There was a young monk in China. He studied and meditated all day long. One day, the monk read something but he did not understand, so he went to his master and asked about it. When the master heard the question, he laughed loudly and walked away. The monk wondered why the master had laughed. For three days, he could not eat, sleep or think properly. He went back to the master and said that he was very disturbed. The master replied, “Do you know what your problem is? You are worse than a clown.” Shocked, the monk asked him, “Why do you say so?” The master explained, “A clown enjoys seeing people laugh at him, but you feel disturbed because another person laughed at you. So, are you not worse than a clown?” Hearing this, the monk realised that he had become too serious, and started laughing loudly.
Moral: One should learn to laugh at oneself.
