Ask A Monk: Humour

[gizmohawk69]

I find it ironic that this man finds humor unwholesome, considering that he always looks as if he's almost smiling.

[Pandarinbaka]

You have very deep understanding about Dhamma. No like or dislike. I am so glad that we have such a wise monk like you. Thank you

[teevorian]

at 03:37 I thought Buddhism is suicide without dying.

[dustinmartinez316]

OMG. What place does humor have in the buddhist teaching has me rolling. I stopped the video there. no need to complicate it.

[Letes92]

where is that? its freakin beautiful(:

[qwyzl]

there's humor of a mature nature & humor of a stupid, lower nature. 1 can be wise & have a good sense of humor. humor can be an enlightening thing, cuz if it causes over all good humor in 1, this can lead 2 thoughts of a more introspective nature. i think ppl are s'posed 2 have fun & laugh & dance & sing, but other ppl take the joy away from ppl. celebration of life should be a joyous thing of good humor. but 2 many ppl think every 1 else should be grave & sombre all the time.

[PeterTheEvilBastard]

My unenlightened opinion is- why give a fuck? ;) If its funny, laugh. And move on.

[UnivegaSuperSport]

It helps if we're mindful of our definition of humor. Recognizing irony helps reinforce truths. But making a habit of passing along knock-knock jokes is idle chatter, not a skillful use of the precious time and energy we have. Is this monk too serious? Well ultimate liberation is serious business involving a radical change to our conventions. He makes a good point in mentioning how much humor is used as a diversion from a problem, an avoidance, whistling in the dark.

[squamish4244]

@UnivegaSuperSport Of course it's serious. But you have to laugh at the cosmic absurdity of the universe. One lama says that if we don't get the joke this time around, we might have to be reborn until we do.

[MysticOfTheSands]

@FishKungfu0 I thought that was the Dalai Lama walking into a pizza parlor... oh well :)

[eaglerock999]

This Monk is far too serious,Dalai Lama is always laughing,I feel anything that takes the mickey out of ego is a good thing.

I cant imagine the Buddha Or Jesus having no sense of humour.

Adyashanti the non duality teacher tells us not to take anything seriously and often uses humour in his teaching .

You can have an attachment to being too serious surely?

As you can have an attachment in trying to be funny.

But if cracking a joke uplifts someone,that has to be a compassionet action.

[samadhiquandry]

I guess humor is wisdom, like you said, for me I just laugh. Things get a little crazy when you dedicate your life to dharma. People don't appreciate it at all, so you can either get mad or laugh or cry. So sad, mad,or LOL? Just LOL! Especially now, my blood pressure can't handle the drama.

[samadhiquandry]

always be honest, if people disagree with you the door is over there ---> So I think I will show myself the door because if I didn't have the ability to laugh I wouldn't know how I would deal with the terrible things I have been through in life, or be so ready to forgive people who have done really mean stuff to myself and others. If I couldn't just laugh and shake it off I think I would be an angry monster. So I will keep giggling at the happenings going on around me.

[uilium]

Why did the monk cross the road? To gain insight as to what's on the other side and also he was teaching a chicken walking meditation.

[sampajanna]

Thanks for the video.

I think humor has a place in Buddhism. There are many highly respected teachers that tell jokes and have no problem joining in on a laugh. Ajahn Sumedho often has a few laughs during his talks. Tthe effect this has on me personally is it brightens the mind, which arouses energy. From what I've heard, Ajahn Chah, one of the most respected teachers in modern history, had no problems telling jokes when appropriate. But I can see how humor can be a detrimental to the practice.

[TheGreatCompassion]

@sampajanna The Dalai Lama is always laughing.

[StudentofthePath]

@TheGreatCompassion look at what he is always laughing ABOUT.. that is the key.. I've always seen him laugh when talking about dhamma and how silly we act when we are clouded by greed, anger, and delusion. I've never seen him laugh at a knock knock joke lol.

I understand where Ven YuttaDhammo is coming from and it makes sense to make sure we are not distracting ourselves from seeing things as they truly are.

[1ntellectualbadass]

"the hell of laughter" i certainly found this to be hilarious in a rather deep state of meditation xD.. i think i caught a smile in your eyes as well ;)

[UnivegaSuperSport]

@1ntellectualbadass

I have to wonder if the jester's hell of laughter would involve him playing the jester for demons, finding out the things that make demons laugh are quite unpleasant.

[titronox]

but sometimes, if upset, it's better if we relax with some humor in order Not to fall into desperation.. even though it may be the stupidest kind of humor.. so once you calm down, you can focus on the problem in order to solve it, I guess.. and of course, as well as laughter, humor in excess is bad/annoying; just like any other attitudes.

but that's my ignorant opinion; of a non-Buddhist guy.

Thanks for the videos! they're Very interesting. :) They've put in word thoughts I've never expressed.

[Anonymouswon]

You are invaluable to someone interested in Buddhist teachings. Thank you, yuttadhammo.

[emis2004]

good vids keep it up

[beavisandbutthead104]

I've been waiting to see this one get answered! I find it odd that I found out about Vipassana Meditation through rockstar, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer lol but now I am hooked and it's all thanks to your ask a monk videos! Keep them up!

[warrioraja]

You've given me wonderful insight on this topic. Thank you for taking the time to answer the question.

[juanmora19910209]

Thank you this video and the last on pleasure for pleasure's sake and how it's not beneficial really helps to reinforce this idea. :D

[vek0zzzz]

I love the backgrounds of your videos ... sooo beautiful ..

[ProjectEndure]

Interesting video. May I ask a question on the topic of violence:

What should you do if someone initiates unprovoked violence against you?

Best wishes,

PJ

[juanmora19910209]

@ProjectEndure This is a good question. Take a look @ the description it lets you know how to submit your question.

[Carmellito1]

Isn`t this the case with every object of pleasure? It`s ok, as long as it let`s us see things in a more open minded way. Attachement generates barriers to the mind. Can an object that opens the mind create also barriers to the mind, because we get attached to the opening? And, is there attachment anymore when i reached the attitude that i can life without it?

Besides.. "the hell of laughter".. what a great idea! :D

[lxvlx]

although the title isn't correct :P

[yuttadhammo]

@lxvlx Oops. Uploaded the wrong video... was going to redo this one... ah well :)

[lxvlx]

great vid!