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What Is The Sound Of One Hand?

BrxanBrxan
edited January 2010 in Meditation
Gurgle Gurgle. :lol:

I've decided to begin working on keeping koans as a daily meditation/mindfulness practice. Any advice on how I should go about it? I do not have a teacher and this is why I'm going to try to stick with the basic koans and because last time I tried to do any advanced practice without a teacher my friend thought I was on the verge of falling into a spiritual psychosis.

Oh, before anyone says that I absolutely have to have some kind of teacher I would like to let them know that they are wasting their breath. I hold the belief that people have became closer and have achieved enlightenment on their own since the beginning of time without the help of a teacher. The only experiences I have had with teachers of spiritual paths have always been extremely negative and I do not hold a lot of faith in other people because of these multiple experiences.

So, any advice on holding a koan and personal stories that have came from holding a koan are very welcomed!

Thanks!

Comments

  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Koan: I cease, who arises ?
  • BrxanBrxan
    edited January 2010
    caz namyaw wrote: »
    Koan: I cease, who arises ?

    OMG! I read this, thought about it, and then my mind went "poot!".
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Brxan wrote: »
    OMG! I read this, thought about it, and then my mind went "poot!".

    Cool :D
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Koan: This is my dream, so what is real ?
  • FyreShamanFyreShaman Veteran
    edited January 2010
    My Zen and martial arts teacher recalls asking his Aikido class this question. The most stupid student simply made the motion of one hand clapping. Lots of 'clever' people felt very small. ;)
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited January 2010
    If a tree falls in the forest, and there is nobody there to witness this - does it still make a noise?
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited January 2010
    (Variation:
    If a man is talking in the forest, and his wife is not there to listen to him - is he still wrong?)

    :D
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Where must I dwell to be free from extremes ?
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Where do your thoughts come from? Where do they abide? Where do they go?




    Is the space of your awareness infinite? If not well then can you tell me where the boundaries are? Like what continent they are in? Or in your house? If you said your awareness was infinite is that a guess or idea or do you actually claim to have direct experience of infinity?
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited January 2010
    federica wrote: »
    (Variation:
    If a man is talking in the forest, and his wife is not there to listen to him - is he still wrong?)

    :D
    Yes.
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Richard Herman wrote: »
    Yes.

    :lol:

    No matter where we go or what we do.....:o
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited January 2010
    What happens in lesbian relationships? Which partner is right? (thats a koan not a question hehe)
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Jeffrey wrote: »
    What happens in lesbian relationships? Which partner is right? (thats a koan not a question hehe)

    Thats one of the imponderables buddha would have warned against :lol:
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited January 2010
    caz namyaw wrote: »
    Thats one of the imponderables buddha would have warned against :lol:
    According to the Spousal Correctness Sutra, The answer is yes after five years of marriage, regardless of gender.

    Its right there in black and white....google it.:)
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited January 2010
    Is that the infamous "yes dear" when your not really listening? :p
  • jj5jj5 Medford Lakes, N.J. U.S.A. Veteran
    edited January 2010
    federica wrote: »
    (Variation:
    If a man is talking in the forest, and his wife is not there to listen to him - is he still wrong?)

    :D

    LOL!!! :lol:
  • krahmerkrahmer
    edited January 2010
    federica wrote: »
    If a man is talking in the forest, and his wife is not there to listen to him - is he still wrong?:D
    Women don't listen, so your koan isn't quite right. :cool: It should be: If a man speaks in the forest, and there are no women around, is he still wrong?

    *ducks* :)
  • StaticToyboxStaticToybox Veteran
    edited January 2010
    If a tree falls on a man in the forest, and no one is around to hear, is there still a scream?
  • Subjectivity9Subjectivity9
    edited January 2010
    I am under the impression that Koans don’t have an answer, at least not in words.

    It is like any object of concentration. You simply look at it with all of your might and insights come out of simply keeping the mind too busy to block those insights.

    Respectfully,
    S9
  • bluefaceblueface
    edited January 2010
    Yeshe wrote: »
    My Zen and martial arts teacher recalls asking his Aikido class this question. The most stupid student simply made the motion of one hand clapping. Lots of 'clever' people felt very small. ;)

    i love that story ...so when he did it how did it sound?...
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