Humor in Zen

Referentie:

Heyers, Conrad, "Humor in Zen: comic midwifery", Phylosophy East & West 139, (1989) 3, p. 267-277.

Informatief extract:

"One of the early Buddhological debates was over the question of whether the Buddha ever laughed, and if so in what manner and with what meaning. This debate ranks somewhat above the celebrated medieval Christian debate over how many angels could comfortably dance on the head of a pin. In many respects the Buddhist debate is characteristic of scholasticism wherever it may be found, yet it has very important consequences – so important that they affect the way in which the whole of Buddhism is perceived, conceived, and actually lived and practiced.
There were those among the Buddhist scholastics who clearly would have preferred to believed that the Buddha never laughed at all, especially after his enlightenment experience at Bodhgaya. The Buddha’s wisdom and the Buddha’s mission seemed to require the ultimate in seriousness, gravity, and solemnity. There was no objection to the suggestion that the youthfull Siddhartha Gautama had laughed during hid self-indulgent period in his father’s palace.

...

Laughter seems inextricable bound up with the young Gautama’s self-indulgence and with the very sources of suffering later identified by the Buddha as ego, desire, attachment, ignorance, bondage, and so forth. "(p.267)

Creatieve commentaar:

Humor (vooral lachen) wordt door de Boeddhistische scholastici blijkbaar niet als uitsluitend positief beschouwd. Zij onderscheiden 6 soorten lachen gaande van een milde glimlach (sita) tot lachen waarbij de tranen over je wangen rollen. Sita is de hoogste, de nobelste vorm van lachen en Boeddha zou zich alleen aan deze lach bezondigen.

Maar anderzijds wordt Zen beschreven als "the only religion or teaching that finds room for humor". Humor kan gezien worden als een spirituele techniek. Daar handelt dit artikel voornamelijk over.