SARCASM AND IRONY AS PHILOSOPHY
Sarcasm is not [always] wrong speech and is
often a systematic shortcut for
philosophical analysis. Sarcasm can be
found among philosophical discourse such
as when Socrates pleaded with Euthyphro to
teach him what the latter knows (quite
clearly making fun of the guy for the benefit
of the audience) and Socratic irony could
even be called the Socratic method, or
philosophical method. And while not being
as famous Buddha also loved to poke fun at
people if he thought it a good teaching
method
There are many examples of satire by the
Buddha in the Pali canon. For instance, in
the Tevijja sutra (DN13), the Buddha
compares the brahmans claiming to show
the way to meet the Brahma without ever
seeing him to a young man searching for the
perfect girl, without seeing her or knowing
her name and whereabouts.
Again, in the Assalayana sutra (MN93), the
Buddha ridicules the claimed superiority of
the brahmans by birth by saying that the
"brahman-women are plainly seen having
their periods, becoming pregnant, giving
birth, and nursing [their children]. And yet
the brahmans, being born through the birth
canal, say, 'Brahmans are the superior caste;
any other caste is inferior."
Again (MN90) the Buddha pokes fun at King
Pasenadi Kosala and his servitude to the
sisters Soma and Sakula
Again (Majjhima Nikaya 35, Culasaccaka
Sutta) a wanderer, Saccaka, threatens to
take on the Buddha in debate and yet as you
would expect Saccaka ends up thoroughly
humiliated, seated and depressed (which
turned out to be a necessary antidote for his
pride and he ends up becoming an arahant)
As well as sarcasm and irony the sutras are
full of lighthearted quips like when Buddha
said (Anguttara Nikaya), This is so
important, I can't even think of a simile for it"
which considering how free the Buddha was
with similes the listeners would certainly
have taken this as a joke."
Further, Buddha did not suffer fools and was
not overly concerned with what we'd cal
today snowflakes. For instance, The
Buddha's criticism of a monk who broke his
vows is as follows
Worthless man, haven't I taught the
Dhamma in many ways for the fading of
passion, the sobering of intoxication, the
subduing of thirst, the destruction of
attachment, the severing ot the round, the
ending of craving, dispassion, cessation,
unbinding? Haven't I in many ways
advocated abandoning sensual pleasures,
comprehending sensual perceptions,
subduing sensual thirst, destroying sensual
thoughts, calming sensual fevers?
Worthless man, it would be better that your
penis be stuck into the mouth of a
poisonous snake than into a woman's
vagina. It would be better that your penis be
stuck into the mouth of a black viper than
into a woman's vagina. It would be better
that your penis be stuck into a pit of burning
embers, blazing and glowing, than into a
woman's vagina. Why is that? For that
reason, you would undergo death or death-
like suffering, but you would not on that
account, at the break-up of the body, after
death, fall into deprivation, the bad
destination, the abyss, hell.."
