It always reminds me too of the work of the very serious gnostic teacher from the second century, Valentinus, whose school believed that during the crucifixion the real Jesus was looking on watching the crucifixion from under a tree, and smiling, in a manner not dissimilar to Buddha's meditation under the Bodhi tree, where you see him being attacked by angry demons, except he isn't there, it's just the empty seat, for the Buddha knows like Jesus knows that even the worst attack the world can make is pointless, because it is completely meaningless, not to mention not real. This of course is just another way of expressing the notion that the crux (pun not intended) of Jesus' teaching surely was the resurrection, and not the crucifixion.
And so, when we take the world too seriously, we can always be reminded of this and ask these great teachers to show us a better way of looking at things, after all, even in the face of death, what are you going to do? Die five minutes later? We knew going in what the deal was, we were going to die sometime, so what's a few minutes between friends? What's the difference, so the only things that are frightening in this world are so only because we believe they are, and if we change our belief, they can no longer frighten us. This is no different than a little kid who is afraid of the monsters under his bed. You help them change their belief system, and that's what Jesus or Buddha are there to help us do, because they fully realized the knowledge that the world is not real, and there is nothing to fear but fear itself.
In the Thomas Gospel it is amongst other things Logion 42, Be passersby, which reminds us of the same wisdom. Don't take life too personally, for it will kill you
With that thought, I've gotta get back to work now.
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