Friday, December 30, 2011

Dalai Lama Joke

Sometimes, even good jokes fall flat. 
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Here's the classic that failed.

A Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop and says, 
"Can you make me one with everything?".
~ Karl Stefanovic, Australian TV Presenter & Anchor for "Today," Channel Nine, 2011 Jun 15.

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Videos on YouTube:

Karl Sefanovic tries to tell a Dalai Lama joke - to the Dalai Lama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkDFBVczcGY

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I found this on the internet that I thought added more to the joke...

Question:
I'm not sure if this question is on topic (maybe it just needs to be rephrased), but since this made global headlines due to the Dalai Lama not being able to understand it, I figure most non-native speakers would have trouble getting the joke too. {The Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop and says "can you make me one with everything?"} As can be seen, the Dalai Lama was a bit confused. The thing is, I don't get it either. Is there some sort of pun in there somewhere? Can someone please explain to me why this is a joke?

Here's the best answer:
The joke here is the use of the phrase one with everything. It can be used with either of the following meanings. 1). Spiritual: to be one with everything means to be unified with everything else. This is a main concept in Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. where one feels that everything else is a part of self. To be one with everything is one of the higher aims of such religions. 2). The other meaning of the phrase is to get a pizza with every (available) topping.

Here's an answer that I thought was hilarious:
After the Dalai Lama got his pizza, he paid it with a $100 bill. When the pizza-cashier took the $100 bill, the Dalai Lama asked for his change. "Change," said the pizza-cashier, "must come from within."
 – psmears Jun 17 at 15:37

Source:

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