For fun I thought I'd try translating a few koans. These are little non-parables used in Zen. Parables are designed to make you think, but koans are designed to make you stop thinking for a second or two so that you can gain some insight into the true nature of things. The most famous koan is "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

Here's one I did a while ago. Any grammar corrections are appreciated.

1. Cupán Tae

Chuir Nan-in, máistir Seapánach i rith na ré Meiji (1868-1912), fáilte roimh ollamh ollscoile a tháinig fiafraí a dhéanamh faoi Zen.

Chuir Nan-in tae. Dhoirt sé cup a chuairteoir lán, agus ansin lean sé den doirteadh.

Choinnigh an ollamh súil ar an sceitheadh go dtí nach raibh sé abalta smacht a chuir air féin a thuilleadh. "Tá sé rolán. Ní raichfaidh tuilleadh isteach ann!"

"Mar an cupán seo," arsa Nan-in, "tá tú lán de do chuid barúlacha agus spéachláireachta féin. Conas a leireoinn Zen duit mura bhfolmhaíonn tú do cupán ar dtús?"


1. A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

Well there is no sound. Any sound requires contraction and rarifraction of one or more media. To produce the sound one thing must hit another physical thing (hand on hand, paddle on drum, air on tongue, tongue on palate etc).

"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

unvoiced /h/?

Har Har

It's when one hand's fingers hit the bottom of that same hand - One hand clapping.

Mhwombat, where did you get these parables? I looked for some a while ago but found only fairly sub-par ones that didn't stop me thinking, or do anything much.

What's the craic with there being so many stupid people on the forum lately?! Robert and Dalta are just two examples!

Anyway, here's how I'd translate your koan:

1. Cupán Tae

Nan-in, máistir seapánach le linn ré Mheiji (1868-1912), d'fháiltigh sé roimh ollamh ollscoile a tháinig le fiafraí a dhéanamh faoi Zhen.

D'fhreastal Nan-in tae. Dhoirt sé cupán a chuairteora go hiomlán, agus ansin choinnigh sé ag doirteadh.


Sorry, I haven't got time to do the rest, I'll give it a shot in the morning. . . !

Well I believe that childish remarks like that serve little common purpose.

I was simply playing with the logic, grounded in physical and scientific experience, that the koan circumvents.

1 hand clapping (an oxymoran) = (physically) no sound

/h/ (non-voiced)

So linking it to language, an un-aspirated h would be no sound at all, therefore acoustically null, just like the non-clap of Zen fame.

quote:

Well I believe that childish remarks like that serve little common purpose.

Okay I'll try and be more civilized and debate this with you rationally.

quote:

I was simply playing with the logic, grounded in physical and scientific experience, that the koan circumvents.

Which is exactly what irritated me. Your statement seemed pretentious to me. A lot of people have a very decent knowledge of how sound works... so many people in fact that it just emphasizes the very meaning of this koan. You can be narrow-minded and go down the road of "sound is perceived by the impact of gaseous molecules within the ear, brought about by vibrations caused by impact..."... but this in my opinion is just dim-witted. Think about it properly. The person who said this is trying to convey something, so look into it further, don't just skim the surface.

Here's a general overview:

A) It's a common concept that two hands slapping each other is a "clap".
B) There's only one hand
C) Yet... what is the sound of this one hand clapping?

Easy answer: Give him some physics crap...

Developed answer:

The hand is alone. Just as it takes two to tango, it takes two hands to clap... so what does the lone hand symbolize? That's for you to find out. The wording of the koan suggests that the lone hand can definitely clap, yet it is still confusing at first. Some people may think it is to do with Religion, ie. even if you've never witnessed God or spoken to him, his hand is still there to clap against yours if you belive it is... so basically one hand can make a clapping sound if you will it to.

It wouldn't be a koan if it didn't take some thought.

While we're on the subject:

A tree falls in the woods, but there's no-one around to hear it fall. Does it make a sound?

My answer: No. Because sound is nothing more than a simple perception in this life of ours.

"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

Mo chuisle.

My pulse.

The sound of one hand clapping? ... whoosh whoosh whoosh......
If the hand is passed slowly through the air, it merely shifts and vibrates the air molecules surrouding it at a slower rate. Thus creating a sound which is inaudible, though still existant, to the human ear. If the hand is passed with increasing acceleration and force, those molecules of air are shifted and vibrated relatively with the hand creating a sound which increases in volume and pitch until it is audible to the human ear.
If a tree falls...... By knowledge, if one falls nearby, it makes a sound - because you can hear it. So too, if one falls far away, it must still make a sound - even though it goes unnoticed.
Do bears live in Rome and does the pope shit in the woods? - Steve Martin. ;-)

Quote: Fear na mbróg >
A tree falls in the woods, but there's no-one around to hear it fall. Does it make a sound?

My answer: No. Because sound is nothing more than a simple perception in this life of ours. <<<<<


Ha Ha, and you have the cheek to call people stupid!! I suppose when you close your eyes the whole world disappears.