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Q-11: Bhante, the Buddha was so intelligent and His teaching is so wonderful. What I want to know is- Is there any Buddhist humour in the Tipitaka?

Regards,

L. G. H

A-11: As far as I know, there is no Buddhist humour in the Tipitaka. We were told that the Buddha never use this method as it seemed desrespectful to the Dhamma -his very profound teaching.  Even in the commentaries, humour is rarely seen. It seems that  the commentators followed the Buddha’s foot-steps.  However, it seems amusing Pali sentences do appear in  the Pali Grammar book.  An illustration,  “Devadatto diva na bhutto  thulo.” It means: “Devadatta does not take food in day time but he is fat.” You may smile if you  interpret this in the opposite  to uncover the hidden meaning  which is : “Devadatta takes food at night, and thus he is fat.”  I can’t exactly say if this Pali sentence is humour, sarcasm, irony or satire.

In today's context, we do see teaching monks conveying the Dhamma with a pitch of humour as a means to captivate the student's attention. Even preaching monks may on occasions use jokes to keep the listeners attentive. As for me,  do I make jokes? Of course, I do if it helps to convey a learning point better.   

With Metta,

U Cittara

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Dhamma Questions are answered by Bhante U Cittara, resident monk of Mangala Vihara, and his assistant monks. Questions and comments on given answers are welcome. Send your questions and comments to resident_monk@mangalavihara.org.sg.