My personal interpretation of the sound of one hand clapping is in relation to my current feeling of what it can be like doing a PhD. It can be summed up by the word loneliness really. It includes for me being increasingly aware that what I am doing and producing is of interest to a very limited audience - i.e. mainly just me and the people forced to read the final thesis for examination purposes.

In a bid to encourage a kind of reality check, you often get told at the beginning of your PhD life that there will only be two people who read your thesis besides you and your supervisor: your examiners.

While writing journal papers during the final phases of PhD life you get told not to quote conference papers you may have published, or books you may have published that have a limited print number, because they are difficult for other readers to access. It does leave you questioning why you are writing a thesis and why you bothered with the conference papers and a book.

And then, PhD life means for me having reconsidered a lot of my personal friendships. I found out a lot about myself during this process and turned my back on a few people who I previously let treat me badly. So now I spend a lot of time alone when not in university because I presently don't have time or energy to make new friends.

And when I am at home I watch a lot of TV. I like comedy and laugh at what I hear and see ... and then it hits me... that my whole life right now is like the sound of one hand clapping.

as I ponder through life often I wonder why it feels like bubbles in time. It is not just us that travel but also things as well as moments too.

But than I understand your plead as we are all searching for a person to brake the spell of silence. Even when we find it the search does not stop. This gives us 2 choices: To travel fast or travel slow...

markus

The sound of one hand clapping is,the sound of rolling thunder.

For me it is the sound of silence

as the hand passes through the silence then what sort of noise is it.

My sense is that it cannot pass through silence as silence simply is. Or it makes no sound if it really passes through silence.

Perhaps it is one's expectation or attachment that one can hear as the sound of…

The sound is silent, it is craving that one experiences in the search for the sound of silence.

For me its a moot point really, but I prefer to think of the sound of one hand clapping as sound which I am partially happy with.

I see most clapping as nice, warming, and joyful, therefore one hand clapping may be silent in the physical senses but the gesture is something else…

The hand is not being met!

its is like a finger pointing to the moon
concentrate on the finger
and you have lost all that heavnly glory

alas i did not write that it was bruce-lee
but he sound of one hand clapping is life
watch a web cam and you will see what i mean
the one in times -square..peoplr going about there lifes, stoping to look at shop's taxies
passing by. with some one going else were and realy each unaware of the other.. ulless you step in front of the cab...?confrontaion.. we all avoid it .but it is there living or dieing
the wosh of the silance of life.. is constant
as is death..
be at peace with the cosmic..whatever you concive it to be...

i would say the sound of one hand clapping is the sound of the hand as is passes through the air ,we all heard the clap but never noticed the sound of the movement before or after the clap , there are so many things we dont notice

On 'one hand clapping'. I feel for me... its about peace in oneself or being able to be mindful. Being still and silent and peaceful as if nothing else matters or interfears. We are all unique and alone in this life and 'one hand clapping' seems to me to be a peace within ourselves. New to metta does this make any sense to anyone?

If it makes sense to you, great!

For me the sound of one hand clapping means many things, right now, it's half a clap, a missed moment, other times it's closer to what you have said. Another question that comes up is the need to clap, why... to release energy..

Ok brian,you can really get into this if you have a mind too can't you! Um Maybe the need to clap is just about being surprised and delighted, that even in the midst of isolation one can find some joy in something perhaps there is lots of people hiding in forests clapping to themselves? ha

'One hand does not clap' - Indian proverb

The sound of one hand clapping... solitude, detachment. It seems to be struggling alone against the insurmountable, needing something more just to have that chance to break free...

... and nobody is even aware of that inner struggle. Nobody knows, so the burden is so heavy.

Perhaps all that's needed to turn the one hand clapping into something physical... something you can hit or punch, something you can set fire to... is for someone, even just one single person on the planet, to understand.

One hand clapping - a lonely struggle.

 
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