The sounds of the one hand : 281 Zen koans with answers

746 Pages·2016·2.32 MB·English

by  Yoel Hoffmann

YOEL HOFFMANN was born in 1937. He received his PhD in the philosophy of
religion and Buddhism from Kyoto University, Japan, and went on to teach
Eastern philosophy at the University of Haifa. In addition to his works of fiction,
he is the author of several books on Zen Buddhism, comparative philosophy, and
Japanese poetry. Hoffmann has been awarded the Koret Jewish Book Award, the
Newman Prize of Hebrew Literature by Bar-Ilan University, and the Bialik Prize
by the city of Tel Aviv. He lives in the Galilee.
DROR BURSTEIN teaches literature at Tel Aviv University. He is the editor of the
poetry journal Helikon and the recipient of the 1997 Jerusalem Prize for
Literature. His books Kin and Netanya have been translated into English.

THE SOUND OF THE ONE HAND
281 Zen Koans with Answers
Translated from the Japanese and with commentary by
YOEL HOFFMANN
Introduction by
DROR BURSTEIN
Foreword by
ZEN MASTER HIRANO SŌJŌ
NEW YORK REVIEW BOOKS
New York
THIS IS A NEW YORK REVIEW BOOK
PUBLISHED BY THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
435 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.nyrb.com
Translation and commentary copyright © 1975 by Yoel Hoffmann Introduction
copyright © 2010 by Dror Burstein; translation copyright © 2016 by Ilana
Kurshan All rights reserved.
The introduction by Dror Burstein was originally published in the Hebrew
edition of this book, published by Keter Books in 2010, and is used by
permission.
Cover image: Suiō Genro, Seated Bodhidharma, eighteenth century; the Gitter-
Yelen Foundation Cover design: Katy Homans
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hau Hōō, author. |
Hoffmann, Yoel, editor, translator.
Title: The sounds of the one hand : 281 Zen koans with answers / edited by Yoel
Hoffman ; introduction by Dror Burstein.
Description: New York : NYRB Classics, 2016. | Series: New York Review
Books Classics Identifiers: LCCN 2016019582| ISBN 9781681370224
(paperback) | ISBN 9781681370231 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Rinzai (Sect)—
Controversial literature. | BISAC: PHILOSOPHY / Zen. | RELIGION Buddhism
Zen (see also PHILOSOPHY Zen). | BODY, MIND & SPIRIT Spiritualism.
Classification: LCC BQ9369 .H38213 2016 | DDC 294.3/927—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019582
ISBN 978-1-68137023-1
v1.0
For a complete list of titles, visit www.nyrb.com or write to: Catalog Requests,
NYRB, 435 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
CONTENTS
Biographical Notes
Title Page
Copyright and More Information
Introduction
THE SOUND OF THE ONE HAND
Foreword
Translator’s Note
PART ONE
The Koan on the Sound of the One Hand and the Koan on Mu
The Way of the Inzan School
The Way of the Takujū School
PART TWO
Miscellaneous Koans
PART THREE
The One Hundred Forty-Four Koans
1. The Man up the Tree
2. The Man in the Well
3. Why a Monk’s Garment?
4. The World a Grain of Rice
5. The Three Gates of Master Ōryū
6. Where Do the Snowflakes Fall?
7. Round Are the Lotus Leaves
8. The Sound of Rain
9. The Three Questions of Master Tosō
10. The Sentence of Being and the Sentence of Nothing
11. Subject, Object
12. The Unrankable Being
13. A Flower in Bloom
14. Will IT Be Destroyed?
15. Where Will ONE Return To?
16. There Is No Such Thing as Holy
17. Words
18. The Four Ways of Master Rinzai
19. The Three Sentences of Master Rinzai
20. Before and After
21. To Beat the Drum
22. No Great Masters?
23. Where Did Nansen Go after His Death?
24. One, Two, Three
