OPENING THE HAND OF THOUGHT – HESTIA PUBLICATIONS AND ZEN CENTER ATHENS (GREEK)

OPENING THE HAND OF THOUGHT

KOSHO UCHIYAMA

Translation – prologue: HARIS MITSOURAS

“When we let go of all our preconceptions, there is no other possible reality than the one that exists right now. […] This undeniable reality is the reality of life, which is fundamentally connected to everything in the universe. Therefore, it is the right now that matters most.

Remaining in the here and now, in reality itself, letting go of all the things that randomly appear in our minds, is what I mean by ‘opening the hand of thought’.”

Very few texts delve as deeply into Zen philosophy and practice as this one does. This book conveys the essence of Zen practice and zazen – sitting meditation – with unparalleled clarity and power, drawn from the lived experience of a unique contemporary teacher.

Kosho Uchiyama was born in Tokyo in 1912. He completed his postgraduate studies in Western Philosophy at Waseda University in 1937. Three years later he became a Zen priest as a disciple of Kodo Sawaki Roshi. After the latter’s death in 1965, he succeeded him as abbot at Antaiji Monastery on the outskirts of Kyoto.

Uchiyama Roshi traveled throughout Japan giving lectures and guiding sesshin. In 1975 he retired from his position as abbot of Antaiji and settled with his wife at Noke-in, a small temple outside Kyoto, where he continued to write and receive all who wanted his advice until his death in 1999.

He published over twenty books on Zen and translated into modern Japanese most of Dogen Zenji’s writings, accompanying them with extensive explanations and commentaries. Much of this has been translated into English and many other languages.

In addition to being a teacher of Zen, he was also a teacher of the art of origami, on which he also wrote books.