Hakuin and His Students: The Sound of One Hand
Historical Context
Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769) is credited with reviving Rinzai Zen in Japan during a period when it had become stagnant and formal. He systemized the koan curriculum, emphasized rigorous training, and was known for his fierce, uncompromising teaching style. His famous koan “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” became one of the most recognizable in Zen literature.
Unlike Dogen’s emphasis on just sitting (shikantaza), Hakuin stressed koan practice—wrestling with paradoxical questions until the mind exhausts itself and breakthrough occurs. His teaching combined sharp intellect, artistic creativity (he was an accomplished painter and calligrapher), and passionate commitment to awakening.
The Dialogues
The First Encounter: The Sound of One Hand
Student: “Master, I have come to study Zen. Please give me instruction.”
Hakuin: “Good! Your determination pleases me. Now, you have heard the sound of two hands clapping. Tell me: what is the sound of one hand clapping?”
Student (thinking for a moment): “One hand cannot make a sound. The question is meaningless.”
Hakuin (striking the student sharply): “Fool! Is that what you came all this way to tell me? If the question is meaningless, why did you just answer it? Get out and don’t come back until you can show me this sound!”
Student (bowing and leaving, humiliated): ”…”
The Return: Intellectual Answers
(Two weeks later, the student returns)
Student: “Master, I have the answer! The sound of one hand is silence. Without the second hand, there is no sound—only emptiness.”
Hakuin: “Bah! You read this in a book, didn’t you? Or figured it out with your clever mind? This is not Zen—this is philosophy! I don’t want your clever explanations. I want YOU to become the sound of one hand. Go!”
(One month later)
Student: “Master, the sound of one hand is the sound of the universe itself! It is the sound of the wind, the rain, the birds—all sounds are the sound of one hand.”
Hakuin (laughing bitterly): “Worse and worse! Now you’re a poet! Shall we sit here making beautiful analogies all day? Is this why Bodhidharma came from the West—to make pretty metaphors? Out!”
(Two months later)
Student: “Master, there is no sound! The question is designed to stop the mind. When I stop thinking about the sound, I experience my true nature.”
Hakuin (shouting): “If you truly experienced your true nature, you wouldn’t be here giving me explanations! You would show me directly, without words. These are all second-hand answers—things you’ve heard or read or figured out. I want the REAL thing! Don’t come back with more ideas!”
The Crisis: Great Doubt
(Six months have passed. The student appears exhausted, distraught)
Student (weeping): “Master, I don’t know! I have tried everything. I have meditated on this koan day and night. I’ve examined it from every angle. I’ve had insights and breakthroughs, but none satisfy you. I don’t know what you want! I don’t know if I can continue!”
Hakuin (suddenly gentle): “Good! Very good! Now you are ready. This state you are in—this not-knowing, this desperation, this edge where your clever mind can go no further—this is called the Great Doubt. This is the gateless gate.
All your previous answers came from your thinking mind, your educated mind, your Buddhist mind. But Zen is not in the thinking mind! It’s not in concepts or explanations. You must go beyond mind to realize it.
The koan is not a riddle to solve but a barrier to break through. When you hit this barrier again and again with your whole being—not just your intellect but your guts, your bones, your marrow—eventually the barrier shatters. And in that moment, you and the sound of one hand are not two.
Now go. Sit with this great doubt. Let it consume you. Don’t try to find the answer—become the question!”
The Breakthrough
(Three months later, during evening zazen, the student hears a crow caw in the distance. Suddenly, something breaks open)
(The next morning, the student bursts into Hakuin’s room and claps once, loudly)
Hakuin: “What is this?”
Student (without hesitation): “KWAAA!” (imitating the crow’s cry)
Hakuin: “And?”
Student (picks up Hakuin’s tea cup and drinks from it, then sets it down with a sharp sound)
Hakuin (smiling slightly): “Where did you find this?”
Student: “It was never lost! The tea was always tea, the crow was always crow. One hand, two hands—all the same sound!”
Hakuin: “Good! But don’t think you’re finished. This is just the first gate. There are many more barriers ahead. This seeing must deepen, must penetrate every aspect of your life. Come, let’s test your understanding further.”
Testing the Realization
Hakuin: “You say the one hand and two hands are the same. Then is there any difference between enlightenment and delusion?”
Student: “When I’m deluded, there seems to be a difference. When I’m clear, there’s no difference to find.”
Hakuin: “Diplomatic answer! But I’m asking you: right now, IS there a difference or not?”
Student (after a pause): “When you ask, difference appears. When you don’t ask, where is difference?”
Hakuin: “You’re still playing word games! Tell me plainly!”
Student (stands up, bows, and walks out)
Hakuin (calling after him): “Sixty percent!”
On Great Faith and Great Doubt
Another Student: “Master, you always speak of Great Doubt as necessary for breakthrough. But Buddhism teaches faith in the Buddha’s teaching. How can doubt and faith coexist?”
