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The Psychology of Emotions and Humour in Padmasiri de Silva The Psychology of Emotions and Humour in Buddhism Padmasiri de Silva Monash University Clayton, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

ISBN 978-3-319-97513-9 ISBN 978-3-319-97514-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97514-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018949615

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations.

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This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Humour is playful and non-reactive response to the tragic contradictions in the world Cha Ajahn Brahm Ñāṇavīra Thera for integrating a deep sense of humour into Buddhist pedagogy Foreword

Professor Padmasiri de Silva (b. 1933) holds an impressive and long-last- ing academic career. He has been as an infuential teacher, scholar, edu- cator, and academic leader. He inspired several generations of academics. He guided many like me by being very kind, understanding, and gen- erous, and extending a helping hand. Before 1989, Prof. de Silva was very much rooted in . He guided and led the Department of and Psychology at the University of Peradeniya by taking over headship from the late Prof. K. N. Jayatilleke (1920–1970). In 1985, Prof. de Silva was the visionary who introduced the novel idea of studying comparative religion to the Sri Lankan university setting. In 1990, he had moved to and then to Monash University, Melbourne. In the last decades, he has adopted Australia as his home while venturing into new felds such as psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and contemplative practices. Professor de Silva graduated from the University of Ceylon with an Honours Degree in Philosophy. His early training was in the philos- ophy of mind, which enabled him to earn both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in East-West comparative philosophy for a thesis on Buddhist and Freudian psychology from the University of Hawaii (1964–1967). In the 1980s, he held both the professorship of philosophy and also guided the Department of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Peradeniya as its head (1980–1989). After leaving Sri Lanka at the height of ethnic violence in the late 1980s, he held a teaching position at the National University of Singapore, several visiting positions at the

ix x Foreword

University of Pittsburgh, and was involved in the ISLE programme (Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education Program). He also held a position at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Since 1994, in his adopted home in Melbourne, Australia, he has been a Research Associate in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University. In the later years of his academic life, he has developed pro- fessional skills by obtaining an Advanced Diploma in Counselling (2006) and practised as a professional counsellor developing his own method. Those in the feld of Buddhist psychology and comparative philos- ophy do not need any introduction to Prof. de Silva’s academic career or publications. His signifcant publications include: (i) Buddhist and Freudian Psychology (1973), (ii) Tangles and Webs: Comparative Studies in Existentialism and Psychoanalysis of Buddhism (1974), (iii) Value Orientations and Nation Building (1976), (iv) An Introduction to Buddhist Psychology (1979), (v) Twin Peaks: Compassion and Insight: Emotions and the ‘Self’ in Buddhist and Western Thought (1991), (vi) Environmental Philosophy and Ethics in Buddhism (1998), (vii) and Society: The Conficts and Dilemmas of Our Times (2002), (viii) An Introduction to Buddhist Psychology and Counselling: Pathways of -Based Therapies (2014), (ix) Emotions and The Body in Buddhist Contemplative Practice and Mindfulness-Based Therapy: Pathways of Somatic Intelligence (2017a), and (x) The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies (2017b). Readers may fnd that Prof. de Silva’s newest publication The Psychology of Emotions and Humour in Buddhism: Mindful Emotions through Anger, Greed, Conceit and Humour is extremely enriching. As well as dealing with later traditions, this new book makes substan- tial contributions to the understanding of psychology embedded in early Buddhism. Rather than limiting the scope of investigation to Theravāda Buddhism alone, it successfully integrates materials outside the main- stream South Asian tradition. It sheds valuable insights in understand- ing how basic emotions such as anger and greed, which are foundational emotions in the Buddhist scheme of analysis both in personal lives and soteriology, shape and affect human lives in signifcant ways. In a crea- tive and appealing manner, the book is well organised to engage even the unfamiliar reader with new materials drawn from Buddhist traditions. The Psychology of Emotions and Humour in Buddhism is both enter- taining and insightful. It highlights the signifcance of a normal thing—an ordinary aspect of life for healthy living. We all smile; mostly ForeworD xi naturally, sometimes deliberately; we often like to have good humour and undoubtedly become very disappointed with bad humour. However, we rarely contemplate this natural activity; let alone philosophically. This work looks at humour from a philosophical standpoint. The data that it concentrates on is Buddhist. Its analysis cuts across various boundaries such as East and West that obstruct our understanding of the human phenomenon and its conditions. It contains rich and humorous stories; at the same time, its treatment is scholarly. On the whole, it is a valuable and long-lasting contribution to our knowledge of both , a feld that is growing fast in the West, both in the univer- sity setting and outside it, in applied areas such as health care. This work demonstrates Prof. de Silva’s mature scholarship as well as his personal outlook on human well-being and fourishing, with many penetrating insights to make human lives more successful and rewarding. A signifcant contribution in understanding the role and impact of emotions from Buddhist points of view, The Psychology of Emotions and Humour in Buddhism is built upon the investigations that Prof. de Silva carried out over three decades ago with his paper ‘The Psychology of Emotions in Buddhist Perspective’, which he delivered initially as the Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka (1868–1944) Commemoration Lecture in 1976. It is worth noting here that this recent work brings together Prof. de Silva’s mature insights on the psychology of Buddhism developed over a period of fve decades since the early 1960s.

