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The Sound of the One Hand : 281 Zen Koans with Answers

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The Sound of the One Hand : 281 Zen Koans with Answers 281 ZEN KOANS WITH ANSWERS inslcted, with a Commentary fYoe Hoffmann ^ DATE DUE JCLiljas o. '^' ^he i"^,^ 197s BQ 9369 H3813 Hau Hoo. #14549 1975 commentary by r|el Hofl "^^**®'*' "l*h « ---^^^^- - %"Jr52i -i^:i"°S"' Zen'hyfiS*!"" °* Part'cf. oentfai s5jl ISBN 0-46S-SI§7l-0-(pJk.) 1. Hoffmann, Yoel i. |" Buddhism. ."' i * ^f i 28 FEB 94 1676148 NE»Cxc 75-7274r83 UBRARY NEW COLLEGE OF CALIFORNU* 777 VALENCIA STREET SAN FRANCISCO* CA S4U9 MlS) 626.1694 THE SOUND OF THE ONE HAND THE SOUND OF THE ONE HAND 281 ZEN KOANS WITH ANSWERS TRANSLATED. WITH A COMMENTARY BY YOEL HOFFMANN FOREWORD BY ZEN MASTER HIRANO SOJO INTRODUCTION BY BEN-AMI SCHARFSTEIN Basic Books, Inc., Publishers NEW YORK Translation and Commentary Copyright © 1975 by Yocl Hoffmann. Introduction Copyright © 1975 by Ben-Ami Scharfstcm Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-7274 ISBN: 0-465-08078-2, 0-465-08079-0 (pbk.) Printed in the United States of America Designed by Vincent Torre 75 76 77 78 79 80 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I TO MY PARENTS FRANZE and AVRAHAM HOFFMANN TO MY WIFE VARDA CONTENTS Foreword zen master hirano sojo 3 Introduction / Zen: The Tactics of Emptiness BEN-AMI SCHARFSTEIN 5 Translator's Note yoel Hoffmann 39 PART ONE THE KOAN ON THE SOUND OF THE ONE HAND AND THE KOAN ON MU 45 The Way of the Itizan School 47 The Way of the Takujil School 54 PART TWO MISCELLANEOUS KOANS 69 PART THREE THE ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR KOANS 103 1. The Man up the Tree 105 2. The Man in the Well 106 3. Why a Monk's Garment 106 4. The World a Grain of Rice 107 5. The Three Gates of Master Oryu 107 6. Where Do the Snowflakes Fall? 109 7. Round Are the Lotus Leaves 1 10 (vii) . 8. The Sound of Rain 113 9. The Three Questions of Master Toso 113 10. The Sentence of Being and the Sentence of Nothing 115 11. Subject, Object 116 12. The Unrankable Being 117 13. A Flower in Bloom 119 14. Will IT Be Destroyed? 120 15. HZ/iere Will ONE Return To? 120 16. There Is No Such Thing as Holy 121 17. Words 122 18. The Four Ways of Master Rinzai 124 19. The Three Sentences of Master Rinzai 126 20. Before and After 127 21. To Beat the Drum 128 22. No Gre^jr Masters? 128 23. Where Did Nansen Go after His Death? 129 24. 0^7e, T»''o, T/jree 132 25. An Iron Cow 134 26. Similar to a Dream 135 27. ''Not Affected,'' ''Not Deluded'' 137 28. Where Thing Does Not Contradict Thing 139 29. What Will You Call It? 141 30. Stick! 141 31. The Emperor and the Bowl 143 32. How Is Your Health? 144 22 The Gate! 145 34. Unforgiuable 147 35. How Do You Say It? 147 36. Discuss Buddhist Law 147 37. Simultaneous Doubt and Enlightenment 148 38. Don't You Believe Me Now? 149 39. / Never Said a Word .. 150 40. Where in the World Are They? 151 41. A Bottle Is a Bottle 151 42. A Silver Bowl Filled with Snow 152 43. Every Coral Branch Supports the Moon 152 (viii) 44- ^" Open-eyed Man Falls into the Well 153 45. In Relation to One 153 46. In Opposition to One 153 47. Are You Alive? 154 48. T/^e One-Piece Tower 154 49. No Meaning 155 50. It Is Somewhat a Pity 156 51. /I Fe//^ Here, ^ Fen^ There 157 52. Where Is the Mind? 157 53. y4 S/;e<:fe 0/ Dw5f 158 54. Gya! 159 55. Nyan 159 56. Come (3«J Eat Your Rice 159 57. Playing Ball on Rapid Water 160 58. Playing with Mud 160 59. The Sturdy Body of Truth 161 60. Put Together 162 61. ''Say Nothing'' and Nothing Said 162 62. Which Is Your Self? 163 63. Blind, Deaf, Dumb 163 64. Sound 164 65. What Do You Understand by This? 165 66. Nor Keeping Silent, Not Using Words 165 67. Taking A Bath 165 68. Without Cold, Without Heat 166 69. H^Z/tir Do You Have in Mind? 166 70. Don'r FtJHcy 166 71. Buddha" s Master 167 72. Swallow a River?! 167 73. Thought of the Moment 167 74. H//im' L- My Rhino? 168 75. Obakus Stick 169 76. T//e T/iri'f Sentences of Master Rinzai 171 (Continuation of Koan ig) 77. O// ijw Isolated Peak; At the Crossroads 171 78. H^//y Cd«'/ r/jt' T{j/7 Go Through? 172 (ix) 79- 115- Is There? Is There? 