The Joker — Alan Watts
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The theme of the Joker revolves around seeing everything as a game, including social institutions and natural formations. The term 'game' should not be interpreted as something trivial, but rather as a perspective that challenges the seriousness and significance of established systems.
Let's discuss the concept of play and games in human life. Important activities, such as playing musical instruments, can be seen as games that are not necessarily frivolous but sincere. Viewing human activities as games can help us see them as being done for their own sake rather than for ulterior motives. Explore the idea of 'far-out' and 'far-in' people, where conventional individuals who are deeply involved in the seriousness of their games are considered 'far out', while those who maintain contact with the original purpose behind the games are 'far in'. The prompter in a theater can be used as an analogy for the 'far-in' people who connect the actors on stage with the green room, representing the central point or the still point of the turning world. The prompter serves as a guide to keep individuals connected to the deeper truth behind the games of life. Whatever your role, everyone is ultimately responsible for their own experiences and that there is no one to blame.
The Joker can be seen as the sly man who challenges societal norms and limitations. The Joker can be compared to the monk, fakir, and yogi who seek to overcome their karma through discipline. However, the Joker's approach is different as they 'leave town' without any prior announcement, avoiding opposition and temptations. Becoming a Buddha or achieving spiritual awakening must happen spontaneously without any intention. It is the double bind of trying to be spontaneous while planning to surprise oneself. However, there is also an inability to stop being spontaneous and the importance of living in the present moment. In truth, there is nothing left to do but to have a good laugh.
The relationship between anxiety and laughter are two sides of the same phenomenon. It is like how emotions like horror and delight, grief and joy, can manifest in similar physical reactions. Life is sort of an oscillation and a vibration. The Joker can turn anxiety into laughter. There are monks who keep skulls in their cells as a reminder of mortality, and how a skull can be seen as a laughing thing rather than a grim thing. There is a problem of perception, for example, is a zebra a yellow horse with black stripes or a black horse with yellow stripes. Our fear of death stems from our egocentric consciousness and our belief in the value of survival, even if it means a hereafter reward for standing against evil.
There exists a fear of death and the idea of survival. There is a connection between the universe running down and the possibility of it starting again. Existence is eternal and that nothing can exist without something. The realization that darkness and light are two phases of the same thing can transform anxiety into laughter. Let's touch on the interpretation of pain and the experiences of people who have undergone torture.
The worst part of torture is the beginning, when one is full of illusions and fears. As torture proceeds, the victim's state of mind changes and they may even cooperate with the torture. Pain can become an experience without a negative interpretation if one sees the inner unity of opposites. Death is seen as a joke, and the fear of annihilation of consciousness is a delusion. The blank intervals between events and forgetting who we are are significant. The intervals and space are important. Anxiety arises from resisting the flip-flop nature of life.