For over thirty years, Opening the Hand of Thought has offered an unmatched introduction to Zen Buddhism. This new edition contains even more useful material: new prefaces, an index, and extended end notes are here, in addition to the book's revised glossary and main sections. But then, the book's utility was never in question. As Jisho Warner writes in the book's opening, 'The Story of This Book and Its Author,' Opening the Hand of Thought 'goes directly to the heart of Zen practice [. . .], showing how Zen Buddhism can be a deep and life-sustaining activity.' She goes on to say, 'Uchiyama looks at what a person is, what a self is, how to develop a true self not separate from all things, one that can settle in peace in the midst of life.' By turns humorous, philosophical, and personal, Opening the Hand of Thought is above all a great book for the Buddhist practitioner.
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70 of 75 people found the following review helpful
By Eric Arbiter
Format:Paperback
Three Books by Kosho Uchiyama
February 21, 2000 and September 28, 2004
Reviewer: Eric Arbiter from Houston,TX
"Opening the Hand of Thought", "The Wholehearted Way", and From "Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment"
I am re-posting this review because "Opening the Hand of Thought" went out of print for several years. It has just been re-released with wonderful new introductory materials.
Ten years ago I had determined to take up Zen practice and this book was a key ingredient in that process. I was truly saddened that it was not available to help others as a guiding inspiriation for doing zazen during the time it was out of print.
I am so grateful to Wisdom Publications and the authors for taking the time to refine and make this seminal work available again for people sincerely seeking to undertake the practice of zazen (Zen seated meditation). Below is the original review, of these three books, with a few additional observations in parenthesis.
I have re-read these books so many times that I think of them as different components of the same work, since the subjects interweave to produce a wonderful fabric of integrated Zen practice viewed from different perspectives. At first glance all of these books might seem "lightweight". I thought so at first because of their covers. Especially "Opening the Hand of Thought- Approach to Zen" (this is no longer the case with the new edition). It suggests a new-age type of quick fix book about Zen. Nothing could be further from the truth. This was just the book I needed, though I didn't yet know it. Having come to Zen meditation 2 years before reading this book, I was still unclear about meditation (zazen). (Ten years later I am still unclear about it- but I am still sitting!) Many of us reach the point where we realize that we need and want to practice meditation. Then we get to the same point of the monk in Master Dogen's (1200-1250) quote in Fukan Zazen-gi:
"When Yakusan was sitting [in meditation], a monk asked him 'What do you think when you sit?' The master said, 'I think of not thinking.' The monk inquired further, 'How do you think of not thinking?' Yakusan replied, '[by sitting] beyond thinking'".
What is beyond thinking? This is where Uchiyama makes his point of departure, walking us through just this juncture. He describes the movement of the mind and what need be done or not done about it. He even includes a diagram of the action of the mind getting caught up in thoughts and alternatively falling asleep. He speaks of zazen as neither developing thoughts, nor hating them, but releasing them (hence the title Opening the Hand of Thought). Zazen is opening the hand of thought (not grasping thought) and returning to seeing the wall millions of times.
"Opening the Hand of Thought" addresses the vast world of seated meditation and the religious and personal underpinnings behind it. It is as though Uchiyama Roshi is your own grandfather, telling you about his life, and your life, too. It is about living the "most refined way". This is not a detached dry retelling of ancient stories about someone else, but the vital story of ourselves living the life of ourselves (which he says is the very life of the buddhas, patriarchs and matriarchs). It is the way of "not being dragged around by our thoughts" and living our lives based on this even-mindedness. We take this into our daily lives in every encounter.
