The Great Cosmic Joke

 
What Is The Cosmic Joke?

The “cosmic joke” is often described as a realization that the universe, reality, or existence itself is somehow humorous or absurd. It is believed to be a moment of groundbreaking insight, which may take one’s entire life to achieve, where the nature of reality is revealed to be both profound and meaningless all the same time. In recognizing that we are small specks within an unthinkably vast universe on an infinitely long timeline, all human problems and sufferings are set in perspective, by which they take on an almost comical appearance. As Charlie Chaplin once said: “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”

The joke lies in the realization that concepts like good and bad, right and wrong, and self and other—concepts that we spend an enormous amount of time contemplating and believing in—are actually just arbitrary constructs perpetuated by the human mind. This understanding opens the door to a more inclusive and compassionate worldview, where laughter replaces judgment and acceptance transcends limitations.

The Vietnamese monk and activist Thích Nhất Hạnh, who had a significant influence on the practice of Buddhism in the West, once said, “I laugh when I think how I once sought paradise as a realm outside of the world of birth… But this is not the laughter of someone who suddenly acquires a great fortune; neither is it the laughter of one who has won a victory. It is, rather, the laughter of one who, after having painfully searched for something for a long time, finds it one morning in the pocket of his coat.”




Source: https://doubleblindmag.com/great-cosmic-joke/