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Clip description
John Safran road tests Zen Buddhism at a Japanese monastery that belongs to the Rinzai school. This sequence shows his third attempt to ask a philosophical riddle, or koan, that the Roshi master has set him.
Curator’s notes
These religious road tests are the defining feature of John Safran vs God. Safran’s approach combines irreverence with apparently genuine curiosity, allowing the show to be both funny and informative. In a time-honoured comic tradition, Safran uses his role as comedian to ask questions and make observations that would normally be inappropriate. Religion is particularly sensitive territory and it is sometimes uncomfortable watching his subjects expose their beliefs to Safran. In this case the monks respond in a good humoured, if bemused, manner – though they do also give him the occasional beating.
