禅Ikkyu Sojun

dialogue

The Sound of One Hand

Anecdotes of Ikkyu

Muromachi

Traditionally attributed

Text

A monk asked Ikkyu: "Master, what is the sound of one hand clapping?" Ikkyu slapped him across the face. The monk stood stunned, his cheek burning. Ikkyu said: "Now you have heard it. Why do you stand there like a dead man? The sound of one hand is not a riddle to solve with your thinking mind. It is the thing itself, striking you awake. Did you need two hands for that?"

license: public_domain

Attribution

Lineage: Rinzai

By Ikkyu Sojun

Sources

No per-field confidence has been recorded for this teaching yet. Treat individual claims with the caution appropriate to the source list below.

Attribution status: traditional — see editorial policy for what this means.

1 supporting citation on record (see Sources above).

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