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CassandraFroggie ... Ribbit !!!
4,224 posts
Location: Back in Paris... for now !


Posted:
What is the sound of one hand clapping ?Once you reach the highest point in a montain, what do you do ?if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it still produce a sound ?Shine onCassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"


Fine_Rabid_DogInternet Hate Machine
10,530 posts
Location: They seek him here, they seek him there...


Posted:
which videos in the where now? confused

The existance of flamethrowers says that someone, somewhere, at sometime said "I need to set that thing on fire, but it's too far away."


NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
Heh... you guys restored a 4 year old post only to drive it into a wall?

Maybe that's a Koan. wink

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


JauntyJamesSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,533 posts
Location: Hampshire College, MA, USA


Posted:
he who sticks nose in punch bowl gets punch in nose

-James

"How do you know if you're happy or sad without a mask? Or angry? Or ready for dessert?"


munkypunksGOLD Member
enthusiast, but not enthusiastic
367 posts
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA


Posted:
now, that's not really a koan, is it? That's just a pun. tongue

You can't fall off the floor, but sometimes you need a chair to reach the cookie jar.


Fine_Rabid_DogInternet Hate Machine
10,530 posts
Location: They seek him here, they seek him there...


Posted:
Written by: NYC


Heh... you guys restored a 4 year old post only to drive it into a wall?

Maybe that's a Koan. wink




ubblol

I tried to resurrect the thread in order to get a peeps favourite koans.... but then robzilla happened, and it sorta didnt work biggrin

The existance of flamethrowers says that someone, somewhere, at sometime said "I need to set that thing on fire, but it's too far away."


ROBZILLAHAIL TO THE KING BABY
204 posts
Location: MANCHESTER


Posted:
easy tiger!!!!

I DO NOT REGRET THE THINGS I HAVE DONE, ONLY THOSE I DID NOT DO.


onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
Concernng the tree in a forest, whether or not it makes a sound depends entirely on your definition of 'sound'.

If 'sound' refers to actual physical vibrations in the air, then the tree does make a sound.

If 'sound' refers to the actual sensation of noise, the 'qualia' in the mind of a perceiving being, then, in an empty (ie, no humans or animals to hear it) forest it would make no sound.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


GherkinGOLD Member
Inventor
117 posts
Location: Australia


Posted:
One handed clapping definately works. It looks a bit silly though.

JauntyJamesSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,533 posts
Location: Hampshire College, MA, USA


Posted:
the sound of one hand clapping is 'cl-'. the other hand makes the '-ap' sound. :nod:

-James

"How do you know if you're happy or sad without a mask? Or angry? Or ready for dessert?"


NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
Written by: onewheeldave


Concernng the tree in a forest, whether or not it makes a sound depends entirely on your definition of 'sound'.





THANK YOU Captain Obvious! wink

[ hug from Sargent Sarcastic.]

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


GherkinGOLD Member
Inventor
117 posts
Location: Australia


Posted:
If you hold your wrist back and wave your arm back and forth, your fingers clap against the palm of your hand. It sounds just like two handed clapping! ubblol

drakematrixSILVER Member
Maker of the Cheesecake
174 posts
Location: Akron, OH, USA


Posted:
the sound of one hand clapping is the same as the sound of a waterfall without a cliff

What exactly do I have to light on fire to get you to notice me?


i8beefy2GOLD Member
addict
674 posts
Location: Ohio, USA


Posted:
Koans are of Zen Buddhism, a deriviant of Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. The Koan serves more than to just "get someone thinking" or to "provide a clear mind for meditation". Rather it is a reminder about the basic assumption about Ultimate Reality being a unified thing (Tao) perceived as two opposites (yin and yang). Therefore, to try and DEFINE it in anyway is nonsensical, as definition requires saying it is one thing and not another. The basic premise is that it is one thing AND the other thing.

Sorry, had to interject...

As such, koans have a very practical purpose. A popular game for Zen buddhists is to talk about ultimate reality without trying to define it. When someone tries to define it, the group berates them for trying to express in simplistic dualistic definitive terms something beyond such limiting language. In essence, Zen is something we cant talk about but must be experienced. Which is why if you ask someone what is Zen, your likely to get a circle drawn in mustard on a napkin in return or something elsewise completely irrelivant as any description is as good as any other.

That being said I like this one:

There was a boy who had a master. Whenever someone asked him what Zen was, he would hold up one finger and smile. The boy, thinking that he was being smart, began emulating his master when people asked him what Zen was. One day upon seeing his student do this, the master called his student to him and asked him "What is Zen?" The boy, smiled and held up one finger... at which point the master snatched it and chopped it off leaving the boy transfixed in horror and confusion. As he was walking away, his master beseeched him "Wait, what is Zen?" and the boy went to hold up his finger. Upon seeing that his finger was not there, he was instantly enlightened.

smile Cheers

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