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What is the sound of one hand?
Hakuin Ekaku
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote provokes thought about perception and existence.

The quote 'What is the sound of one hand?' challenges individuals to confront the nature of reality and the limits of human understanding. It is a Zen koan that encourages deep reflection, suggesting that some questions may not have straightforward answers and that true comprehension often lies beyond logical reasoning.

Themes

SoundOne HandPerceptionExistenceZen

In practice

Example use cases

During a meditation session to illustrate the concept of perception versus reality.

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What is this true meditation? It is to make everything: coughing, swallowing, waving the arms, motion, stillness, words, action, the evil and the good, prosperity and shame, gain and loss, right and wrong, into one single koan.
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All beings are by nature are Buddhas, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddhas.
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