One Hand Clapping (a collection of zen stories)

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This book is a collection of zen stories that have withstood the test of time. Perhaps it is because Zen is a way of life offering profound insights into human nature, the cosmos, and spirituality. Or perhaps it is just because they are fun to tell. These stories capture all sorts of truths about life and death. But they are also witty, entertaining, and at times puzzling, even mind-bending. And they are not just the secret lessons of monks sequestered away in mountain monasteries. The ancient teachers intended these stories to be used by everyone, everywhere. On the bus to work, during meal times, taking an evening stroll with a friend- all of these situations and more lend themselves to these stories. Once you know a few of them, you will see opportunities to tell them popping up everywhere - when you are with your family, friends, and coworkers. Think of these tales as conversation pieces, as handy tools that you can lift out of your pocket to help you and others talk, think, and laugh about the wonderful and mysterious details of this thing we call Life.

What is Zen? There can be a lot of answers to this question and none of them quite correct. Zen has many meanings. And they’re all indefinable. If you define them, they aren’t Zen any more. As somebody once said, “Zen is neither this nor that. It is What is.”

“A special teaching without scriptures, beyond words and letters, pointing to the mind-essence of man, seeing directly into one’s nature, and attaining enlightenment.” That’s how scholars define Zen. Po Chang (720-814), the Zen guru, summed it up more simply: “When hungry, eat; when tired sleep.”

Zen is not a sect or philosophy. It’s an experience. A way of life. It isn’t a thing. It’s a no-thing. Zen is deconstruction of the mind. Your mind. It’s Derridaisation of all you think and feel. It’s the art of turning on your light. The science of emptiness and silence. Many call Zen esoteric and arcane. They’re wrong. Zen has no barriers. It’s open to all. It has only one mystery. You.

Zen is Japanese for the Sanskrit word "dhyan"-meditation. Bodhidharma, an Indian monk, took it to China in the sixth century. In China, it got a new name: "Ch’an." Ch’an went to Japan in the twelfth century and became “Zen."

When your mind is calm and serene, you’re at the still point of the turning world. Then the only reality is emptiness. As a writer on Zen puts it, “No me. No you. No anything. This is Zen."

What happens if you’ve Zen in your life? Fear, doubt, praise, blame-nothing troubles you. You humbly live your life. Doing the daily chores. Serving humanity. "Fulfilling your presence in this world with loving kindness? And when it’s time to go, you go- gracefully, like a petal falling from a flower.

The stories in this book are from many sources. They aren’t just stories. They reify the highest teaching: they make you see into your being. They’ve no truck with logic. Because Zen begins only when logic ends.

Zen teachings are like a finger pointing at the moon. The finger isn’t the moon. The teachings aren’t Zen. These subtly nuanced stories or teachings gesture towards something you can’t put into words. If you want to see the moon, you must forget the finger. Zen teachings can be grasped only when they’re cast aside.

To know what Zen is, you’ve to practise it. That’s what experts say. But can you really practise this "religion" of crazy wisdom? Sure? You can. And it’s easy. Is there anything 5 easier than being what you are?