forever-5
Original: forever-5 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Man (with curly dark hair, standing): I WISH TO LIVE FOREVER!
Genie (a bald figure in red robes, emerging from a swirl of golden smoke): AH! BUT "I" IS A DELUSION. I CANNOT GRANT IMMORTALITY TO THAT WHICH HAS NO BEING! AND SO YOUR WISH IS INVALID.
Caption (below panel): Buddhists make the worst genies.
Votey:
Man (frowning, exasperated, leaning in): LOOK, I ONLY WANTED TO FOREGO ATTACHMENT TO THE SELF AND ATTAIN TOTAL ONENESS BECAUSE MY BODY HURTS. MAKE ME IMMORTAL AND I AM OUT.
Man (with curly dark hair, standing): I WISH TO LIVE FOREVER!
Genie (a bald figure in red robes, emerging from a swirl of golden smoke): AH! BUT "I" IS A DELUSION. I CANNOT GRANT IMMORTALITY TO THAT WHICH HAS NO BEING! AND SO YOUR WISH IS INVALID.
Caption (below panel): Buddhists make the worst genies.
Votey:
Man (frowning, exasperated, leaning in): LOOK, I ONLY WANTED TO FOREGO ATTACHMENT TO THE SELF AND ATTAIN TOTAL ONENESS BECAUSE MY BODY HURTS. MAKE ME IMMORTAL AND I AM OUT.
Alt text
A single-panel comic. On the left, a man with curly dark hair stands and exclaims, "I wish to live forever!" On the right, a bald genie in red robes rises from a swirl of golden smoke and replies, "Ah! But 'I' is a delusion. I cannot grant immortality to that which has no being! And so your wish is invalid." A caption beneath reads: "Buddhists make the worst genies." The joke: the genie uses Buddhist non-self philosophy to weasel out of granting the wish. Votey (aftercomic): a close-up of the man's annoyed, frowning face as he snaps back, "Look, I only wanted to forego attachment to the self and attain total oneness because my body hurts. Make me immortal and I am OUT."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.