"From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment- Refining Your Life" at first appears to be a popular cookbook appending Zen to the title for more interest. Again, not so. This is Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on another of Master Dogen's texts: Tenzo Kyokun (Instructions to the Zen Cook) which was part of Dogen's manual for his monks. Translator and practitioner Thomas Wright says in the introduction: "Now, what possible connection could a text written for a group of male monks some 750 years ago have for present-day Europeans and Americans, neither living in a monastery nor particularly familiar with the society or way of looking at life which differs totally from our modern Western societies? That is the question to which Kosho Uchiyama Roshi addresses himself when he began writing the commentary that accompanies Dogen's text". I would say that the emphasis of this book is on Master Dogen's "three minds": magnanimous mind, joyful mind and parental mind. Through meditation we come to the place where we see that the world is none other than the self and that we take care of others because they are really ourselves. Everything which arises in your life IS your life.
"The Wholehearted Way" is Uchiyama Roshi's commentaries on Master Dogen's Bendowa, his early manifesto about the practice of zazen. It is followed by questions and answers (probably asked by his chief disciple, Ejo) directed at various misunderstandings of what Dogen felt to be the true significance of zazen.
"Sitting is itself the practice of the buddha. Sitting itself is nondoing. It is nothing but the true form of the self.
Apart from sitting there is nothing to seek as the buddha-dharma."
Eihei Dogen, Shobogenzo-Zuimonki
Uchiyama Roshi's commentaries are in the same vein as the other books, bringing these ancient teachings to us in a fresh and vital way so that they function in our daily lives. The translations and introductions are done by three of Roshi's close disciples and long-time practitioners, Tom Wright, Daniel Taigen Leighton and Shohaku Okumura. Their comments in themselves are worthy of our study.
There is for me tremendous appeal in the great scope and depth of Roshi's teachings expressed in his straightforward and engaging way. Although carefully thought out, I get the feeling, (as I expressed earlier) of being spoken to directly. He takes great pains to really look into and study certain Buddhist terms that can cause confusion if we are unclear about them. For example, he devotes several pages to the term "buddha-dharma".
I consider these three books to be essential in the deepening of my practice of Zen and meditation. Here are Uchiyama's closing words in his foreword to "Opening the Hand of Thought":
"Above all, I hope that when you read this book, (Opening the Hand of Thought) you will forget your sentiments about exotic foreign lands and read with a completely fresh mind. I hope that, as you read, you will look at your own life and apply what I have written to your everyday life. That is the only place where the real world of Zen is".
February 21, 2000 and September 28, 2004
Reviewer: Eric Arbiter from Houston,TX
"Opening the Hand of Thought", "The Wholehearted Way", and From "Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment"
I am re-posting this review because "Opening the Hand of Thought" went out of print for several years. It has just been re-released with wonderful new introductory materials.
Ten years ago I had determined to take up Zen practice and this book was a key ingredient in that process. I was truly saddened that it was not available to help others as a guiding inspiriation for doing zazen during the time it was out of print.
I am so grateful to Wisdom Publications and the authors for taking the time to refine and make this seminal work available again for people sincerely seeking to undertake the practice of zazen (Zen seated meditation). Below is the original review, of these three books, with a few additional observations in parenthesis.
I have re-read these books so many times that I think of them as different components of the same work, since the subjects interweave to produce a wonderful fabric of integrated Zen practice viewed from different perspectives. At first glance all of these books might seem "lightweight". I thought so at first because of their covers. Especially "Opening the Hand of Thought- Approach to Zen" (this is no longer the case with the new edition). It suggests a new-age type of quick fix book about Zen. Nothing could be further from the truth. This was just the book I needed, though I didn't yet know it. Having come to Zen meditation 2 years before reading this book, I was still unclear about meditation (zazen). (Ten years later I am still unclear about it- but I am still sitting!) Many of us reach the point where we realize that we need and want to practice meditation. Then we get to the same point of the monk in Master Dogen's (1200-1250) quote in Fukan Zazen-gi:
"When Yakusan was sitting [in meditation], a monk asked him 'What do you think when you sit?' The master said, 'I think of not thinking.' The monk inquired further, 'How do you think of not thinking?' Yakusan replied, '[by sitting] beyond thinking'".
