The Sound Of One Hand Clapping

This is one of the best known koans in the Zen tradition, devised by the eighteenth century Japanese master Hakuin Ekaku as a teaching tool for his students.

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

The question has no correct answer in the conventional sense. It isn't solved with logic, but sat with until the student's usual way of thinking gives out and something else opens up.

The toaster in this illustration was never asked the question. It encountered the same impossibility anyway. Dial turned to its highest setting, fully committed, no half measures, and answered with a single slice of bread burned black. Some koans take a lifetime to resolve. This one takes about four minutes and ends with the smoke alarm.

The sound of one hand clapping.

Comfort Colors 1717. Garment-dyed, 100% ring-spun cotton, heavyweight construction.

Koan Cuts Collection — Stoic Samurai Society.

Product features

- 100% ring-spun US cotton — soft, pre-shrunk, long-lasting

- Garment-dyed for a soft color and lived-in texture

- Heavyweight 6.1 oz fabric with relaxed fit for durable comfort

- Tubular knit without side seams and double-needle stitching for clean look and strength

- Sizes S–4XL with sewn-in label; available in 10 colors

Care instructions

- Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F)

- Do not bleach

- Tumble dry: low heat

- Iron, steam or dry: low heat

- Do not dryclean

EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY

Product information: Comfort Colors® 1717, 2 year warranty in EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC

Warnings, Hazard: Made in Honduras

Care instructions: Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F), Do not bleach, Tumble dry: low heat, Iron, steam or dry: low heat, Do not dryclean