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What is the sound of one hand clapping?
zenff
Veteran
in Philosophy
Our intuition says things exist when the context is removed or altered. The chair will be the chair and I will be me.
But there are exceptions. A rainbow cannot exist independently from the rain or the sunlight. The clapping hand cannot be a clapping hand when the other hand isn’t joining. Some phenomena are not graspable “things” but they are ungraspable “processes”.
As far as I can tell, the basic building blocks of the world we perceive are not fully understood. Do we really know what matter is or time or consciousness? Are they graspable things or ungraspable processes?
In my understanding the Buddhist idea of codependent arising appears to take a position on this. It says there are no graspable “things” but there are ungraspable “processes” only.
Phenomena appear and disappear only in the context of other phenomena, which only appear and disappear in the context of other phenomena, which only appear and disappear in the context of other phenomena, which only appear and disappear in the context of other phenomena etc.
There is nothing graspable at the root of it, or at the end of it, or in it, or behind it.
Reality (or what we perceive as such) is like a set of mirrors reflecting images without anything actually there to be reflected other than the reflections of other mirrors.
But there are exceptions. A rainbow cannot exist independently from the rain or the sunlight. The clapping hand cannot be a clapping hand when the other hand isn’t joining. Some phenomena are not graspable “things” but they are ungraspable “processes”.
As far as I can tell, the basic building blocks of the world we perceive are not fully understood. Do we really know what matter is or time or consciousness? Are they graspable things or ungraspable processes?
In my understanding the Buddhist idea of codependent arising appears to take a position on this. It says there are no graspable “things” but there are ungraspable “processes” only.
Phenomena appear and disappear only in the context of other phenomena, which only appear and disappear in the context of other phenomena, which only appear and disappear in the context of other phenomena, which only appear and disappear in the context of other phenomena etc.
There is nothing graspable at the root of it, or at the end of it, or in it, or behind it.
Reality (or what we perceive as such) is like a set of mirrors reflecting images without anything actually there to be reflected other than the reflections of other mirrors.
Thus shall you think of all this fleeting world:Koan-stories and questions are - like the one hand clapping - removed from context. When we don’t restore that context or fabricate a new one, they will help us realizing this dreamlike nature of reality. That will set us free. We will no longer be grasping at things that are not really there.
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightening in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
(Diamond Sutra)
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Comments
This all implies that the sleeping and waking mind are the same. The sleeping mind is grabbing hold of the processes and making a fantasy reality of them . . .
The genuine wakeful state knows and makes no such static 'reality' from the process of awareness and arisings.
You are closer than a blink to the Buddha Mind.
Nothing special.
Just awareness. Just attention. Just now.
Just so.
(I will make such a great Buddha)
:wave:
― Pema Chödrön
"Blink damn it! Blink!"
- Bonsai Doug
~David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order
What does a pink flying elephant look like?
What comes to mind when seeing or hearing these absurd questions?
This conversation is wonderful.
The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of the master’s hand slapping the disciple. Wake up!
Like this...
Answer: Ask the person with one hand. [SMACK!]
Of course the question is supposed to be like' "Is water wet?"
It is supposed to create introspection and pull one away from the mundane.
But if you are into the one hand smack - your fetish.