What is beyond thinking? This is where Uchiyama makes his point of departure, walking us through just this juncture. He describes the movement of the mind and what need be done or not done about it. He even includes a diagram of the action of the mind getting caught up in thoughts and alternatively falling asleep. He speaks of zazen as neither developing thoughts, nor hating them, but releasing them (hence the title Opening the Hand of Thought). Zazen is opening the hand of thought (not grasping thought) and returning to seeing the wall millions of times.
"Opening the Hand of Thought" addresses the vast world of seated meditation and the religious and personal underpinnings behind it. It is as though Uchiyama Roshi is your own grandfather, telling you about his life, and your life, too. It is about living the "most refined way". This is not a detached dry retelling of ancient stories about someone else, but the vital story of ourselves living the life of ourselves (which he says is the very life of the buddhas, patriarchs and matriarchs). It is the way of "not being dragged around by our thoughts" and living our lives based on this even-mindedness. We take this into our daily lives in every encounter.
"From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment- Refining Your Life" at first appears to be a popular cookbook appending Zen to the title for more interest. Again, not so. This is Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on another of Master Dogen's texts: Tenzo Kyokun (Instructions to the Zen Cook) which was part of Dogen's manual for his monks. Translator and practitioner Thomas Wright says in the introduction: "Now, what possible connection could a text written for a group of male monks some 750 years ago have for present-day Europeans and Americans, neither living in a monastery nor particularly familiar with the society or way of looking at life which differs totally from our modern Western societies? That is the question to which Kosho Uchiyama Roshi addresses himself when he began writing the commentary that accompanies Dogen's text". I would say that the emphasis of this book is on Master Dogen's "three minds": magnanimous mind, joyful mind and parental mind. Through meditation we come to the place where we see that the world is none other than the self and that we take care of others because they are really ourselves. Everything which arises in your life IS your life.
"The Wholehearted Way" is Uchiyama Roshi's commentaries on Master Dogen's Bendowa, his early manifesto about the practice of zazen. It is followed by questions and answers (probably asked by his chief disciple, Ejo) directed at various misunderstandings of what Dogen felt to be the true significance of zazen.
"Sitting is itself the practice of the buddha. Sitting itself is nondoing. It is nothing but the true form of the self.
Apart from sitting there is nothing to seek as the buddha-dharma."
Eihei Dogen, Shobogenzo-Zuimonki
Uchiyama Roshi's commentaries are in the same vein as the other books, bringing these ancient teachings to us in a fresh and vital way so that they function in our daily lives. The translations and introductions are done by three of Roshi's close disciples and long-time practitioners, Tom Wright, Daniel Taigen Leighton and Shohaku Okumura. Their comments in themselves are worthy of our study.
There is for me tremendous appeal in the great scope and depth of Roshi's teachings expressed in his straightforward and engaging way. Although carefully thought out, I get the feeling, (as I expressed earlier) of being spoken to directly. He takes great pains to really look into and study certain Buddhist terms that can cause confusion if we are unclear about them. For example, he devotes several pages to the term "buddha-dharma".
I consider these three books to be essential in the deepening of my practice of Zen and meditation. Here are Uchiyama's closing words in his foreword to "Opening the Hand of Thought":
"Above all, I hope that when you read this book, (Opening the Hand of Thought) you will forget your sentiments about exotic foreign lands and read with a completely fresh mind. I hope that, as you read, you will look at your own life and apply what I have written to your everyday life. That is the only place where the real world of Zen is".
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By Rob Myers
Format:Paperback
Well-written and carefully, lovingly edited. Quite a tribute to a great teacher!
What struck me most about this book was the personal, honest insights into the author's own mind. This is at once a book about Zen Practice, and a very personal voyage through life. Uchiyama Roshi must have been an intelligent and thoughtful man, and he left us a gift of his unique, unadorned dharma.
From the beautiful persimmon metaphor to his talk about zazen being useless (and why we should do it anyway), he takes us on a varied journey, examining our practice from numerous angles. Rich, fresh insight fills each talk.
