The Sound of No Hands Clapping • Minding the Machines • Self Representations • The Sense of Perception • Perspectives on Visions • Ethics, Actions & Effects • No Marks For Marx? • Panned Spiritism • Ethical Chainsaws and Motorbikes
https://philosophynow.org/issues/133/Letters
Letters (Issue 133)
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owl of Minerva
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Re: Letters (Issue 133)
The Sound of No Hands Clapping.
A koan is meant to bring enlightenment, to see reality as it is rather than as it is perceived. The sound of one hand clapping is similar to the other koan: if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it does it make a sound? They are both meant to convey that sound is fundamental. Sound does not require duality, another object to strike against and it does not need an observer to exist. A deep meditator would hear the sound the energy one hand in motion would make. A tree falling, in motion, would make a sound that does not depend on an observer who hears the sound. The ego is tied to duality and to its importance in the scheme of things. A koan is meant to transcend the limits and perceptions of the ego.
A koan is meant to bring enlightenment, to see reality as it is rather than as it is perceived. The sound of one hand clapping is similar to the other koan: if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it does it make a sound? They are both meant to convey that sound is fundamental. Sound does not require duality, another object to strike against and it does not need an observer to exist. A deep meditator would hear the sound the energy one hand in motion would make. A tree falling, in motion, would make a sound that does not depend on an observer who hears the sound. The ego is tied to duality and to its importance in the scheme of things. A koan is meant to transcend the limits and perceptions of the ego.