What role does absurdity play?
While hunting in Africa, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How an elephant got into my pajamas I’ll never know. — GROUCHO MARX ONE OF THE MOST well-known koans is What is the sound of one hand clapping? While a penetration of its meaning is a serious affair, reading about the teaching techniques of Zen masters often glides past something that is manifest and important: This koan, like most, is funny. In a wonderful chapter [No. 18: Satori, The Koan, and Monastic Polishing ] of her online book, “Seventh World of Chan Buddhism” at the ZBOHY website, Chuan Yuan Shakya tells the story of a monk named Doe Ming who is given the one-hand-clapping koan. With much pride he focuses on the koan, but the increasingly clever answers he conceives horrify his beloved master, who eventually strikes him. Weeks pass. Stressed and humiliated, Doe Ming takes refuge in menial tasks. He is forgotten and gains contentment. Then, a sound triggers Enlightenment. He goes to his master and says “Eat shit and di
