Re: Hand clap Zen koan

WILL HOCHMAN (hochman@uscolo.edu)
Mon, 02 Nov 1998 17:03:59 -0700 (MST)

YES, Pasha, yes, I think that allusion is important and it does illustrate
the sound of one hand clapping, will

On Mon, 2 Nov 1998, Pasha Paterson wrote:

> The "meaning" of a Zen koan is implicitly opaque, and thus never revealed
> in the _Nine_, but Salinger cleverly alludes to it in "Teddy" when Teddy
> "clapped his hand against his ear" to get the water out of it.
> 
> 
> At 04:02 11/02/98 -0500, Paul Janse wrote:
> >Can anyone explain the meaning of the zen koan about the sound of one hand
> >clapping (the motto of Nine Stories)? The first time I read it I found it
> >witty and interesting, but the more I think about it, the more meaningless
> >it becomes to me. Or is this exactly its point?
> 
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> 
>  G.H.G.A.Paterson  (804)662-3737  gpaterso@richmond.edu
> ________________________________________________________
> 
>