There are some talks "for beginners" you might say. In one such chapter, you will find zazen, itself, drawn on a simple cartesian graph, with mathematical designations of points along the path. What a simple, useful metaphor, especially for those of us with an overactive left-brain! And, perhaps to keep us from taking the graph too literally, there are sketches of a young practitioner falling asleep, or daydreaming. Sketches drawn with humor and compassion!
What struck me most about this book was the personal, honest insights into the author's own mind. This is at once a book about Zen Practice, and a very personal voyage through life. Uchiyama Roshi must have been an intelligent and thoughtful man, and he left us a gift of his unique, unadorned dharma.
From the beautiful persimmon metaphor to his talk about zazen being useless (and why we should do it anyway), he takes us on a varied journey, examining our practice from numerous angles. Rich, fresh insight fills each talk.
There are some talks "for beginners" you might say. In one such chapter, you will find zazen, itself, drawn on a simple cartesian graph, with mathematical designations of points along the path. What a simple, useful metaphor, especially for those of us with an overactive left-brain! And, perhaps to keep us from taking the graph too literally, there are sketches of a young practitioner falling asleep, or daydreaming. Sketches drawn with humor and compassion!
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By J. adams
Format:Paperback
This book is on Zen practice of course. Beautifuly written, translated and edited, it covers just about every aspect of practice that a book like this could. This is a thourough examination of Zen/Zazen from many angles.
After reading this I realize my attitude and knowledge of zen was shallow and very incomplete. Thats not to say you can "pin it down" after reading this. That would be impossible. This book will however help you understand Zen as life, masifesting life itself (Uchiyama often speaks like this to show the "wholeness" of Zen life), it brilliantly illuminates the "life" of the way. I am very thankful to Uchiyama for this. In a time when words like "Zen" are used and abused as catchwords and such. It is very nice to have books like this, to help practitioners understand more clearly, the heart of these teachings. He does this very well.
As far as Zazen goes, Kosho Uchiyama Explains, illuminates and clears up misapprehensions about "just sitting". He tells us how the very process of bringing our attention back to the reality of this moment and our posture is the profound wisdom of Zen in action (wich is our most important teacher). That is Opening the Hand of Thought. Opening this "Hand" is what allows us to go beyond the small selfish ego and realize the universal self. The self of everyone and everything. Wich is enlightenment, without the baggage of words or ideas like enlightenment (to "Open the Hand of Thought" means to let everything come and go without grasping). Someone said I beleive in a review, that not even Dogen gives as clear and precise account of Zazen as Uchiyama. I completely agree.
Uchiyama also give us a rich and detailed account of Zen as a religion, a daily practice, a way of life, and a way to a peaceful world. I'd be hard pressed to find an aspect he didnt cover. Of course all these 'aspects and distinctions' as Uchiyama points out, are in fact, just conceptual ideas and therefore cant in anyway capture reality. They can and do capture us though. Atleast our egos. Uchiyama shows us the means to be truly free from just such bondage.
He talks about everything from a fleas genitals (laugh) to the utmost important things to remember in practicing Zen. That would be as he puts it "one Zazen, two practices, three minds". Two practices are vow and repentance. Three minds are magnanimous mind, nuturing mind and joyful mind. He explains all of these very well in the book. One thing though I wish he would have touched a little more on is breathing and its place (as far as the attention it should recieve) in Zen.
This is a very practical and extremely powerful book (especially the last chapter, simply amazing). Uchiyama is as gifted a teacher as anyone. Now that I have this book, I cant imagine practicing without it.
After reading this I realize my attitude and knowledge of zen was shallow and very incomplete. Thats not to say you can "pin it down" after reading this. That would be impossible. This book will however help you understand Zen as life, masifesting life itself (Uchiyama often speaks like this to show the "wholeness" of Zen life), it brilliantly illuminates the "life" of the way. I am very thankful to Uchiyama for this. In a time when words like "Zen" are used and abused as catchwords and such. It is very nice to have books like this, to help practitioners understand more clearly, the heart of these teachings. He does this very well.
