"Roshi Keido Fukushima is not against people seeing humor in Zen. However, they should understand it for what it is. He reiterates: 'A Zen person laughs when he laughs and weeps when he weeps. That's all!' During our discussion on humor I asked the Roshi about those Zen masters in China and Japan who told funny stories to their disciples or behaved like the legendary Sufi, the incomparable Mulla Nasrudin. The Roshi agreed and pointed out that such stories or acts can be used as an upaya (means) to illustrate a point. However, he pointed out that the purpose behind such activities is to engender Zen experience, not to teach about humor. Furthermore, within the narratives, the Zen person who is the object of the humor, does not think of himself as funny. Only the others do. I agree with the Roshi. In the case of the Sufi Mulla Nasrudin, he does not see himself as funny or absurd. He behaves as he sees fit. Furthermore, within the Sufi tradition, his stories are told not to teach about Sufi humor, but about Sufi experience. On this issue I find a remarkable similarity between Sufi tradition and Zen."