Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Buy Used
$4.36
+ $3.99 shipping
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Books Squared
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Ex-Library Book - will contain Library Markings. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas.

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See this image

The Sound of the One Hand: 281 Zen Koans with Answers (English and Japanese Edition) Hardcover – 1975

by Yoel Hoffmann (Translator)
3.2 out of 5 stars 5 customer reviews
See all 5 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$51.30 $4.36
Paperback
"Please retry"
—
$38.88 $3.09
The Amazon Book Review
All Books, All the Time
Read author interviews, book reviews, editors picks, and more at the Amazon Book Review. Read it now
click to open popover

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
  1. The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women
    Zenshin Florence…
    4.7 out of 5 stars 47
    Paperback
    $18.95 Prime
  2. The Blue Cliff Record
    Thomas Cleary
    4.6 out of 5 stars 25
    Paperback
    $30.50 Prime
  3. Entangling Vines: A Classic Collection of Zen Koans
    Thomas Yuho Kirchner
    4.9 out of 5 stars 12
    Hardcover
    $20.12 Prime
  4. Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on Zen Koan Introspection
    John Daido Loori
    4.5 out of 5 stars 4
    Paperback
    $16.95 Prime
  5. No Barrier: Unlocking the Zen Koan - A New Translation of the Zen Classic "Wumenguan" (Mumonkan)
    Thomas Cleary
    4.5 out of 5 stars 13
    Paperback
  6. Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan
    Zenkai Shibayama
    4.9 out of 5 stars 7
    Paperback
    $20.22 Prime

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Read more
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
New York Times best sellers
Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. See more

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 322 pages
  • Publisher: Basic Books (1975)
  • Language: English, Japanese
  • ISBN-10: 0465080782
  • ISBN-13: 978-0465080786
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,928,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Important Information

Ingredients
Example Ingredients

Directions
Example Directions

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsHalf a book
By richard hunn on April 7, 2002
Format: Hardcover
Though translated flawlessly, the presentation of this text poses something of a problem, being approximately one half of the original Japanese text - written by a critic of the Zen tradition (a Zen Buddhist, using the pseudonym Ha Ho U-O). The 'Koan collection' comprising the bulk of Hoffmann's translation had been presented by the Japanese author - to expose the rigidity of the system concerned. The main body of the text (not presented by Hoffmann) comprises a lengthy critique and analysis of the contemporary Rinzai schools. This book appeared in the fifth year of the Taisho era (1916), presenting something of an embarrass- ment, attacking the whole system of 'koan training' then in use - in the transmission lines stemming from Inzan Ien (1751-1814) and Takuju Kosen (1760-1833). Thus, there is a certain irony in the fact that Hoffmann presented these koan (and their answers) as if handing over the keys to the 'inner sanctum' as it were, when the Japanese author had effectively 'leaked' them out - to show that the system had fallen into a repetitive, lifeless pattern. As Hoffmann acknowledges, these koan - were once sold to 'unsui' or trainess 'under the counter' in certain bookshops - as a kind of 'crib' to help them through dokusan or san-zen. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Rinzai schools do stick that rigidly to such a formula. It may well be that the Japanese author of the book encountered a certain dogmatism, with a teacher of his own - justly complaining about it (after all, the Japanese text confirms that these documents were used for 'transmission in the secret room') and the author's comments were not founded on baseless rumour. Still, I suspect that most Roshis worth their salt would eschew the use of such a rigid systematisation of the koan.Read more ›
1 Comment 35 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsZen with its pants down
By A Customer on May 13, 2000
Format: Paperback
Of course, Zen koans don't have answers: that's the point. This book wasn't meant to provide 'instant enlightenment' by giving readers the 'right' answers; it's more like a history book, giving the koans and the answers that the old zen masters supposedly expected from pupils when they were given one. In the final analysis, it's an interesting insight into the zen mind, with about as much relation to actual zen enlightenment as a biography of Louis Armstrong has to actually playing jazz.
2 Comments 29 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
1.0 out of 5 starsThis book will not help
By Marc Poirier on April 5, 2014
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I'm a long-time Zen student and bought this book out of curiosity to see what a collection of "solutions" to koans might look like. First of all, koans are multi-layered and will present different aspects to the practitioner at different times in her/his study of them, so the idea of a single "correct" response is pretty far off. Second, in many cases the answer that can be written down is not a solid response anyway, especially for one who memorizes and apes it. Third, much more helpful reflections on koans are available from many books and anthologies by contemporary Western teachers, which take the time to probe and to translate the sometimes arcane cultural references in koans. For a refreshingly non-esoteric and accessible recent collection, try The Hidden Lamp, a collection of 100 koans with short responses by 100 women teachers.. I wouldn't advise this book for the sincere Zen student. It's the dry husks of koans, not alive at all.
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsThe secret of koans that masters don't want or like you to know because then you don't go to ...
By Mrbeyong on October 25, 2014
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
The secret of koans that masters don't want or like you to know because then you don't go to need them.
1 Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
2.0 out of 5 starstends to limit enquiry
By bojangleshiker on July 4, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
may be useful to see how some people approach this theme, but it is out of context, both historically and also as to feeling.
sometimes it is far better to read less at one sitting
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: zen