Why Not Laugh and Be Happy
Buddha was a prince who found peace of mind, not in his kingdom but in himself. He wanted to communicate to others what he had found for himself but like everyone else who has found it, he couldn’t do it. It was not his fault; it was just that the nature of what he found was inexpressible,
Buddha didn’t stop any wars. He had nothing to contribute to world peace except himself. But that was a great contribution. His teaching was beautiful and in the centuries after he died it spread to China, Japan, Korea, Burma, and even to the West. But even though Buddhism has spread all over the world, there is still no peace. Who sits down, meditates and finds that absolute inner peace in the way that the Buddha did? No one sits down and finds out who he really is. That teaching is not there any more. The Buddhists nowadays sit and watch their thoughts, or concentrate on mental pictures, but they don’t teach or practise this instant of silence that would turn them all into Buddhas.
But I have to answer the question: Why try so hard to bring peace to a world which never existed?
You can take it as a joke. You know it is my habit to joke with people. You can take it all as a joke. I like my children to be in a happy mood, so I make jokes with them. I laugh and play with them and keep them happy. We have to spend a full life span on this earth, why weep and cry all the time. Why not laugh and be happy instead. Why not be peaceful in this world?
Everything in this world is a big joke, including my teachings. I tell people, ‘If you do this you will win enlightenment.’ Or I say, ‘You are already enlightened. Why are you so miserable?’ Or I may say, ‘Don’t do anything, Don’t listen to anybody, just be quiet and see what happens,”
I say all these things every day but in my heart I know it is all a big joke, I know that there is no world, I know that there is no one striving for enlightenment and I know that no one has ever attained it This is my unshakable knowledge, my unshakable experience. If I say anything else, you can take it as a joke.