The first and foremost association of the hare is to the moon, the cycles of which are symbolic of self-sacrificial death and resurrection. This "death" however, is understood in esoteric symbolism as being death to the mundane human consciousness and a rebirth of the divine consciousness, becoming Christ-like is a spiritual rebirth, not an actual physical death and rebirth or resurrection (rebirth referring to reincarnation, and resurrection being the reanimation of the dead physical body). In Buddhist myth, Buddha places Rabbit on the moon as a reward when Rabbit voluntarily gave himself as food for one of Buddha's hungry friends. In another myth it is Buddha himself who is the rabbit and he sacrifices his flesh for the sustenance of the god Brahma, who is so pleased with this selfless act that he paints the image of the hare on the moon as a remembrance of the event. Buddha, the hare, escapes the flames unscathed because his spiritual transformation has immortalized hi...
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