25. An Iron Cow
26. Similar to a Dream
27. “Not Affected,” “Not Deluded”
28. Where Thing Does Not Contradict Thing
29. What Will You Call It?
30. Stick!
31. The Emperor and the Bowl
32. How Is Your Health?
33. The Gate!
34. Unforgivable
35. How Do You Say It?
36. Discuss Buddhist Law
37. Simultaneous Doubt and Enlightenment
38. Don’t You Believe Me Now?
39. I Never Said a Word . . .
40. Where in the World Are They?
41. A Bottle Is a Bottle
42. A Silver Bowl Filled with Snow
43. Every Coral Branch Supports the Moon
44. An Open-eyed Man Falls into the Well
45. In Relation to One
46. In Opposition to One
47. Are You Alive?
48. The One-Piece Tower
49. No Meaning
50. It Is Somewhat a Pity
51. A Few Here, a Few There
52. Where Is the Mind?
53. A Speck of Dust
54. Gya!
55. Nyan
56. Come and Eat Your Rice
57. Playing Ball on Rapid Water
58. Playing with Mud
59. The Sturdy Body of Truth
60. Put Together
61. “Say Nothing” and Nothing Said
62. Which Is Your Self?
63. Blind, Deaf, Dumb
64. Sound
65. What Do You Understand by This?
66. Not Keeping Silent, Not Using Words
67. Taking a Bath
68. Without Cold, Without Heat
69. What Do You Have in Mind?
70. Don’t Fancy
71. Buddha’s Master
72. Swallow a River?!
73. Thought of the Moment
74. Where Is My Rhino?
75. Ōbaku’s Stick
76. The Three Sentences of Master Rinzai (Continuation of koan 19)
77. On an Isolated Peak; At the Crossroads
78. Why Can’t the Tail Go Through?
79. What Is Jōshū?
80. A Shell Holding Moonlight
81. It Is Your Hearts That Move
82. The Immovable Cloak
83. What the Old Woman Meant
84. The Tortoise Is a Turtle
85. Cut!
86. When the Sail Is Hoisted
87. Why Don’t People In Know about Out?
88. Where Is the Old Man Going?
89. Yet I Should Not Be Rash
90. Every Day Is a Good Day
91. Without Caring, Go Straight
92. Seven
93. I Have a Lot of Things to Do
94. Rice in a Bowl, Water in a Bucket
95. I Have a Headache Today
96. “All Over”; “Throughout”
97. Why Is That Thing Not You?
98. Go and Have Some Tea
99. Made a Fool Of
100. “Wrong!”
101. Tread on the Head of Buddha
102. The Body Emits Autumn Wind
103. The Mind as It Is
104. No Mind, No Buddha
105. One
106. Take Care!
107. What Will You Do after Three or Four Shouts?
108. Non-Attachment
109. Calamity! Calamity!
110. Use the Air as Paper
111. What Is Your Feeling at This Moment?
112. Of a Different Color
113. Beard
114. It Is Here
115. Is There? Is There?
116. Where Do You Come From?
117. One Got It, One Missed It
118. Yes
119. Three Pounds of Flax
120. Even Up Till Now
121. One Finger
122. It Is Important That the World Be in Peace
123. Mother and Father
124. The Eastern Mountain Walks on Water
125. Youngsters Like You Never Know of That
126. The Guy Understands This Time
127. How Can We Go Through Without Interfering?
128. Peach Blossoms
129. I Have Nothing to Hide from You
130. Bamboo Shoots Sprout Sideways under a Rock
131. Not Enter Nirvana, Not Fall into Hell
132. High Rank, Low Rank
133. The Oak Tree in the Front Garden
134. That Is Still Not Enough
135. Give, Grab
136. The Three Sentences of Master Busshō
137. Which One Is Real?
138. Only There Is a Word That Is Not Very Proper
139. Functions Like Theft
140. The Four Shouts of Master Rinzai
141. First, Second, Third
142. Host and Guest
143. The Dragon Bitten by a Snake
144. Zen
PART FOUR
Notes and Commentary
Notes to Part One: The Koan on the Sound of the One Hand and the Koan on
Mu
 The Way of the Inzan School
 The Way of the Takujū School
Notes to Part Two: Miscellaneous Koans
Notes to Part Three: The One Hundred Forty-Four Koans
Sources to the Koans of Part Three