Divine play, sacred laughter, and spiritual understanding

Now, it might be a good way to define the chapters that follow as various explorations of what it means to remember the One in "the midst of the turmoil." This being said, we have to add that one or another of the phenomena that are explored in the following pages may not speak to all readers with the same sense of need and urgency. We know by experience that the stories of Coyote, the tricks of Hermes, or the extreme pranks of holy fools are not, and need not, be to everybody's liking and profit, far from that. To some extent and mutatis mutandis, what is true of esoterism can also be said of "cracks of light." Both share the precariousness of their manifestations and the circumstantial relevance of their teachings. Moreover, esoteric doctrines and practices lend themselves to concealment and paradox given their profundity and subtlety. The kinds of phenomena that we propose to study thereby serve, not infrequently, as vehicles or masks for esoteric teachings. In acknowledging this relationship, however, we do not mean to equate "cracks of light" with esoterism as such. Be that as it may, although the phenomena that we examine in this book do not necessarily address an exclusive group of readers, there is still no doubt that they may speak "louder" to those who have a good ear for them-if one This study in the relationship between religion and the comic focuses on the ways in which the latter fulfils a central function in the sacred understanding of reality of pre-modern cultures and the spiritual life of religious traditions. The central thesis is that figures such as tricksters, sacred clowns, and holy fools play an essential role in bridging the gap between the divine and the human by integrating the element of disequilibrium that results from the contact between incommensurable realities. This interdisciplinary and cross-cultural series of essays is devoted to spiritual, anthropological, and literary characters and phenomena that point to a deeper understanding of the various mythological, ceremonial, and mystical ways in which the fundamental ambiguity of existence is symbolized and acted out. Given its interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective, this volume will appeal to scholars from a variety of fields. In this new study of the relationship between religion and the comic, Patrick Laude explores the ways in which holy folly, the clownish, and the grotesque play a central role in religious tradition. By bringing to the forefront the element of ambiguity that results when disparate realities collide, Laude illustrates that figures such as mythological tricksters, sacred clowns, and holy fools play an essential role in bridging the gap between the Divine and the Human, the celestial and the terrestrial, the Absolute and the Relative. Drawing materials from mythology, theology, anthropology, and literature, Divine Play, Sacred Laughter, and Spiritual Understanding demonstrates that the comic is at the core of a fundamental and comprehensive understanding of the religious. Drawing materials from mythology, theology, anthropology, and literature, and from a variety of cultural areas, Patrick Laude demonstrates that the comic--sacred clowns, tricksters, and laughter--is at the core of any fundamental and comprehensive understanding of the religious. Abstract: How tricksters, laughter, sacred clowns, and holy fools play an essential role in bridging the gap between the human and divine Read more... Content: Maya and the divine treasure -- Ambiguity of the demiurge -- Dionysus, Shiva, Osiris -- Divine troublemakers -- Coyote and kin -- Reading the trickster's footsteps -- Thundering clowns -- Spiritual laughter -- Fools for Christ's sake -- The people of blame -- Fools on a tightrope -- Epilogue: Cracks if light. "Drawing materials from mythology, theology, anthropology, and literature, and from a variety of cultural areas, Patrick Laude demonstrates that the comic - sacred clowns, tricksters, and laughter - is at the core of any fundamental and comprehensive understanding of the religious."--Jacket.

how Tricksters, Laughter, Sacred Clowns, And Holy Fools Play An Essential Role In Bridging The Gap Between The Human And Divine