Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter.
~Friedrich Nietzsche
Namaste
Peace and Love
2007-04-14 21:40:24 · 9 answers · asked by digilook 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
"Laughing Buddha" is the common English name for the Buddhist figure variously known as Budai or Hotei (²¼´ü). He is the interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya (translated as M¨ªl¨¨ F¨® (›ÀÕ·ð) in Chinese), the predicted Buddha to succeed Gautama Buddha in the future.
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2007-04-14 21:47:04 · update #1
A little about Nietzsche, God and Christians:
http://atheism.about.com/library/weekly/aa042600a.htm?terms=of+god
2007-04-14 22:04:31 · update #2
http://atheism.about.com/library/weekly/aa042600b.htm
2007-04-14 22:11:54 · update #3
Lol your quote.
Sure, this time last year, my car was in getting a new engine I couldn't afford, my rental house was burnt and I didn't even have a set of clothes to wear. I was in my nighty! My son who still is, went missing, + +..... yes it was past sadness, lol. I am so thankful I knew God! If I didn't have God, I could have Lost it!! LoL!
2007-04-14 21:54:19 · answer #1 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Quoting Nietzschse and throwing out Peace and Love? That's pretty paradoxical if you ask me. Seriously, Nietzsche was a genius, I'd go as far as to say that he was the wisest philosopher of all time. So wise, in fact, that he went mad because of it.
Nietzsche's message, however, was never about peace and love--not even mutual respect. It was about the depravity of the human condition, the blindness with which we follow antiquated doctrines, and the fairly animalistic revolution that should take place if mankind is to ever break free from the madness gripping it. Charming that you would bring him up in spirituality, though, being as how he was so very anti-Christian. Either way, I'm sure that everybody has suffered so much they had to laugh about it. We create suffering with joy, and the other way around, the two halves create each other. It's only natural that each and every one of us have.
2007-04-14 21:51:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nietzsche seems to mean that its only man who has inflicted self-conscious inner pain on himself (because he can't measure up to his own created ideals, he broods on others suffering etc) so in order to not perish, mankind had to invent jests and things to amuse himself to counteract the somber side of being human, a side not shared by any other members of the animal kingdom.
2007-04-17 15:58:36 · answer #3 · answered by K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Isn't Nietzsche a trip? If I sat around all day feeling sorry for myself, I'd just whither up. Sorry, that doesn't sound very...anyway, if I didn't see the dark humor in my life, I'd be devastatingly depressed. (Ever read/see any Ionesco or Becket plays?)
2007-04-14 22:05:14 · answer #4 · answered by Keselyű 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, some human behaviourists think that laughter is a way to release nervous tension. A bit like when you say "Boo" to a child and, after the initial shock, he/she starts to chuckle.
"Boo."
2007-04-14 21:48:49 · answer #5 · answered by Stewart 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
since the face is mostly a mask, we can find ourselves laughing or smiling when we actually are sad, worried or shocked. Yes it could be a reaction of defense or a momentary relief.
2007-04-14 21:46:11 · answer #6 · answered by Theta40 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Learning to laugh at those things which cause fear or pain disempowers them, makes them smaller.
2007-04-15 00:45:41 · answer #7 · answered by beatlefan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
animals laugh...
2007-04-14 21:42:29 · answer #8 · answered by Invisible_Flags 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I find humour in everything................
2007-04-14 21:43:43 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