Bath, UK Mahinda Deegalle Bath Spa University Preface

I have been fortunate to publish two monographs in the Palgrave Macmillan and Springer, Pivot edition series: Emotions and the Body in Buddhist Contemplative Practice and Mindfulness-Based Therapy: Pathways of Somatic Intelligence1; and The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies.2 The encouragement and appreciation I have received from the editorial staff of Palgrave Macmillan was immense and the feedback from interested readers within this short time was greatly reas- suring so that I continue these projects with something new, a theme hardly explored yet by any other scholar in the way that I have presented. My interest is in the practical concerns of Buddhist pedagogy: working through ‘mindful emotions’ integrated with humour; the use of humour as satire and a critique of social pathology; and giving a new interpre- tation of Buddhist humour as an incongruity theory—this is not a pas- sive piece of research. I wish to do far more than to collect references to humour in Buddhist discourses but rather to present a theory of humour, the incongruity theory across Buddhist and Western existential- ism, along with other alternative theories; and to link this study to the social dimensions of humour and above all to ‘mindful’ emotions. This, in short, is the thematic perspective of the present study. In the West, existentialist philosophers like Søren Kierkegaard have already presented an incongruity theory of humour. It must be clearly stated at the beginning that this study is basically focused on early Buddhism (Theravāda) in which I have been immersed for many long years and where I have, over the years, studied the original sources. My