Hakuin: “Excellent question! Listen: You need three things for genuine awakening—Great Faith, Great Doubt, and Great Determination. These are like the three legs of a pot. Remove one, and it topples over.
Great Faith means you trust completely that this awakening is possible, that your true nature is already complete and perfect. Without this faith, you won’t have the courage to continue when practice becomes difficult.
Great Doubt is not skeptical doubt—‘Maybe this Zen thing is nonsense.’ Great Doubt is existential doubt—‘What am I? What is this life? What is reality?’ It’s a burning question that consumes your whole being. This doubt propels you forward, doesn’t let you rest in comfortable answers.
Great Determination is the fierce resolve to break through no matter what. You would rather die than live without resolving this great matter of life and death.
These three work together. Faith gives you direction and confidence. Doubt gives you intensity and urgency. Determination gives you persistence and strength. All three are necessary!”
Student: “But Master, how do I cultivate Great Doubt if I don’t naturally have it?”
Hakuin: “By truly facing the most important questions: What am I? Where was I before I was born? Where will I go when I die? What is the meaning of this life? Don’t answer these questions philosophically—let them become urgent, burning, demanding immediate resolution.
The koan practice is designed to intensify this doubt. When I ask ‘What is the sound of one hand?’ and you cannot answer, cannot find solid ground anywhere, cannot grasp anything to hold onto—this unbearable not-knowing IS Great Doubt.
Most people avoid this doubt. They fill their lives with distractions, entertainments, busy activities. Or they adopt beliefs and opinions that give them false certainty. But the Zen student embraces this doubt, lives in it, lets it consume them—because only by going through this fire can you reach the other shore.”
On Post-Awakening Practice
Student: “Master, I have had a clear breakthrough. The world appears completely fresh and new. Do I still need to practice?”
Hakuin: “Ah, you’ve tasted the wine and think you’re drunk! Your initial awakening (kensho) is valuable—it shows you the direction. But it’s only the beginning.
Now you must deepen this realization, clarify it, stabilize it. This is called post-awakening practice. Many people have an initial opening, then become complacent, thinking they’re finished. This is a great mistake!
Your awakening is like a newborn baby—it must be protected, nurtured, allowed to mature. With continued practice, your realization will penetrate deeper, will remain stable even in difficult circumstances, will transform your character and behavior.
Moreover, awakening has depths within depths. You think you’ve seen to the bottom, but there are always deeper levels of realization. Each koan you pass reveals another layer. This is why I systematized a curriculum of koans—not just one breakthrough but continuous deepening.
Don’t rest on your laurels! The moment you think ‘I am enlightened,’ you’ve already fallen back into delusion. True realization is humble, always open, always ready to go deeper.”
Student: “So enlightenment is never complete?”
Hakuin: “Enlightenment is complete from the very beginning—your buddha-nature is perfect and whole. But your REALIZATION of this, your EMBODIMENT of this, can always deepen. It’s like polishing a mirror—the mirror’s ability to reflect is always present, but the clearer you polish it, the better it reflects.
This is why the old masters continued practicing even after profound realization. This is why I, even at my age, continue sitting, continue working with koans, continue painting and teaching. Practice never ends—it’s the natural expression of awakened life.”
On Enduring Hardship
Student: “Master, this training is so difficult! The cold in winter, the heat in summer, the endless sitting, the constant pressure, your sharp corrections. Sometimes I wonder if there isn’t an easier way.”
Hakuin (with sudden ferocity): “Easier way? You want ENLIGHTENMENT without effort? You want to realize the matter of ultimate importance without paying the price?
Let me tell you about my own practice. When I was young, I practiced so intensely that I developed what they called ‘Zen sickness’—my body broke down, I couldn’t sleep, I was in constant anxiety. I had to go to a hermit in the mountains to learn healing practices.
But even in my illness, I never stopped! I continued practicing, continued pushing through. Because I understood that this Great Matter of life and death is not a hobby or intellectual interest—it’s the MOST IMPORTANT THING.
Would you study medicine halfway? Would you learn swordsmanship halfheartedly? Why do you think you can approach awakening casually? This is the matter of your very life! Compared to this, what does comfort matter? What does difficulty matter?
The Buddha himself practiced fierce austerities before his enlightenment. All the ancestors faced tremendous hardships. This is the tradition—not because suffering is good in itself, but because real transformation requires complete commitment.
If you cannot endure a little cold and heat, a little discomfort in sitting, a little harshness from your teacher—how will you endure the Great Doubt? How will you face the absolute, uncompromising confrontation with reality that awakening demands?
So stop complaining! Either practice with your whole heart or leave! Half-hearted practice is worthless.”
Student (chastened): “Yes, Master. I will intensify my efforts.”
Hakuin (softening slightly): “I’m harsh with you because I care about your awakening. I see your potential. But potential means nothing without actualization. Now go—sit until you cannot sit anymore. Then sit some more.”
On Living After Awakening
Student: “Master, after awakening, how should one live? Should we renounce the world and live in monasteries? Or return to ordinary life?”
