaper? One might think it's Yama, the King of the Dead, the kind judge in the afterlife. "Justice" is meted out not by him, who is just the one who delivers the news, but by karma (our personal store of deeds coming up for appropriate results). If it's anyone, it has to be the king of the yakkhas Mara, the personification of Death, a kind of Santa Muerte who is actually a "Cupid" or "Lucifer" figure in Buddhism who resides in the highest sensual-celestial heavenly world. His aim is that people should go to hell but rather to stay trapped in his sphere of influence, of which he imagines he is the ruler. In his view, no one should escape the Sensual Sphere (the human plane, the subhuman worlds, and a few of the lower celestial angelic planes) to the superior Fine Material Sphere or the even loftier Immaterial Sphere. These three spheres (Kama Loka, Rupa Loka, Arupa Loka) are general categorizations of the individual planes (lokas) within the 31 Planes of Existence.

The scary thing about Mara is that he's alluring.

La Muerte Aztec Tepito - Santa Muerte (Wiki)

Karma leads to all planes

Mara's influence only extends up to the world where he was reborn and is referred to as Mara Devaputra (a literal being "Mara reborn among the devas or gods"). He frequently comes to earth where along with the asuras or anti-devas he causes a great deal of mischief for mortals who are fueled by sensual desires, craving, and clinging. They hear the Dharma, the path to liberation made known by the Buddha, but it is hard to follow with all the allure of the five sense strands of pleasure. What is the antidote? It is practice, which reveals what we are clinging to: that which is impermanent, disappointing (incapable of ever fulfilling us), and impersonal. We will not see these Three Marks of Existence, the true nature of things, so we go on trapped, revolving in samsara, faring according to our karma (deeds), constantly facing and having to endure the results. When our deeds (intentional actions) are motivated by greed (attraction), hatred (aversion or fear), and delusion (wrong views), the result is suffering. When our karma is rooted in nongreed (letting go), nonhatred (kindness, heart), and/or wisdom (right view), the results (vipaka and phala) are sweet. It's our choice IF only we were mindful and in control of ourselves, but we usually are not. Buddhists are as bad as the Mexicans, always going on about Death.

• Buddhism came to ancient Mexico and the Americas? How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America (shambhala.com)
• AUDIO: Day of the Dead on Coast to Coast AM
• Hey, let's have sex, Psyche? - Okay, Cupid
• Happy birthday, Fernando Valenzuela! (RIP) 

Skull face paint tutorial | Halloween, Day of the Dead, Samhain makeup tutorial | Snazaroo

Though the Buddha talked about 31 Planes of Existence, they were distilled down to just these 6

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(Shonagh Scott) Sponsored Shonagh Scott for Oct. 2017. Today's Halloween makeup tutorial is this beautiful but eerie skull face paint, sponsored by Snazaroo! Their products are so affordable, and their Halloween kits are great on children and adults alike and they're the sponsor. daz3d.com

• Makeup System: Dead Makeup for Genesis 9 | Daz 3D

Grim Reaper Makeup Tutorial for Halloween | ShowMe MakeUp

Death stands behind all rebirth.

(Shonagh Scott) Oct. 2014: As explained in the tutorial, I've created this look using cream products, face paint, and eyeshadows. Substitute the cream-based products for solely face paint. Hit subscribe to see more tutorials using a vast range of different media and brands. Watch me create special occasion makeup, stunning evening looks, and everyday makeup routines! Go with me behind the scenes on photoshoots, and even watch me create SFX makeup for fancy dress and The Dia de Los Muertos or Mexican Halloween (All Hallows Eve, Samhain, Obon)!

Good thing we'll never die and need not be mindful

Buddhists are crazy and stupid. Don't think about Death! Think about LIFE! Live it up, Man, live!!! Why the heck think about Death? - What if how we live is how we die? There is more than just this life. Samsara (the wandering through life and death) keeps going. We don't really die. We are wise to do something for the future, to prepare for it. If it all just "ended," we might be right to be hedonists living it up all the time. But it doesn't end, so we're neither insane nor dumb to be mindful of Death. It helps living life after life, and fearing (ignoring and avoiding) causes many problems that could be avoided with a little bravery to look even on Halloween.

• Model - Bill Follow him: itsteambill Instagram; @itsteambill The boys YouTube channel; gorillazillavids Music; Music - Alchemists Tale Composer - Tilman Sillescu www.freeplaymusic.com Products; Supracolor - Kryolan | 521, 517, 043, and White Black Face Paint Matte Brown and Matte Black Eyeshadow Translucent Power to set the cream. Camo Eyes Coloured Contact Lenses; camoeyes.com/product/crazy-con...
• Shonagh Scott, makeup artist tutorials on YouTube, 2017, 2014; Crystal Quintero, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly