The centerpiece is “Hotei’s Sound of One Hand,” a depiction of Hakuin’s favorite subject, the wandering monk Hotei, sitting in a meditative position, one hand raised, asking what has since become one of the great existential questions, the famous koan, “What is the sound of one hand ?” Hotei, one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, is surrounded by such sayings as “Young shop-clerks, no matter what you say / if you don’t hear the sound of one hand, it’s all rubbish!” Hakuin also shows Hotei playing kickball, juggling while spinning a plate from his chin, watching sumo mice, and transformed into a kite. Able to create marvelous scenes with an intuitive economy of line, Hakuin displays a sly sense of humor and a deep understanding of human behavior in his works. “The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin,” at Japan Society thorugh January 9, features sixty-nine scroll paintings by artist and teacher Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768), made primarily for his students, lay followers, and other monks as teaching tools, never for sale. One of the current New York City exhibitions most deserving of applause is also one of the most contemplative ones, sparking a quiet awe and fascinaton from those who experience its subtle wonder. Through January 9, $10-$12, free Friday from 6:00 to 9:00 Toyo had realized the sound of one hand.Hakuin Ekaku, “Two Blind Men on a Bridge,” ink on paper (Man’yo-an Collection) “I could collect no more,” he explained later, “so I reached the soundless sound.” For almost a year he pondered what the sound of one hand might be.Īt last Toyo entered true meditation and transcended all sounds. The sound of one hand was not the locusts.įor more than ten times Toyo visited Mokurai with different sounds. In vain Toyo meditated to hear the sound of one hand. “That is the sound of dripping water, but not the sound of one hand. When he next appeared before his teacher, he imitated dripping water. “What can the sound of one hand be?” He happened to hear some water dripping. Thinking that such music might interrupt, Toyo moved his abode to a quiet place. The next evening, when his teacher asked him to illustrate the sound of one hand, Toyo began to play the music of the geishas. From his window he could hear the music of the geishas. Toyo bowed and went to his room to consider this problem. “You can hear the sound of two hands when they clap together,” said Mokurai. He struck the gong to announce his presence, bowed respectfully three times outside the door, and went to sit before the master in respectful silence. In the evening little Toyo went at the proper time to the threshold of Mokurai’s sanzen room. “You are too young.”īut the child insisted, so the teacher finally consented. Toyo saw the older disciples visit the master’s room each morning and evening to receive instruction in sanzen or personal guidence in which they were given koans to stop mind-wandering. He had a little protégé named Toyo who was only twelve years old. The master of Kennin temple was Mokurai, Silent Thunder.
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