From the start, I will give you a clear hint on where we are heading to. Think of the Zen teachings, think of the Zen anecdotes. Zen has given us a fascinating methodology on how to handle the absurd. There are obviously many other ways, but I guess this is one of the most well known ones these days.

One of the few essential experiences

I said that facing the absurd is an essential experience for us. There are few experiences of this kind, which we could call essential ones. Like death. We all have to face death at some point. We may think of death as the utmost in terms of what we have to face. It is truly unavoidable, it is a great suffering, it is the unmerciful end. Death causes the greatest fear of all. But it doesn’t cause despair. That is the scope of the absurd.

Absurd leads to despair. Despair is the sense of being annihilated, the dissolution of our being. Think of the small stupid situations of our daily lives when we find ourselves in completely unreasonable circumstances. Those events might have reasons and reasonings for others, from other perspectives. But not for us.

However, the absurd might show up with greater intensity. Usually when we face the loosing of something important, may be even what represented the meaning of life for us. Or there are situations of facing great unfairness, injustice. In these situations, when we vehemently protest, we usually find ourselves exclaiming: “This is absurd!”

Learning to deal with the absurd is vital

Being cheated, being betrayed often leads to suicidal endings. The inability of facing the absurdity of the circumstances sometimes leads to tragic endings. But form the perspective of the absurd, as an essential existential experience, that showed up in our life, the suicidal ending is a completely wrong answer. The inability to accept the unacceptable is obvious here. But what is also obvious is that the major reason that led to this was not knowing how to face the absurd.

Why this isn’t then part of our mundane training? It would save us from lots of catastrophic endings. A possible answer is that it is way too uncomfortable to even bring it in discussion. On the level of personal development, personal accomplishment, the goal is to be reasonable, to achieve what is there to be achieved, relative to those who have already achieved what had to be achieved. There is no place here for anything that is unavoidable, inevitable. Everything has to be under control, under personal control.

Is there an easy way?

It seems that dealing with the absurd was banished to the other side, to what is generally called spirituality. Let spirituality deal with it. And spirituality does that. Every form, or frame, or methodology of spiritual development urges you to learn how to deal with the absurd. The most famous one nowadays seems to be the Zen way to do this. But Western traditions, usually the esoteric ones, are doing the same. In the tradition of Alchemy there is what is called Nigredo, a first phase leading towards future purification and transformation. The Christian tradition is also familiar with the Dark Night of the Soul.

Regarding the Zen approach, I would say that the point is often missed. We are extremely amused by the stories there. It can be funny, no question, but there is way more to it. Learning to face the absurd is a bigger task than even learning to face death. And just imagine how difficult is for a Zen teacher to find a way for his disciple to realize it, to learn it. Seemingly it takes time, a great deal of time.

Will stop here for now, saying that I am sometimes criticized by my readers that I am too serious. This time I might have really gone too far. So, to end this article in a lighter tone, here is a Zen anecdote:

Ikkyu, the Zen master, was very clever even as a boy. His teacher had a precious teacup, a rare antique. Ikkyu happened to break this cup and was greatly perplexed. Hearing the footsteps of his teacher, he held the pieces of the cup behind him. When the master appeared, Ikkyu asked: “Why do people have to die?”

Ikkyu, producing the shattered cup, added: “It was time for your cup to die.”

Some say it is the magic recipe. A good laugh a day keeps the doctor away. Or an apple. Just being able to laugh means that you have a sense of humor? Consider this guy over here propagating the mechanical laughter. Creepy. Laughter doesn’t imply the comic. Laughter can be pathological, laughter can be hysterical. But when it implies comicality (as the aesthetical category), it has a social value, a social function.

Aristotle in Poetica has the following definition on this: “Comedy is, as we have said, an imitation of characters of a lower type- not, however, in the full sense of the word bad, the ludicrous being merely a subdivision of the ugly. It consists in some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive. To take an obvious example, the comic mask is ugly and distorted, but does not imply pain.” (Part V.)

Considered a gospel by many great artists, it is also helpful to see here, that comicality must not imply pain. But it is not too gentle either. It simply acts on an other level. When the sense of humor notices something worthy to be expressed, it never hurts, but it warns. Thus, it becomes constructive, thus it contributes to the development of others.

Being entertained by disgust

Due to the overwhelming presence of the ugly in our current era, the predominant aesthetic category of our times is disgust. Accordingly, humorous entertainment tends to be focused on disgusting matters. Rarely considered or used as social warning. Mostly as a perversion. Louts are laughing on everything. But Aristotle warned that in the true sense, one should not laugh on everything.

Laughing is relaxing of inner tension

Laughing occurs when there is an inner tension. When the inner tension needs to be released. Laughing eliminates the surplus of energy. That tension is created by impressions that can not be reconciled. Every joke, at its core, imitates the occurrence of this tension. The punchline produces the release of that tension. Thus, you can get rid of the accumulated conflicting impressions.

Psychoanalysts consider humor a form of sublimated aggression. Which correlates here. Aggression can turn into violence when the inner tension is unbearable. But as you see, also a joke can help with that in a friendly, peaceful way.

What to do if a joke is not at hand?

More to that, a joke does not give guaranties to the sublimation to occur, or to the relaxing of the tension. It might be too late, it might be unfitting, inappropriate etc., maybe having the effect of increasing the tension. So, the outer source for that to happen is not always available. Still, there is hope. Our own sense of humor can save the day. In that case, we need to do the job ourselves. We need to make an effort. A conscious effort.

“The sense of humor is often mistakenly considered as given. It is confused with the ability to laugh. Although the relation is close, they are not the same. The sense of humor can be caught in action in rare moments. And it doesn’t imply laughter. As an example for this, in a recent reading my attention was drawn to the fact that Christ never laughed. There isn’t any evidence, not even the slightest one, that Christ laughed even once.” (in P.D.Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous, Ch. XI.).

And on the other hand, there are people so deeply involved with their own negative emotions that they never laugh. So sour, so severe and serious in a sick way.

A good, developed and polished sense of humor can be even more than just a tool to get rid of accumulated conflicting energy. By facing greater oppositions, existential paradoxes, meeting and facing the absurd can become a spring-board for spiritual evolution. More on that soon.