Expert: Joe McSorley - 5/9/2005

Question
I am especially interested in Zen humor as it relates to waking up.  Can you suggest books or authors or wake-up specialists that I might read?

Answer
Dear Don,
 What do you mean by wake-up?  Did you mean 'awakening"?  I don't know why Zen humor would be different from any other humor.  My teacher's sense of humor was the same as anyone else in society.  Most of the so called Zen humor I've seen in books is this absurdist nonsense with no understanding of the essence of Zen.  I don't know what you could isolate as Zen humor, sorry, unless humor as humor,fully expressed in the moment were the definition then Zen humor would be any good laugh you have.
   Joe