xiii xiv Preface understanding of is limited to secondary sources but the material on Zen is quite illuminating, especially techniques like ‘category rever- sal’ and the embracing of the opposites. While the ‘incongruity theory is central’, I have included a wide array of materials which depict Buddhist perspectives on ‘humour’. But, working on my last book, I developed a very insightful under- standing of Zen which in fact generated an added incentive to look at Zen humour. In my most recent book, The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies,3 I have focused on Zen , paradoxes, dilemmas, and polarisation against the background of management studies and early Buddhism: ‘The focus is on confict studies and people entrapped in con- ficts, dilemmas, paradoxes and ambivalence and through them develop a methodology to unravel situations where one has to deal with dialec- tical opposition by integration, balance and new vistas of integration.’4 A closely related function of humour in Zen is that of ‘embracing oppo- sites’; as I have shown in my book, this thesis has been integrated into dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT).5 This background is also one of the factors that stimulated me to explore humour in early Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. Above all, I have only seen very short references to humour in Buddhism in the Theravāda tradition when researching across the Internet and so was disappointed. I wanted: (i) a more full-blown theory that would integrate the different emotions; (ii) to bring together dif- ferent efforts at active pedagogy like the parables used by Ajahn Brahm; (iii) to review the television documentary/satire of Alain de Botton on status anxiety, and the central issues regarding identity crisis and social pathology (iv) and to provide a Buddhist analysis that would hold a mir- ror to de Botton’s work, Status Anxiety,6 through the entangled human emotions; (v) to develop Kierkegaard’s theory of humour and irony as an incongruity theory of humour, along with a comparison of Buddhism and Kierkegaard, on which I have done original research.7 (vi) The best link across Buddhism to Kierkegaard on an incongruity theory of humour has been the Venerable Ñāṇavīra’s work, The Tragic, The Comic and the Personal.8 Ñāṇavīra was originally a British philosopher who had mastered the philosophy of existentialism. Though Venerable Ñāṇavīra Thera’s life and work including his book, Clearing the Path9 has gen- erated discussion, controversy, and some sympathy for his personal struggles, this analysis of the tragic-comedy is a real gem so I am limit- ing my references to the frst-mentioned publication—a very insightful PrEFACE xv work. And, the allusions to Kierkegaard and Buddhism are the product of research carried out by me at the University of Hawaii under experts on existentialism, some of which has been published.10 I value the case for an incongruity theory of humour as suggested in this little book by Ñāṇavīra Thera but do not commit myself fully to his other writings, partly due to their complexity. Furthermore, (vii) as the study of Freud and Buddhism has been my postgraduate research, I have a limited comparison of the links between the subliminal and humour in Freud’s relief and catharsis theory. A well-integrated study welding all these six features is the overall approach followed in this monograph. (viii) I have added some variety from the Buddhist discourse by a number of selected sermons: the poisoned arrow; the raft; the snake simile; conficting theories; the sermon on fear and dread.

Locating This Work in the Context of Work Done in Buddhist scholars and monks, in general, have not greatly explored the nature of humour in Buddhism. There is one exception and that is Thanissaro , The Buddha Smiles.11 This work brings a great deal of useful material from the sermons of the Buddha on the topics of devas, Brahmas and non-human beings; sensuality; palace life; views opposed to Dhamma; human weaknesses and psychic powers. While I recommend it to potential readers, my work is greatly different in its objectives, in the material presented and in potential readers. (i) My work is a study of humour against the background of Buddhist and Western philosophy, especially the existentialist tradition of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Sartre and is absorbed into the interpretation of humour by the Buddhist monk, Ñāṇavīra Thera (formerly a Western philos- opher). (ii) This study examines theories of humour with a focus on incongruity theory, superiority theory (briefy) and the relief theory of Freud. A recent study of intelligence and humour says that it is the intellectually gifted students who grasped the ‘incongruity’ concept in humour. (iii) The work on mindful emotions and humour emphasises the practical value of this study which is also applicable in daily life. (iv) The focus on the documentary, Status Anxiety,12 generates a very lively interest in the subject and its relevance to everyday life. It is also linked xvi Preface to my emotion studies. (v) The parables of Ajahn Brahm illuminate new frontiers in Buddhist pedagogy. (vi) The presentation and critique of the lifestyle of sensuality in Buddhism and Kierkegaard add a depth that can- not be attained by having merely a collection of references to sensuality in the sermons. Let me frst make a review of the related issue of laughter, which is not necessarily linked to humour, though it is not completely unrelated. In post-Buddhist speculation about laughter, the question was raised whether the Buddha laughed at all:

There were those among the Buddhist scholastics who clearly would have preferred to believe that the Buddha never laughed at all, especially after his enlightenment experience at Bodhgaya. The Buddha’s wisdom and the Buddha’s mission seemed to require the ultimate in seriousness, gravity and solemnity. There was no objection to the suggestion that the youthful Siddhartha Gautama laughed during his self-indulgent period in his father’s palace. In fact, laughter might well be seen as a characteristic expression of the frivolity and sensuality of his early life, prior to his discov- ery of the and the . Laughter seems inex- tricably bound up with the young Gautama’s self-indulgence.13

The scholastic attempt to resolving the apparent contradiction between laughter and an enlightened state resulted in a classifcation made by Bharata in a theatrical treatise of the six forms of laughter: sita, a faint smile, serene, refned and subtle; hasita, a smile which slightly reveals the tips of the teeth; vihasita a broader smile accompanied by modest laugh- ter; upahasita, a more pronounced laughter associated with movements of the head, shoulders and the arms; apahasita, loud laughter that brings tears to the eyes; atihasita, uproarious laughter, doubling, slapping the thighs, etc. These different types of laughter are related to different social groupings. Given this hierarchical scheme, Buddhist scholastics would agree that the Buddha displayed, sita, the most reserved, tranquil form of laughter. That it is manifested by the Buddha at all is only because he is stand- ing at the threshold between the unenlightened: like the yogic state of bhavamukka where the Buddha sees the juxtaposition and the contradic- tion of the unenlightened and the enlightened, and from here the world of greed and sensuality appears as a mockery.14 On this issue, Thanissaro Thero cites several contexts of the smile of the Buddha which had a sense of distance and detachment to the listeners and he considers this PrEFACE xvii

‘distance’ important for humour. His study goes beyond Hyers in pre- senting innumerable contexts of Buddha’s smile/laughter. Hyers’s study is limited with reference to the Buddhist suttas, though it is useful in an area where research material is limited. But the basic Buddhist perspective on humour, developed in the pres- ent book, is humour as a theory of incongruity and seeing inner contra- dictions in lives. But there are more simple examples in the Buddha’s dialogues and sermons where the Buddha portrays the contradictions in the lives of people in dialogues reminiscent of the Socratic dialogues and also intense debates.

Humour as a Theory of Incongruity Venerable Ñāṇavīra Thera’s The Tragic, the Comic and the Personal15 was a trailblazer. Furthermore, Ajahn Brahm’s wonderful collection of stories padded with lots of humour, Opening the Door of Your Heart (2008),16 indicated quite seriously that humour may be a part of Buddhist peda- gogy. He followed the footsteps of his great teacher in , Ajahn Cha, whose humour was again a part of his pedagogy. In his teaching, occasionally he looked like a . Last but not least, Alain de Botton’s television comedy/documentary, also available as a book, Status Anxiety, presented three questions with a very refned sense of humour: Do you worry about how well you are doing? Are you envious of your friend’s success? Are you suffering from status anxiety?17 Both enter- taining and thought-provoking, it was touching: perhaps what may be described as social pathology. One has to be very cautious when you turn to Buddha’s own pedagogy as it was generated by a sense of great com- passion. Wherever there is a touch of humour, it is deep and restrained: and this is a diffcult area. The Buddha also had a gentle but compassion- ate smile. With the Zen masters, the humour was ingrained in their special art of confronting those who came to see them. They used a multiplicity of techniques, some of which, I shall present. But the present study is also focused on mindful emotions, which is an integrated approach for enrich- ing this study of humour. The Zen philosophy of emotions is important and I shall have a chapter on Zen that includes perspectives on emotions and cutting through ego-centred awareness. This analysis gives a sense of depth as to how Zen grapples with ego-centred emotions and anxiety, suffering, and identity issues. xviii Preface

The other important facet of the present study is ‘mindful emotions’, specifcally the negative emotions of anger, envy, discontent, depression, greed, lust, sensuality, and conceit—emotions which are integrally related to the concept of humour that I develop. In writing my previous book on confict studies, I learnt that a well-integrated study is greatly appreciated by readers. Thus, I have taken a special effort to integrate my emotion studies with an exploration of a Buddhist perspective on humour. This is also a contribution to the ethics of emotion studies in Buddhism. What is important is how instead of opposing, repressing or react- ing, we look at negative emotions in a non-judgmental resilient frame of mind. This facet is the complement to the exploration of human weaknesses through humour and mindfulness practice. It is the positive path that the Buddha advocated: even humour may be used in a positive way. While there are instances where humour may be used in a negative way, there are innumerable examples of positive humour. For instance, in Ajahn Brahm, while reading his playful parables, there is a deeper exploration into mindfulness practice, forgiveness, hope and unconditional love. My study of humour will emphasise not merely a quite exhilarating sense of humour, one that may arouse a person from slothfulness and dogmatic slumber, but a pathway to grapple with egocentric identity issues. But beyond this general introduction, it may be useful to make an ini- tial review of the different types of humour ingrained in Buddhist dis- courses: and to review the presentation of humour. Over the years, one may fnd useful references to contexts in Buddhist discourses where one may get glimpses of humour, but the present study is a very contempo- rary approach to humour in Buddhism, and is inspired by the existen- tialist approach to humour. Also, there is a secondary layer of material especially related to Buddhist pedagogy. I will examine the following: (i) instances where the discourses of the Buddha present many examples of subtle humour, like the juxtapo- sition of incongruous things. For example, having good intentions but wrong practice will no more lead a person to nibbāna than pulling a cow’s horn will give milk.18 More examples and discussion will be pre- sented in the chapter on Buddhism and humour. (ii) I have selected fve discourses, which are of a more philosophical nature which emerge in debates to study: the poisoned arrow; the raft and the snake simile; the discourse on fear and dread; disputes and contention; Kalahavivāda Sutta. (iii) Furthermore, I will look at Buddhist perspectives on identity issues and social pathology. (iv) Other investigations include the relationship of PrEFACE xix mindful emotions to humour, for instance, the demon that eats anger; envy in status anxiety and conceit in identity issues; greed and sensual passions; and boredom. There are parallels in Buddhist analysis of bore- dom with what Søren Kierkegaard writes on ‘boredom’ with its subtle irony. (v) The partly entertaining and partly serious interludes of the Zen master with the warrior and the philosopher whose head is overfowing with theories is another investigation. Comic reversal and collapsing of categories are important Zen techniques. According to a Zen anecdote, the Zen master lay dying and the monks gathered around his bed asked him if he had any fnal advice to give them. The master opened his eyes and said, ‘Tell them truth is like a river’. The youngest monk asked, “What do you mean, by saying ‘truth is like a river?’” The question went back to the senior monk lying on the bed and he said, ‘Okay truth is not like a river’. This has been interpreted by scholars to indicate the equiva- lence of alternatives as presented by Nāgārjuna: ‘there is’ vs ‘there is not’. Also, it indicates that alternative positions may be reduced to absurdity: according to Hyers, it is absurd to try to grasp and cling to reality by this or that philosophical position.19 I have presented in detail the Buddha’s critique of metaphysical entanglements, including that of Nāgārjuna, in a separate chapter.20 Though the Buddha used a philosophical dialecti- cal method to confront different philosophers and their , like the sceptics, the determinists, and the materialists, he did not use it as a tool for liberation. All the fve discourses I have selected give some authenticity to the basic themes of this study. Finally, we come to the deepest level of humour which Ñāṇavīra Thera describes as tragi-comedy:

Now if we agree with Kierkegaard that both comedy and tragedy are ways of apprehending contradictions, and if we consider how much importance people attach to these things, we shall perhaps suspect that contradiction is a factor to be reckoned with in everyday life. But all this is on the inau- thentic level, and to get more light on the question we must consider what Heidegger means by ‘authenticity’.21

Heidegger says our is care: we are concerned either posi- tively or negatively with care for ourselves and others. This care can be described but it cannot be accounted for—it is primordial and we have to accept it. This concept of care is what the Buddha describes as bhav- ataṇhā, craving for being and egoistic pursuits, and the Buddha says that xx Preface there is no frst point to the craving to being and the ego-oriented pro- jects.22 Ñāṇavīra says that the only difference is Heidegger sees no way of getting rid of it while the Buddha presents a specifc path. The inauthen- tic man is feeing from authenticity—from angst/anxiety. But the nor- mally smooth surface of the public world of the ‘they’ sometimes shows cracks, and the inauthentic man is pierced by pangs of anxiety. These are the little cracks and fssures in our complacent seri- ous-minded existence. The reason why we laugh is to keep them at a dis- tance, to charm them or even exorcise them as done perhaps in dancing rituals to exorcise the demons in Asian countries. The theory of humour presented by Ñāṇavīra, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard may be described as an incongruity theory compared with the relief theory of Freud. Humour is a playful and non-reactive response to the tragic incongruity in the world. It is said that humour comes in a fash when you discern incongruity. The authentic man faces himself in a refexive manner and sees this through his existential solitude—he sees that he is alone in the world, but the inauthentic man takes from the disquieting refections in the anonymous security of the people—the ‘they’.

Humour in Emotion Regulation There is one more topic which needs a brief reference. In the present study, there is an integral relationship between humour and ‘mindful emotions’. During recent times a few experimental studies have been done on the relationship between emotion regulation and humour, which indicates that my attempt to link human emotions and humour is an important issue and is gaining ground through new research. But the metaphysical, psychological and ethical frontiers in Buddhism for humour and emotion regulation are very much different in perspective from those currently emerging in the West. For readers interested in a few studies in the West, a doctoral dissertation by Lindsay Mathews sub- mitted on this subject is available on the Internet.23 In my present study, humour in the context of our emotions has a positive and constructive rule as is skillfully presented by Alain de Botton in his television comedy/documentary, Status Anxiety: Rather than mocking us for our concern with status, the kindest comics tease us: they criticise us while we remain essentially acceptable. Thanks to their skills, we acknowledge with an open-hearted laugh bitter truths about ourselves that we might have recoiled from anger or hurt PrEFACE xxi had they been levelled at us in an ordinary accusatory way.24 Drama, novels, art, paintings, and poetry create an admirable distance between the audience and the communicator without referring to any specifc per- son. Getting back to Buddhist pedagogy, the Buddha himself used sto- ries, parables, metaphors, analogies etc., to communicate. In fact, Ajahn Brahm’s book of stories has been a very effective communicator. Today, the remarkable stories of the Buddha’s compassionate encounter with Aṅgulimāla, Kisā Gotamī, and Paṭācārā bring to us a voice of compassion over the ages and these encounters have a paradigmatic stance. Good humour calls for effective communication with a positive message.

Springvale, Australia Padmasiri de Silva

Notes 1. Padmasiri de Silva (2017a). Emotions and the Body in Buddhist Contemplative Practice and Mindfulness-Based Therapy: Pathways of Somatic Intelligence. : Palgrave Macmillan. 2. Padmasiri de Silva (2017b). The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 3. Padmasiri de Silva (2017c). The Psychology of Buddhism In Confict Studies. 4. Padmasiri de Silva. The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies, p. vii. 5. Padmasiri de Silva. The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies. 6. Alain de Botton (2004: repr. 2014). Status Anxiety. Camberwell, VIC: Hamish Hamilton. 7. Padmasiri de Silva (2007). Explorers of Inner Space: The Buddha, Krishnamurti & Kierkegaard. Ratmalana, Sri Lanka: Vishva Lekha. 8. Ñ āṇavīra Thera (1987). The Tragic, the Comic and the Personal. : Buddhist Publication Society. 9. Ñ āṇavīra Thera (2011). Clearing the Path. Kandy: Path Press. 10. Padmasiri de Silva (2007). Explorers of Inner Space: The Buddha, Krishnamurti & Kierkegaard. Ratmalana, Sri Lanka: Vishva Lekha. 11. Thanissaro Bikkhu (2015). The Buddha Smiles. San Diego, CA: Forest Monastery. 12. Alain de Botton. A two-hour documentary flm about this thesis, also called ‘Status Anxiety’ and written by Alain de Botton, was released in 2004. A version of it was shown in 2008 on Public Broadcasting Service channels like Boston WGBH-TV’s digital channel WGBX-TV in the United States. xxii Preface

