From: Valuemetaphysics@aol.com
Date: Mon Aug 09 2004 - 16:06:56 BST
Part II.
An example:
A monk once asked the Zen man Sozan, "What is the most prized thing in all
the world?"
Sozan answered, "A dead cat."
The surprised monk exclaimed, "Why is a dead cat to be prized at all?"
Sozan replied, "Because no one thinks of its value."
Another highlighting example:
Charlie Chaplin once put together the bowler hat, dress coat, and walking
cane of the English aristocracy with the baggy pants and floppy shoes of the
gutter bum. Up till then, no one saw much value in such outfit and conduct. You
may say he included more than both separately, and his outfit and acts
contributed to comic relief and laughter. Comedies at large tend toward inclusiveness
rather than exclusiveness, reconciliation rather than rigid and militant
polarisation. Also, humour may deliver something very different from one's initial
expectations.
Handy humour may be used to release cramped persons and perhaps cramped
conditions. The Soto master Ryokan (Great Fool) was noted for his odd behaviour and
Zen foolishness. Reality, Truth, Wisdom may not be imprisoned in the
pigeonholes of ordinary consciousness, and one may be hindered in experiencing them by
too rigid and narrow categories.
In Zen and Taoism many categories of the common man and woman are turned
upside down or reversed. Effects of that may well challenge the ranking business
of the discriminating mind. In a similar vein Santayana argues that at the
heart of the comic lies a confusion of categories. And in the Zen anecdotal
records, there are many tales in which the master is depicted behaving in ways we
might associate with clowns or fools.
There are some known, related functions of humour in Zen, as examples of ways
in which the Zen tradition self-consciously employ humour:
As a technique for reversing and collapsing categories, and
As a technique for embracing opposites.
In the conclusion, a non-functional level of humour will be discussed:
As an expression of enlightenment, liberation, and inner harmony. From this
perspective, humour in Zen is often a kind of comic midwifery in the Socratic
sense. There may be a good correlation here between certain aspects of Zen
humour and the traditional work and effect of a clown.
Humour As an Expression of Liberation.
LAMA ANAGARIKA GOVINDA once wrote:
"The Buddha's sense of humour—which is so evident in many of his discourses—
is closely bound up with his sense of compassion [...] His smile is the
expression of one who can see the "wondrous play of ignorance and knowledge''
against its universal background."
Such humour goes beyond Buddhadatta's laughter over the degraded or even the
joyful laughter of one who has found wisdom; it is the laughter of compassion,
which seeks the enlightenment of others and their liberation. Humour in this
context can give vent to a higher knowledge which sees through much worldly
foolishness; and it may help in preserving higher knowledge too. This type of
humour is of enlightenment and liberation.
Here is an example:
The master of the Chinese monk Shui-lao kicked him in the chest, and it
resulted in a satori [enlightenment]. Afterwards the monk said, "Ever since the
master kicked me in the chest I have been unable to stop laughing."
Also, a humour of detachment and overview may fit.
Most facets of humour may give vent to and thus express tension, yet the
Buddha's smile is born of higher understanding and true liberation. It is first
and foremost the smile of wisdom, not a smile over ignorance. "Humour at its
highest and fullest is an expression of liberation and freedom. it arises, not
out of inner tension, but inner harmony. it arises . . . out of the awakenings
of bodhi ..." - Conrad Hyers. [Italics added]
Such humour does not proceed from a position of weakness, but of strength.
There is also room for humour in warm acceptance, in one's "yes" to the
opportunities of life and the joy (exuberance) of living, and of the smallest
particulars.
There is yet another dimension to this highest level of laughter and humour,
and that is compassion. A man with a sense of humour cannot but be much
compassionate inside.
This series of sketches contains material from Conrad Hyers's article "Humer
in Zen: Comic midwifery." Philosophy East and West, Vol. 39, no. 3. Honolulu:
University of Hawaii Press, 1989.
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