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Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 9:03 am
by plwk
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A man from Long Island, New York, is facing up to 30 days in jail and a US$500 fine after a neighbour complained to police he was laughing too loudly, his lawyer said yesterday. More here

It is childish, bhikkhus, in the discipline of the noble ones to laugh excessively showing the teeth.
Therefore, bhikkhus, having given up singing, having given up dancing, it is suitable for you who delight in the Dhamma to smile moderately mindful smiles.

Ruṇṇa Sutta

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 7:17 pm
by lojong1
Buddha's "purgatory of laughter"?

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 3:36 am
by manas
Well a fine I could understand, but jail would be ridiculous and excessive, I think...

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 1:47 pm
by alan
Throw that guy into laughing idiot jail.
I hate it when people laugh out loud for no reason other than to call attention to themselves.

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 5:17 pm
by mirco
alan wrote:Throw that guy into laughing idiot jail. I hate it when people laugh out loud for no reason other than to call attention to themselves.
Nice you accepting your attachement.

:-) Regards

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:38 am
by mirco
plwk wrote:A man from Long Island, New York, is facing up to 30 days in jail and a US$500 fine after a neighbour complained to police he was laughing too loudly, his lawyer said yesterday. More here
It is childish, bhikkhus, in the discipline of the noble ones to laugh excessively showing the teeth.
Therefore, bhikkhus, having given up singing, having given up dancing, it is suitable for you who delight in the Dhamma to smile moderately mindful smiles.

Ruṇṇa Sutta
I don't get it, maybe you can help me out:

where is the connection between this non-buddhist laughing guy/law and the instructions of the Buddha within his Sangha of ordained Bhikkhus?

:-) Regards

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 6:47 am
by tiltbillings
Maybe he just realized nibbana.

The Path of Discrimination (Patisambhidamagga by Sariputta) p. 372, para XXI 17. "With much laughter, blitheness, content and gladness he realizes the ultimate meaning, nibbana, thus it is laughing understanding."

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:41 am
by plwk
go raibh maith agat tilt :tongue:

Mirco, no connection but that Sutta just came to mind and so I quoted it on the side.
For me, as a layman, perhaps I can take a leaf from the Lord on how to laugh mindfully without showing the contents of my cave :mrgreen:

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:24 pm
by alan
"Bestial topics"...I'm sure you've read that one. (AN 10.70).
Also look at AN 10.93, which tells us the value of being fond of quietude.

Loud, pointless laughter, besides being a sign of spiritual immaturity, is also a social nuisance.

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 2:10 pm
by tiltbillings
alan wrote:"Bestial topics"...I'm sure you've read that one. (AN 10.70).
Also look at AN 10.93, which tells us the value of being fond of quietude.

Loud, pointless laughter, besides being a sign of spiritual immaturity, is also a social nuisance.
I think the same thing is likely true about carping, grousing, and grumbling.

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 2:35 pm
by alan
Carping, grumbling and grousing are all well and fine, as long as they are not loud.

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 2:56 pm
by tiltbillings
alan wrote:Carping, grumbling and grousing are all well and fine, as long as they are not loud.
C, g, and g are best kept to one's self, as no more than a mumble or a bit of muttering. In the written form, however, they are as loud and out there as is anything else.

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:12 pm
by alan
But wasn't this complaint about laughing out loud in public?

Re: Man faces jail for laughing too loudly

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 6:25 pm
by tiltbillings
alan wrote:But wasn't this complaint about laughing out loud in public?
Schiavelli said the neighbour regularly mocks his disability, and the best response to those taunts is laughter.

“He just ridicules me all the time and the only thing I can come up with is laughing,” Schiavelli said in a telephone interview.
The problem seems to be the neighbor.