Sense of Humor

[Mari]

Re: Sense of Humor

One day I asked my mother what she was making for dinner. She said she didn't know.
Later on, she walked in on me while I was meditating and asked:
"What do you have in mind?"
I dunno, it cracked me up.

[Hoyu]

Re: Sense of Humor

Mari wrote:
One day I asked my mother what she was making for dinner. She said she didn't know.
Later on, she walked in on me while I was meditating and asked:
"What do you have in mind?"

:lol: This is hilarious!

Gassho,
John

[Rev R]

Re: Sense of Humor

Yes, a little survey on the subject leaves the impression that Gautama Buddha was rendered in the Suttas as a pretty serious fellow. The most I could find in the way of humor attributed to him was, perhaps (folks may be reading between the lines here even to find this much humor) the odd pun or sarcasm here and there in otherwise very serious talks.

When I was in High School, we had a gentleman give a talk on Shakespeare. Much to our surprise he informed us that what we considered to be a great tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, was actually meant to be performed as a comedy. He then proceeded to demonstrate with the balcony scene.

Maybe it is not the words themselves that are serious or humorous, but the vocal performance we ascribe to the words.

[Dosho]

Re: Sense of Humor

Yes, a little survey on the subject leaves the impression that Gautama Buddha was rendered in the Suttas as a pretty serious fellow. The most I could find in the way of humor attributed to him was, perhaps (folks may be reading between the lines here even to find this much humor) the odd pun or sarcasm here and there in otherwise very serious talks.

When I was in High School, we had a gentleman give a talk on Shakespeare. Much to our surprise he informed us that what we considered to be a great tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, was actually meant to be performed as a comedy. He then proceeded to demonstrate with the balcony scene.

Maybe it is not the words themselves that are serious or humorous, but the vocal performance we ascribe to the words.

That's actually a very popular technique in theatre to show actors how they can perform scenes from different perspectives. It's actual a very fun game; to act out famous scenes from plays and even movies where one or more of the characters has a very different demeanor than how it is traditionally portrayed. It is really quite surprising how much you can change a scene with exactly the same words but different body language and inflection. In a previous life as a theatre performer it was quite a fun activity to do yourself and to teach to others, especially kids who will really let loose and change something that adults see as set in stone!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Kyonin]

Re: Sense of Humor

What a great thread to laugh and break the routine.

First things first: The Buddha was just a man. A very wise one, mind you. But all men are capable of laughing. Maybe the sense of humour at the time was not what it is to us now and maybe the social, cultural and political setting was radically different to what we live now. But I'm sure he had a good laugh from time to time, as every person does.

And about laughing from everything, yes I think it's a very important part of our practice. Not laughing like mad, of course, but being capable of seeing the humour on stuff is a great part of enjoying life and learning.

Lastly, I love this web comic:



I strongly suggest you follow it. You'll have a good time. http://www.savagechickens.com :lol:

[Amelia]

Re: Sense of Humor

[JohnsonCM]

Re: Sense of Humor

One of my favorite Zen ha-ha moments came from my first few minutes on the Tree Leaf forum. I went to the User control panel to set myself up and saw the buttons on the left hand side:

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The last one made me laugh...... :mrgreen:

[Mari]

Re: Sense of Humor

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Didn't notice that one. Very very funny! :lol:

[Hoyu]

Re: Sense of Humor

One of my favorite Zen ha-ha moments came from my first few minutes on the Tree Leaf forum. I went to the User control panel to set myself up and saw the buttons on the left hand side:

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The last one made me laugh......

Oh this is soooo funny!! :lol:

[AlanLa]

Revitalizing an old, like really old, thread.
From today's Mother Goose and Grimm.

[JohnsonCM]

Even Mahakashyapa laughed! ...