[Embodied]

Hi all,

I read somewhere that the Holy One, notwithstanding his perfect composure and “sati” (or because of it?!) had a subtle sense of humor; does anyone knows about little stories related to this ?

Thanks

[Lal]

The Buddha followed the following 4 guidelines and advocated others to do the same.

1. If you know something that is not helpful and is untrue, then do not say it
2. If you know something that might be helpful, but is untrue, do not say it
3. If you know something that is not helpful and is true, do not speak about it
4. If you know something that is helpful and is true, then find the right time to say it.

We must be careful about humor, since it may fall into the “empty speech” (samppapalapa) category, which is a dasa akusala.

See, “Right Speech – How to Avoid Accumulating Kamma“.

[Embodied]

:-) yes i read about that once. Thanks for the reminder.

[Akvan]

I think there are many instances where what the Buddha said would have sounded humorous or sarcastic to an outsider. However I don’t believe that he said such things with the intention of making people laugh. He said such things to get his point across or more often to get another thinking or to break a wrong view point one had. And mostly it is meant for a specific person. So for someone else hearing it, it can sound funny.

[Embodied]

“However I don’t believe that he said such things with the intention of making people laugh” – (subtle) humour isn’t always to make people laugh…

“He said such things to get his point across or more often to get another thinking or to break a wrong view point one had” : exactly…subtle “humour” (or give it another label …irony?) allows to convey wisdom in a relaxed manner…

[Author]

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