"Rude Buddha" SNL Skit

        Saturday Night Live is known for its humorous and sometimes provocative skits and shorts. These performances often play of off stereotypes and commonly held beliefs, whether they are true or not. In the skit, “Rude Buddha”, Andy Samberg plays the all-knowing, wisdom-filled Buddha providing counsel to his people. In this version, however, the Buddha is more skilled with wisecracks than wise words. His followers come to him, one by one, and the first man asks, “My mind is always racing…how can I find enlightenment, when I cannot find a moment’s peace?” The Buddha responds, “A flower falls even though we love it, and a weed grows even though we do not love it.” So the man asks, “I should accept things as they are?” To which the Buddha replies, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The man thanks the Buddha and leaves. After he leaves, the Buddha changes tone and says to the two “disciples” sitting next to him, “And that guy’s single step should be off a cliff!” His disciples laugh, the audience laughs, he makes another wise crack about the guy “never getting laid” and another follower arrives for advice. As in the first scenario, the “Buddha” replies with a commonly known quote on wisdom, and then makes an inappropriate comment about the person seeking advice. He does this again for a third follower and then again for a fourth (played by Lindsay Lohan). His comments, though humorous, are rude, sexual and offensive. He goes as far as to refer to his penis as “Little Buddha” and likens enlightenment to sex. The skit ends with the Buddha asking the well-known koan, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” as he proceeds to slap one of his followers.
         The skit seems to play off the stereotype of the all-knowing, calm, peaceful Buddha, while simultaneously challenging the validity of the Buddha’s teachings. This sacred, spiritual leader whose own enlightenment spurred a religion is being portrayed as a lewd, foul-mouthed sham. This Buddha is not “the awakened one”, but rather a man, sitting under a tree, rambling off proverbs in an effort to make fools of his followers. The video seems to say: the Buddha is not really a wise teacher personalizing his lessons for each of his followers, he is just man rattling off proverbs. Though I’m sure its producers meant it only in the lightest of terms, it is interesting to imagine the tables switched.