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The Dalai Lama in the Land of Oz

Posted June 15th, 2011 by Lesley Hazleton

What not to do when you meet a living saint?

On a live morning news show in Australia last week, the host told the Dalai Lama:  “I have a joke for you, that my son told me, that he said you would laugh at, even though it’s about you.”   So here’s what happened:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/xlIrI80og8c]

Trouble is, the guy’s so dumb you don’t even cringe for him.  Something tells me Dalai got the real joke.  (A longer version is here, with him sweetly trying to comfort the idiot.)

What’s interesting in the longer version is that the host is reduced to sitting there looking like the dumb kid he is — and probably for the first time, he’s aware of it.  Could this be Buddhism in action?

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File under: absurd, Buddhism | Tagged: Tags: Australia, Dalai Lama, joke, pizza | 4 Comments
  1. Robert Corbett says:
    June 15, 2011 at 2:52 pm

    Oh, Lesley, I think idiot is a little harsh. The little boy’s joke is a variant on an old one, which is “What kind of pizza did the Buddhist ask for?” “One with everything.” I wonder how old the kid is to know that the Dalai Lama is a Buddhist. But of course the Dalai Lama, soul of grace, made the moment better.

    • Lesley Hazleton says:
      June 15, 2011 at 3:12 pm

      You might be right about my being a tad over-harsh — I kept thinking about the scene after I’d posted, and then added that last para.

  2. Sue says:
    June 15, 2011 at 4:03 pm

    Nauseating and disrespectful I thought. Really, the interviewer was a jerk. But worst of all – it wasn’t even funny!

  3. Marshall says:
    December 5, 2011 at 3:50 am

    Very sad moment!!!! Perhaps the expression ‘you laugh so you don’t have to cry’ applies perfectly on this case.

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