Yesterday at school, a teacher I thought could not speak English approached me said, "Lauren, may I ask you a question?" Of course I said sure.
"Well last night I watched a Robin Williams movie, and he said something I didn't understand. I think it was a joke but I was wondering if you could explain it to me."
I nodded and told him I'd be happy to explain. A smile was already forming on my lips, in anticipation of what cultural mystery I was going to reveal with the help of Robin Williams.
"Okay well it goes like this: 'What did the Buddhist say to the hotdog vendor?' (...) 'Make me one with everything."
I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this, and I cracked up. I'm not even sure why I thought it was so funny. Maybe because I've been doing a lot of serious thinking about Buddhism lately, so when it came up in a light-hearded context, the surprise made me laugh. The teacher waited for me to finish laughing, obviously still confused. Then I explained how the term "one" often means "unity," and that if you order a hotdog "with everything" that means you want ketchup, mustard, chili, slaw, the works.
"Ah, I see," he said seriously. "Yes, I think this is a joke."
No doubt the teacher understood my words, but for some reason he didn't laugh.
Another post on Buddhism is coming up, but this one will be serious...
2 comments:
Since I came across this lovely blog, I have been really enjoying it. I am a Japanese living in the US, so we are in the same situation but in the other's country. It is funny that you got surprised with tiny cans of beer and Coke in Japan, and I got surprised huge-sized cups of Coke in here. Even vegetables are much bigger in the US.!
By the way, I am sorry to say, I still don't get the point of that joke...
Thank you for your interesting writing, and please enjoy your life in Japan.
Your comment was such a nice surprise! Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to say something. Do you have a blog as well? I'm curious as to how you found mine...and I would love to hear more about your life in the US. I hope all is going well for you there.
About the joke, I would still like to explain. When ordering hotdogs or hamburgers in the US, "with everything" is a common expression that implies you want all the toppings and condiments on the hotdog. So literally, the monk was asking the hotdog vendor to prepare a hotdog for him with all the possible ingredients. The joke comes from the fact that he is Buddhist. I don't want to insult your knowledge of Buddhism because I don't know how much you already know...but to be "one with everything" references unity in Buddhism, that Buddha is all things, etc. Everything is one and the same. So from an American perspective, Buddhists believe that enlightenment means they become "one with everything," or a part of the whole universe - nirvana. Literally, the monk was asking for a big hotdog, but figuratively as a Buddhist, he was asking the hotdog vendor to grant him enlightenment. And the thought of a hotdog vendor (something common and not serious) dishing out something spiritual (generally uncommon and serious) is what makes people laugh. That was a very extensive explanation, but I hope it helps. :)
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