196 116. Where Do You Come From? 197 117. One Got It, One Missed It 198 118. Yes 199 1 19. Three Pounds of Flax 199 120. Even Up Till Now 199 121. One Fini^er 200 122. It Is Important That the World Be in Peace 200 123. Mother and Father 201 124. The Eastern Mountain Walks on Water 201 125. Youn^^sters Like You Never Know of That 202 126. The Guy Understands This Time 202 127. How Can We Go Through Without Interfering? 203 128. Peach Blossoms 203 129. I Have Nothing to Hide from You 204 130. Bamboo Shoots Sprout Sideways under a Rock 204 131. Not Enter Nirvana, Not Fall into Hell 205 132. High Rank, Low Rank 207 133. The Oak Tree in the Front Garden 209 134. That Is Still Not Enough 211 135. Give, Grab 211 136. The Three Sentences of Master Busshb 212 137. Which One Is Real? 212 138. Only There Is a Word That Is Not Very Proper 213 139. Functions Like Theft 213 140. The Four Shouts of Master Rinzai 214 141. First, Second, Third 214 142. Host and Guest 214 143. The Dragon Bitten by a Snake 215 144. Zen 215 PART FOUR NOTES AND COMMENTARY 217 Notes to Part One: The Koan on the Sound of the One Hand and the Koan on Mu 219 THE WAY OF THE INZAN SCHOOL 219 (xi) THH WAY OF THE TAKUjO SCHOOL 226 Nofcs to Part Two: Miscellaneous Koans 230 Notes to Part Three: The One Hundred Forty-Four Koans 245 Sources to the Koans of Part Three 314 Bibliography ben-ami scharfstein 316 (xii) THE SOUND OF THE ONE HAND FOREWORD When the Japanese edition of this book, Gendai Sbjizeu Hydron ("A Critique of Present-day Pseudo-Zen"), was first pubhshed in 1916, it caused a great sensation. The reason for this lay in the fact that the koans and their answers had been secretly transmitted from master to pupil in the Rinzai sect since the origination of the koan-teaching system in Japan by Zen Master Hakuin (1685- 1768). This pubHcation of the "secrets" of Zen seems to have embarrassed many masters at that time. Furthermore, I have heard that the recent appearance of photocopies of this 1916 edition has caused alarm among Zen masters of today. Yet . if anyone finds himself troubled, he has only himself to blame— the book itself is not to blame. As for myself, I feel there is no reason whatso- ever to be alarmed in any way. The attempt to prevent such publications is not new in the history of Zen. For example, the widely known Zen classic, Hekigamokii ("The Green Grotto Record"), consists ofone hundred koans selected by Zen Master Setcho (a.d. 980-1052), including his comments, and to which the comments of Zen Master Engo (1063-1135) were later added. Master Dai-e, Engo's disciple (1085-1163), was of the firm conviction that such a book should not be made public, and he burned it. In time, however, this book became a Zen classic; not only was it harmless to the koan teaching, on the contrary, it did much to aid the understanding of Zen. More than fifty years have passed since the Japanese publication o( Gendai Sbjizen Hydron, which can now be said to deserve the status of a classic of Zen. Therefore those who would wish to prevent the contents of this book from being made public are misguided. Of course, in judging such matters, what is most important is the attitude of those reading the book. What is revealed in this publication is the approach of Zen masters of approximately two centuries ago to the Zen koans. It should by (3) no means be assumed that those reading the book today will come to an "understanding" in a flash. However, 1 am convinced that this book, like the Hekij^atiroku, Rinzairoku, and other Zen classics, will have the effect of contributing to the attainment of a correct conception of Zen. ZEN MASTER HIRANO SOJO (4) INTRODUCTION ZEN: THE TACTICS OF EMPTINESS You have opened the pages of an odd, tension-filled book. If you already know Zen well enough, or if you are simply impatient, skip this introduction and go on immediately to the text. It is the text that should be read, for reasons that I shall try to make clear. Now, at the beginning, I ask you to remember that the world you are entering is odd to almost everyone, even to those who have lived in it for a long time. It multiplies paradoxes; and yet its oddness, like the paradoxical oddness of a dream, verges on the familiar. Odd and familiar as a dream, Zen is meant, however, to occupy the daylight, by means ofan irrational reversal ofthe quality of our lives. For Zen says that we are self-deceived, split, and unhappy.
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