<p>The Buddha smiles many times in the suttas, in fond remembrance of experiences that brought great wisdom.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:2.1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN83:2.1</a>: Then the Buddha smiled at a certain spot.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Buddha does not smile at the suffering of others. His smiles are never cruel. His smiles are for the remembrance of great wisdom and insight that can be shared. The Buddha smiles for us all, never against any.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.16" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN83:21.16</a>: Ānanda, I say to you:<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.17" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN83:21.17</a>: ‘You all should keep up this good practice that I have founded. Do not be my final men.’”<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.18" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN83:21.18</a>: That is what the Buddha said.<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.19" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN83:21.19</a>: Satisfied, Venerable Ānanda was happy with what the Buddha said.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Buddha does have a manner of speaking wisdom that can lead <em>others</em> to smile as if in reaction to a deadpan joke:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/an8.63/en/sujato#an8.63:1.2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">AN8.63:1.2</a>: “Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/an8.63/en/sujato#an8.63:1.3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">AN8.63:1.3</a>: “This is exactly how some foolish people ask me for something.<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/an8.63/en/sujato#an8.63:1.4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">AN8.63:1.4</a>: But when the teaching has been explained they think only of following me around.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here, the Buddha is being completely serious, but his statement recalls our own folly and hubris. And we smile at the gentle remembrance of the depth of his wisdom, just as the Buddha smiled in MN83 at his own experience of escaping folly by means of the compassionate help of another.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-04T12:26:11.180Z
@Max, that's a good point. I've added a new quote about AN8.63, which is one of the suttas that makes me smile.
OyaMist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-08T13:26:11.660Z
2021-10-04T12:34:08.100Z
2021-10-04T12:34:08.100Z
OyaMist
<p>There are certain reasons for being joyful. Including the ones which make you smile. Remembering Buddha and understanding him is a reason to smile. Buddha himself smiled when he remembered his past lives... Only in one sutta nobody smiled and that was MN1 where he explained root of all things...</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-26T13:08:48.660Z
2021-03-26T13:08:48.660Z
SacrificialEquation
<p>If I may bring forth an answer to my own question, I have found a passage in the suttas that may provide some useful information on the matter. In the sutta MN 81 With Ghaṭikāra it is said :</p>
<blockquote>
<p>So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was wandering in the land of
the Kosalans together with a large Saṅgha of mendicants. Then the
Buddha left the road, and at a certain spot he smiled. Then Venerable
Ānanda thought, “What is the cause, what is the reason why the Buddha
smiled? Realized Ones do not smile for no reason.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn81/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/mn81/en/sujato</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-26T12:51:13.240Z
2021-03-26T12:51:13.240Z
Aliocha Karamazov
<p>Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa.</p>
<p>Even though it may at first hand appear to be a shallow subject and inquiry, I happen to find it of relevance to the practice and wondered about it.</p>
<p>How prevalent was the Buddha's smiling ?</p>
<p>As I was starting to read Thanissaro Bhikkhu's &quot;<a href="https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/BuddhaSmiles/Section0002.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Buddha Smiles</a>&quot;, it is stated :</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Pali Canon has a reputation for being humorless. And it’s easy to
see why. In some of its passages, the Buddha seems to regard humor in
a bad light. For instance, in the Wailing Discourse (AN 3:107) he
refers to “laughing excessively, showing one’s teeth,” as a form of
childishness, and counsels that a monk, when feeling joy in the
Dhamma, should simply smile. His instructions to Rāhula in MN 61 note
that one shouldn’t tell a deliberate lie, “even in jest.” A passage in
the Vinaya (Sk 51) tells of a monk, formerly an actor, who made a joke
about the Saṅgha. The Buddha, in response, made it an offense for a
monk to tell a joke not only about the Saṅgha, but also about the
Buddha or Dhamma.</p>
<p>There is also the famous verse in the Dhp 146 that seems aimed at
squelching all forms of merriment:</p>
<p>&quot;What laughter, why joy, when constantly aflame? Enveloped in darkness,
don’t you look for a lamp?&quot;</p>
<p><strong>And then there’s the fact that the Buddha himself rarely smiles in the
Canon, and when he does, the reasons for his smile are never
hilarious.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>(the emphasize in the quoted passages is a making of mine)</p>
<p>Yet, I started to also read Walpola Rahula's &quot;What the Buddha taught&quot; in which I can read the following :</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Buddha was never melancholy or gloomy. He was described by his
contemporaries as <strong>‘ever-smiling’ (mihitapubbamgama)</strong>. In Buddhist
painting and sculpture the Buddha is always represented with a
countenance happy, serene, contented and compassionate.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There seems to be a divergence in the two quoted passages as to whether he was &quot;ever-smiling&quot; or only in rare occasions.
In Bhante Vimalaramsi's teaching the act of smiling within one's practice is quite present yet I cannot recall from what I read in the suttas the mentioning of smiling.</p>
<p>I'd appreciate learning more about it.</p>
<p>(If such a question is indeed irrelevant please kindly let me know and I'll delete the question).</p>
<p>With metta.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-07T15:19:19.913Z
Related: [Are there examples of the Buddha showing humour in the Pali Canon?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/8093/471)
ruben2020
<theravada><personal-practice><sutras>
The Buddha and the act of smiling
# The Buddha and the act of smiling

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-02-07)

Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa.

