O

3.

Humor: Laughter, Joking Is Much

Better

ne of the most stunning aspects of the week was how much of it was
spent laughing. At times the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop
seemed to be as much a comedy duo as two venerable spiritual teachers.
It is their ability to joke, and laugh, and poke fun at the ordinary pieties
that so righteously violates expectation. When a Dalai Lama and an
Archbishop walk into a bar, you don’t expect them to be the ones
cracking the jokes. Having worked with many spiritual leaders, I’m
tempted to see laughter and a sense of humor as a universal index of
spiritual development. The Archbishop and the Dalai Lama were
certainly at the top of that index, and they skewered humbug, status,
injustice, and evil, all with the power of humor. They and everyone
around them were constantly guffawing, chortling, giggling, and belly
laughing throughout the week, as moments of great levity were spliced
together with moments of profundity and sanctity. So often their first
response to any subject, no matter how seemingly painful, was to laugh.
It was clear that humor was central to their joyful way of being, but
why was laughter so central?
“I worked with a Mexican shaman once,” I said, introducing the topic.
“He said that laughing and crying are the same thing—laughing just feels
better. It’s clear that laughter is central to the way that you are in the
world. And the Archbishop was just saying, Your Holiness, that you laugh
at something that could ordinarily be a source of anguish.”
“That’s right. That’s right.”
“Can you tell us about the role of laughter and humor in the
cultivation of joy?”