--- libris <libris@...> skrev:

> Dear John,
>
> However, I sometimes wonder why the "vipassana"
> monks of Burma hardly smile (not in their portraits,
> anyway). Are they happy? The Buddha is depicted in
> the Suttas as gently smiling (showing only a bit of
> his teeth).

I suppose that mettaa-bhaavanaa, and the
brahma-vihaara generally, are usually classified as
samatha; and I think they are extremely useful, not to
say absolutely necessary, when living in an age of
aggressivity (and when looking in books of history, I
haven't found any other kind of age).

And if a meditator doesn't smile at the absurdities of
life, I wonder if he has really understood them.

Gunnar

gunnargallmo@...