Even though it may at first hand appear to be a shallow subject and inquiry, I happen to find it of relevance to the practice and wondered about it.

How prevalent was the Buddha's smiling ?

As I was starting to read Thanissaro Bhikkhu's "[The Buddha Smiles](https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/BuddhaSmiles/Section0002.html)", it is stated :

> The Pali Canon has a reputation for being humorless. And it’s easy to
> see why. In some of its passages, the Buddha seems to regard humor in
> a bad light. For instance, in the Wailing Discourse (AN 3:107) he
> refers to “laughing excessively, showing one’s teeth,” as a form of
> childishness, and counsels that a monk, when feeling joy in the
> Dhamma, should simply smile. His instructions to Rāhula in MN 61 note
> that one shouldn’t tell a deliberate lie, “even in jest.” A passage in
> the Vinaya (Sk 51) tells of a monk, formerly an actor, who made a joke
> about the Saṅgha. The Buddha, in response, made it an offense for a
> monk to tell a joke not only about the Saṅgha, but also about the
> Buddha or Dhamma.
>
> There is also the famous verse in the Dhp 146 that seems aimed at
> squelching all forms of merriment:
>
> "What laughter, why joy, when constantly aflame? Enveloped in darkness,
> don’t you look for a lamp?"
>
> **And then there’s the fact that the Buddha himself rarely smiles in the
> Canon, and when he does, the reasons for his smile are never
> hilarious.**

(the emphasize in the quoted passages is a making of mine)

Yet, I started to also read Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha taught" in which I can read the following :

> The Buddha was never melancholy or gloomy. He was described by his
> contemporaries as **‘ever-smiling’ (mihitapubbamgama)**. In Buddhist
> painting and sculpture the Buddha is always represented with a
> countenance happy, serene, contented and compassionate.

There seems to be a divergence in the two quoted passages as to whether he was "ever-smiling" or only in rare occasions.
In Bhante Vimalaramsi's teaching the act of smiling within one's practice is quite present yet I cannot recall from what I read in the suttas the mentioning of smiling.

I'd appreciate learning more about it.

(If such a question is indeed irrelevant please kindly let me know and I'll delete the question).

With metta.

**Tags:** theravada, personal-practice, sutras

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Related: [Are there examples of the Buddha showing humour in the Pali Canon?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/8093/471)  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-02-08. Score: 3

The Buddha smiles many times in the suttas, in fond remembrance of experiences that brought great wisdom.

> [MN83:2.1](https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:2.1): Then the Buddha smiled at a certain spot.

The Buddha does not smile at the suffering of others. His smiles are never cruel. His smiles are for the remembrance of great wisdom and insight that can be shared. The Buddha smiles for us all, never against any.

> [MN83:21.16](https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.16): Ānanda, I say to you:  
> [MN83:21.17](https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.17): ‘You all should keep up this good practice that I have founded. Do not be my final men.’”  
> [MN83:21.18](https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.18): That is what the Buddha said.  
> [MN83:21.19](https://suttacentral.net/mn83/en/sujato#mn83:21.19): Satisfied, Venerable Ānanda was happy with what the Buddha said.

The Buddha does have a manner of speaking wisdom that can lead *others* to smile as if in reaction to a deadpan joke:

> [AN8.63:1.2](https://suttacentral.net/an8.63/en/sujato#an8.63:1.2): “Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”  
> [AN8.63:1.3](https://suttacentral.net/an8.63/en/sujato#an8.63:1.3): “This is exactly how some foolish people ask me for something.  
> [AN8.63:1.4](https://suttacentral.net/an8.63/en/sujato#an8.63:1.4): But when the teaching has been explained they think only of following me around.”

Here, the Buddha is being completely serious, but his statement recalls our own folly and hubris. And we smile at the gentle remembrance of the depth of his wisdom, just as the Buddha smiled in MN83 at his own experience of escaping folly by means of the compassionate help of another.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: @Max, that's a good point. I've added a new quote about AN8.63, which is one of the suttas that makes me smile.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-03-26. Score: 1

There are certain reasons for being joyful. Including the ones which make you smile. Remembering Buddha and understanding him is a reason to smile. Buddha himself smiled when he remembered his past lives... Only in one sutta nobody smiled and that was MN1 where he explained root of all things...


---

### Answer by username_0 on 2021-03-26. Score: 1

If I may bring forth an answer to my own question, I have found a passage in the suttas that may provide some useful information on the matter. In the sutta MN 81 With Ghaṭikāra it is said :

> So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was wandering in the land of
> the Kosalans together with a large Saṅgha of mendicants. Then the
> Buddha left the road, and at a certain spot he smiled. Then Venerable
> Ānanda thought, “What is the cause, what is the reason why the Buddha
> smiled? Realized Ones do not smile for no reason.”

<https://suttacentral.net/mn81/en/sujato>


---

