dimanche 7 juin 2015

Buddhist Humour


A monk once gained a vision of devas while meditating. The monk asked them, “Do you know where the end of the physical universe is?”
 
And the devas said, “No, we don’t know, but there is a higher level of devas. Maybe they know.” 


So the monk continued meditating and he got to the next level of devas. He asked them the same question, and he got the same answer: “There’s a higher level. Maybe they know.” This goes on for ten levels or so.
 
Finally, the last level of devas said, “No, we don’t know the end of the physical universe, but there is the Great Brahma. He must know. If you meditate hard enough, you may get to see him.”
 
The monk kept on meditating until the Great Brahma appeared in a flash of light.





He asked his question of the Great Brahma, and the Great Brahma answered: “I, monk, am Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.”  

And the monk said, “That’s not what I asked you. I asked you where the end of the physical universe is.”
 
Again, the Great Brahma said, “I, monk, am Brahma, the Great Brahma,” etc. Three times. The monk was not amused and kept asking...

Finally, the Great Brahma pulled the monk aside by the arm and says, “Look, I don’t know, but I have all these devas in my entourage who believe that I know everything. They would be very disappointed if they'd learned that I can’t answer your question.”

And Brahma sent the monk back to the Buddha, who answered the question after rephrasing it, pointing to where the physical universe has no footing in the mind.