From a talk by Ajahn Sumedho titled, "Who We Really Are:"Now one of the big problems in meditation is that we can take ourselves too seriously. We can see ourselves as religious people dedicated towards serious things, such as realising truth. We feel important; we are not just frivolous or ordinary people, going about our lives, just going shopping in the supermarket and watching television. Of course this seriousness has advantages; it might encourage us to give up foolish activities for more serious ones. But the process can lead to arrogance and conceit: a sense of being someone who has special moral precepts or some altruistic goal, or of being exceptional in some way, having come onto the planet as some kind of messiah.
It's a kind of pride that can make human beings lose all perspective; so we need humour to point to the absurdity of our self-obsession.
James: I laugh a lot when I meditate. Especially when that sneeky ego creeps in with the spiritual materialism of smugness, arrogance and pride of feeling like I'm something special because I am meditating, beause i'm a "Buddhist" or feeling like I "get it." As if there is something to "get" (shakes head and chuckles). More like there is something to lose. Namely that very ego that wants us to acquire.
So I agree that laughter is a great way to "point out the absurdity of our self-obsession" as Ajahn says. A good belly laugh is a very powerful tool to blow out the cobwebs of the ensnaring ego. I firmly believe that without laughter one can not make much progress along any spiritual path.
~Peace to all beings~
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