13. C. Hyers (1974). Zen and the Comic Spirit, London: Rider. 14. C. Hyers (1989). ‘Humour in Zen: Comic Midwifery’. 15. Ñ āṇavīra Thera (1987). The Tragic, the Comic and the Personal. 16. Ajahn Brahm (2008). Opening the Door of Your Heart. New South Wales: Hachette. 17. Alain de Botton (2014) Status Anxiety. Camberwell, VIC: Hamish Hamilton. 18. M III 141. 19. C. Hyers (1989). ‘Humour in Zen: Comic Midwifery’, Philosophy East and West, vol. 39, no. 3, July, pp. 7, 17. 20. Padmasiri de Silva (2017b) The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies, pp. 15–20. 21. Ñ āṇavīra Thera (1987). The Tragic, the Comic and the Personal, p. 58. 22. A X, 62, V 116. 23. Lindsay Mathews (2016). ‘Role of Humour in Emotion Regulation: Differential Effects of Adaptive and Maladaptive Forms of Humour’, doctoral dissertation. New York: City University of New York. 24. Alain de Botton (2014). Status Anxiety, pp. 180–181.

References Brahm, A. (1987). Opening the Door of your Heart. Sydney, NSW: Hachette. de Botton, A. (2004: repr. 2014). Status Anxiety. Camberwell, VIC: Hamish Hamilton. de Silva, P. (2007). Explorers of Inner Space: The Buddha, Krishnamurti & Kierkegaard. Ratmalana, Sri Lanka: Vishva Lekha. de Silva, P. (2017a). Emotions and the Body in Buddhist Contemplative Practice and Mindfulness-Based Therapy: Pathways of Somatic Intelligence. London: Palgrave Macmillan. de Silva, P. (2017b). The Psychology of Buddhism in Confict Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Hyers, C. (1974). Zen and the Comic Spirit. London: Rider. Hyers, C. (1989, July). ‘Humour in Zen: Comic midwifery’, Philosophy East and West, 39(3), 267–277. Mathews, L. (2016). Role of Humour in Emotion Regulation: Differential Effects of Adaptive and Maladaptive Forms of Humor, doctoral dissertation. New York: City University of New York. Ñāṇavīra Thera (1987). The tragic, the Comic and the Personal. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Ñāṇavīra Thera (2011). Clearing the Path. Kandy: Path Press. Thanissaro Bikkhu (2015). The Buddha Smiles. San Diego, CA: Forest Monastery. Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Prof. G. Somaratne for helping me with the diacritical­ marks. I thank Grace Jackson and Joanna O’Neill at Palgrave Macmillan for the encouragement I received from them throughout this project. Professor Deegalle Mahinda has written a timely preface and I thank him for his great interest in the subject of humour in Buddhism. For going through the whole text with meticulous care and suggesting improve- ments, I thank Prof. Constant Mews and Maryna Mews. Maneesh, Adeesh and Chandeesh join me in dedicating this work to the cherished memories of my wife Kalyani.

xxiii Contents

1 Mindful Emotions 1

2 The Emotion of Anger 11

3 Greed, the Acquisitive Drive, and Sensuality 17

4 Buddhist Perspectives on Contemporary Social Pathology 25

5 The Buddha’s Techniques of Teaching and the Use of Parables and Similes 29

6 Conceit and Pride 37

7 The Deep Philosophy Within Zen Humour 43

8 The ‘Comic’ in Kierkegaard’s Three Stages of Life and Their Parallels in Buddhism 49

9 Theories of Humour 55

10 Buddhist Perspectives on Fear 63

xxv xxvi Contents

11 Emotional Integrity and Resilience 69

Index 79 Abbreviations for the Sutta Literature

A Anguttara Nikaya (Gradual Sayings) D Digha Nikaya (Further Dialogues) M Majjhima Nikaya (Middle Length Sayings) S Samyutta Niaya (Kindred Sayings)

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