Opening the hand of thought
by Kōshō Uchiyama · first published 2004
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…characterized very differently in this discussion so far. I've never particularly thought of it as "emptying your mind" or "letting one thought soak into the mind." Uchiyama Roshi characterizes meditation as "opening the hand of thought" and I really feel that this is the most accurate description of meditation for me. We are not rocks after all! To think is part of human nature :)
on “Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why? ” ↗…am extra lucky in that my wife practices as well, and often we spend whole weekends and even vacations meditating together. We get most of our inspiration to practice from Uchiyama Roshi, who wrote "Opening the Hand of Thought", and his student Shohaku Okumura who is now teaching in Bloomington, Indiana (and has just published "Realizing Genjokoan" which has also been profoundly helpful to us). There have been many experiences…
on “Ask HN: Do you meditate? How/Why? ” ↗…best books are useful as pointers for how to practice. And if anyone here is interested in exploring Zen, the single book that I feel does the best job of giving you what you need to really practice is "Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice" by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi[1]. "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" [2] is also a wonderful book, and it's where I started. Its poetic manner of expression made me feel there…
on “The Impact of Meditating Every Day” ↗I really love how Kosho Uchiyama describes meditation with the metaphor "opening the hand of thought" https://wisdomexperience.org/product/opening-hand-thought/
on “Meditation as Wakeful Relaxation: Unclenching Smooth Muscle” ↗…where some of the foundational works such as the Platform Sutra are roughly a thousand years old. For other modern Zen voices, there are books such as Three Pillars of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Opening the Hand of Thought, and probably many others. (Albert Low is on my to-read list.) All of those are by authors who died before Thich Nhat Than, though. He also was an activist and an original proponent of "engaged Buddhism,"…
on “Thich Nhat Hanh has died” ↗