"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"?

Answer 1

Silence.

Answer 2

It is the sound of co-operation with another who only has one hand in the audience.
Danny Kaye was on stage in the early forties doing a great job entertaining, he stayed on far longer than the contract asked for and the audience was basking in his comedic genius.
After it was over in the backstage he was asked "what was that all about? you get good news tonight?" Danny Kaye pointed to the front row and two soldiers back from the war were clapping, each had lost an arm to battle and sitting side by side they clapped for Danny Kaye with each other.
Mr. Kaye said he couldn't just walk away from an applause like that. He stayed on the stage because of those two soldiers.
One hand clapping? That's the sound of co-operation my friend.

Answer 3

You need 2 hands to clap.

Answer 4

An initial answer to the question: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of the other hand, the absent or invisible hand that claps because one hand cannot clap, there can only be two hands clapping. One hand cannot clap without the other. The one hand is made complete only by the other, so that even in its individuality, the one hand claps with the other."


Another answer to the question: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"The sound of one hand clapping cannot be heard. We do not have the physical capacity to hear the sound of one hand clapping. Therefore, we have to recognize our human limitation. When we accept our human limitation, we can reconcile ourselves to the natural world, and can live in harmony with the universe."


Another answer to the question: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"The question is logically inconsistent, and therefore cannot be answered logically. To answer the question, we would have to accept the premise that one hand can clap. But this is an impossibility, so there is no logical answer to the question."


Another answer to the question: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"The question has no answer, because it asks: `What is the sound of something which has no sound?'"


Another answer to the question: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"The question is intended to play a trick on the listener, by asking the listener to try to answer something that has no answer."


A better answer to the question: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"There is no sound, and if you seek to discover the sound, you have to accept that there is nothing. If you can accept the nothingness, then you have freed yourself from the need to intellectualize experience, and are free to be aware of existence."


A more insightful answer to the question: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

"Nothing."


Midnight~angel :)

Answer 5

The sound of one hand clapping is desire and intention. It shows the true exsistence of silence and peace, yet powerfully fills us with dependancy and epic fury. The sound compares noise to how honest and loud the being within us can be. The sound of one hand clapping is a loud cry in our hearts.

or it can just be a slap?

Answer 6

It is the same as one wing beating or two hands clapping together in the vacuum of my mind

Answer 7

One hand claps against nothing = silence.

Answer 8

You can make it as loud as both hands clapping. You havent been around disabled people? They can cheer and clap as loud as anybody, they just have to be smarter about it, and they are.

When you only have one hand, there are other things to clap with. You have to use your imagination, and/or brains.

Answer 9

the sound of one hand clapping what, one hand could philosophically clap a leg, a chair arm, another hand but one hand hitting nothing,,, well thats easy its a wave.

Answer 10

There is no sound. Pondering the question is a waste of time. So, the sound of one hand clapping is the sound of wasted time.

Answer 11

A lone clap,is better than a single herpe.HaHa!