The Laughing Buddha’s Paradox

With belly round and smile so wide,
The Laughing Buddha sits,
His mirth a cosmic riddle,
That logic barely fits.

He guffaws at existence,
Chuckles at pain and strife,
Finding hilarity eternal,
In the absurdness of life.

His paradox, a koan divine:
Why laugh when all is fleeting?
Why grin at impermanence?
When time is always cheating?

In one hand, he holds sorrow,
The other, pure delight,
He juggles contradictions,
Through day and darkest night.

Enlightenment, he teaches,
Is found in jest, not gloom,
In seeing life’s grand comedy,
From cradle to the tomb.

He roars at our ambitions,
Giggles at our fears,
Finding in each moment,
A joke for Buddha ears.

The more we seek for meaning,
The louder his glee grows,
For in the search for answers,
The question overflows.

He teaches not with sermons,
But with a mirthful gaze,
Inviting us to join him,
In laughter’s healing haze.

The weight of the world, he carries,
Upon his jolly frame,
Yet lightness is his essence,
Levity, his aim.

In silence, he speaks volumes,
In stillness, dances wild,
His wisdom wrapped in chuckles,
Like secrets of a child.

So when the world seems heavy,
And truth hard to discern,
Look to the Laughing Buddha,
And let your spirit yearn,

To find the cosmic punchline,
In every joy and pain,
For in his paradox of mirth,
Enlightenment we gain.

Embrace life’s contradictions,
Let go of what you know,
And in the Laughing Buddha’s jest,
Your wisdom, too, will grow.

For in the heart of humor,
Where light and dark entwine,
The Laughing Buddha shows us,
That all of life’s divine.