What is the sound of one hand clapping?

It's like a story problem I heard long ago. The person talking to me said, "See how quickly you can come up with the answer to this after I've finished. A city bus with thirty people on it stops and lets off twelve people, and picks up seven. It stops again and lets off three people, and picks up eleven. It stops again and picks up one, and lets off five. On the next stop it lets off nine people and picks up four. The bus makes one more stop and lets off no people, and picks up two. Now, tell me quickly how many times the bus stopped?"

One hand clapping? One hand doesn't clap. End of discussion.

It never was a discussion; it was a demonstration of one mental condition.

End of demonstration.

Polarities moving toward one another forms a vibration of movement. Without both sides coming toward each other, there is no movement or action. They need each other. I believe this is the meaning.

*clap*

*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* so on, and so forth...

The sound of one hand clapping is the same as the sound of two hands clapping, but only half as loud. Or, the same as three hands clapping, but only 1/3 as loud.

Only one hand has to move to make the sound of clapping.

Oh, I see! Your imagination is much better than mine. You get four stars.

Its the waving sound of saying goodbye to this silly thread !

It is also the sound of a hand slapping your face.

The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of rain on a cloudless day.

Close. The truth is that the sound of rain on a cloudless day is the sound of one hand clapping.

Some koans have obvious answers; they can be solved.

I have seen rain when it was sunny. Yes, there were clouds.

I think it shows the stupidity of the one posing it.

William James told the story of a group of hunters in the forest. One of the men sees a squirrel on a tree, and the squirrel sees him. The squirrel scrambles to the opposite side of the tree from the man. The man circles the tree, and the squirrel cautiously stays on the opposite side of the tree from him, and around and around they go, The other hunters disagree. One says the man goes around the tree and the squirrel, and another objects that the man goes around the tree, but not the squirrel. They turn to James to get the opinion of a philosopher. "It's all a matter of defining your terms," James answers. "If by 'going around' you mean 'going east, south, west, north, east, etc.,' then the man certainly goes around the squirrel. But if by 'going around' you mean 'going from side to back to side to belly to side, etc.' then the man does not go around the squirrel."

Perspective makes all the difference in the interpretation of events.

That soft focused moment of pure awarenesss. ... without thinking ,
sometimes you find the answer in the question :-)