Hakuin: “This is individual—different for different people. Some are called to monastic life, some to worldly life. What matters is not the external form but the internal realization.
However, understand this: after awakening, you don’t become a different person with different circumstances. You still have the same personality, the same karma, the same life to live. But your relationship to all of it changes fundamentally.
Before awakening, you were CONTROLLED by circumstances. After awakening, you RESPOND to circumstances. Before, you were enslaved by likes and dislikes. After, you have preferences but aren’t caught by them.
The awakened life is not separate from ordinary life. You still eat when hungry, sleep when tired, work, laugh, cry. But all of it happens within the vast space of awakened awareness. You’re IN life but not BOUND by life.
As for me, I have chosen to teach and paint, to work with students and create art. This is how my awakening expresses itself. For you, it may be different. The key is to find authentic expression—not imitating others but discovering your own way to manifest realization.”
Student: “But how do we handle the inevitable difficulties that arise even after awakening?”
Hakuin: “Awakening doesn’t prevent difficulties—it changes how you meet them. You will still face sickness, aging, loss, conflict. But you won’t create ADDITIONAL suffering through resistance and grasping.
Moreover, your awakening must be tested in the fire of daily life. It’s one thing to feel enlightened during peaceful meditation. It’s another thing to maintain clarity when facing real challenges. This is why I sometimes intentionally create difficulties for students—to test and strengthen their realization.
The ultimate measure is not peak experiences or special states but how you handle ordinary moments and difficult situations. Can you maintain presence when stuck in traffic? Can you meet conflict without reactivity? Can you face loss without despair? This is where true practice shows itself.”
Key Teachings
1. The Koan as Barrier
Koans are not riddles to solve intellectually but barriers to break through experientially. They exhaust the thinking mind until direct realization occurs.
2. Great Faith, Great Doubt, Great Determination
Three essential elements for breakthrough: complete confidence in Buddha-nature, burning existential questioning, and fierce resolve to realize truth.
3. Beyond Thinking Mind
Intellectual understanding is not Zen realization. You must go beyond concepts, analysis, and explanation to direct experience.
4. Post-Awakening Practice
Initial awakening is valuable but only the beginning. Continuous practice deepens, clarifies, and stabilizes realization.
5. The Sound of One Hand
Direct pointing to non-dual reality—where subject and object, self and other, question and answer merge into one. Cannot be understood conceptually; must be realized directly.
6. Fierce Compassion
The teacher’s harshness is not cruelty but fierce love—pushing students beyond comfort zones into breakthrough.
Practical Applications
Working with Koans
- Take a koan (such as “What is the sound of one hand?”)
- Don’t try to solve it intellectually—let it become a burning question
- Bring it into daily life, return to it constantly
- Let it build Great Doubt until breakthrough occurs
- After breakthrough, test understanding with teacher or through life itself
Developing Great Doubt
- Ask fundamental questions: What am I? Why am I here?
- Don’t settle for inherited answers
- Let uncertainty become intense and all-consuming
- Use this energy to fuel practice
Testing Realization
- Does insight hold during difficult circumstances?
- Can you express understanding beyond words?
- Has it transformed behavior and character?
- Are you more humble and compassionate?
Questions for Contemplation
-
What is the sound of one hand clapping? (Don’t think about it—become it!)
-
Am I practicing Zen to understand it intellectually or to realize it experientially?
-
What is my Great Doubt—the burning question that consumes me?
-
Am I willing to endure hardship and discomfort for the sake of awakening?
-
If I’ve had awakening experiences, am I continuing to deepen or resting complacently?
The Significance of This Dialogue
Hakuin represents the fierce, demanding aspect of Zen teaching. While this approach isn’t suitable for everyone, it embodies important principles:
Total Commitment: Awakening isn’t a casual hobby but the most important matter. It requires complete dedication, willingness to endure difficulty, and uncompromising honesty.
Beyond Concepts: In an age drowning in information, Hakuin reminds us that spiritual realization cannot be found in books, ideas, or theories. It must be directly experienced in one’s own being.
Testing and Verification: Awakening claims must be tested—not accepted on faith or based on convincing descriptions. The teacher’s role is to verify genuine realization and expose false understanding.
Continuous Deepening: The contemporary tendency is to collect peak experiences and move on. Hakuin emphasizes that initial awakening is just the beginning of a lifelong process of deepening and integration.
The Koan Method: While not everyone resonates with koan practice, the principle is universal: use whatever life presents as your koan, as the question that demands resolution in your being, not just your mind.
For modern practitioners, Hakuin’s teaching is challenging: it doesn’t cater to desires for comfort, quick results, or feel-good spirituality. Yet this very quality makes it valuable—a corrective to spiritual consumerism and shallow understanding. It reminds us that genuine transformation requires dedication, intensity, and willingness to be uncomfortable in service of truth.
The “sound of one hand” continues to echo through Zen monasteries and meditation halls worldwide—not as a mystical puzzle but as a direct pointing to reality beyond dualistic thinking, inviting each practitioner to discover this sound within their own being.