As far as Zazen goes, Kosho Uchiyama Explains, illuminates and clears up misapprehensions about "just sitting". He tells us how the very process of bringing our attention back to the reality of this moment and our posture is the profound wisdom of Zen in action (wich is our most important teacher). That is Opening the Hand of Thought. Opening this "Hand" is what allows us to go beyond the small selfish ego and realize the universal self. The self of everyone and everything. Wich is enlightenment, without the baggage of words or ideas like enlightenment (to "Open the Hand of Thought" means to let everything come and go without grasping). Someone said I beleive in a review, that not even Dogen gives as clear and precise account of Zazen as Uchiyama. I completely agree.
Uchiyama also give us a rich and detailed account of Zen as a religion, a daily practice, a way of life, and a way to a peaceful world. I'd be hard pressed to find an aspect he didnt cover. Of course all these 'aspects and distinctions' as Uchiyama points out, are in fact, just conceptual ideas and therefore cant in anyway capture reality. They can and do capture us though. Atleast our egos. Uchiyama shows us the means to be truly free from just such bondage.
He talks about everything from a fleas genitals (laugh) to the utmost important things to remember in practicing Zen. That would be as he puts it "one Zazen, two practices, three minds". Two practices are vow and repentance. Three minds are magnanimous mind, nuturing mind and joyful mind. He explains all of these very well in the book. One thing though I wish he would have touched a little more on is breathing and its place (as far as the attention it should recieve) in Zen.
This is a very practical and extremely powerful book (especially the last chapter, simply amazing). Uchiyama is as gifted a teacher as anyone. Now that I have this book, I cant imagine practicing without it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A solid work, but falls short of some of its promise
There's much to like about this volume. Uchiyama's thoughts are eloquent; he has a gift for metaphors that perform exactly what the title of this book suggests. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Professoriat
5.0 out of 5 stars
A valuable, appropriate read for beginner and trainee
I would recommend the reader do just a chapter per sitting as it is important to think on the subject through a day. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Nutcracker Rik
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a wonderfull Book
If you or somebody you know is interested in Zen philosophy this is the book for you. The first section gives a very detailed definition of 'self' and how westerners view who and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by crclark
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frank and straight without being condescending
Having read a few other books on the same topic, I didn't expect to find anything new when I bought the book. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Boris Ma
5.0 out of 5 stars
Modern Zen's Finest Explanation
Uchiyama was one of the great modern Zen teachers, and maybe the best example of the "nothing special" type of Soto Zen. Read more
Published on October 13, 2010 by The Flute With No Holes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great way to grasp what zazen is all about
Easy to read. Great if you're a beginner in zazen. Good book oriented in the Soto sect way of shinkantaza (sitting zazen).
Published on February 12, 2010 by Juan Castro
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zen without toys...thank God!
Let's face it, even though Zen is often claimed to be based in utmost simplicity and directness, the sad truth is that the majority of Zen books and teachers are (often... Read more
Published on December 28, 2008 by Eduardo Nietzsche
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Only Book on Zen you'll need
Great book. I cannot emphasize enough how anyone interested in Zen practice should read this.
Amazon unfortunately not stopped stocking it. Read more
Amazon unfortunately not stopped stocking it. Read more
Published on February 12, 2008 by Gregory
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most straight forward zazen text out there
Outstanding book. In reading books on Soto zen practice over the last 10 years, this the clearest, most straight forward and best book on zazen (seated zen buddhist meditation)... Read more
Published on February 19, 2007 by D. Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timely delivery
New book, shipped in timely manner that was in the new catagory as advertized.
Published on January 9, 2007 by Michael P. Omalley
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 7
books:
See all 7 books this book cites
- Thank You (Small Wonders Series) by Adventure Publications in Back Matter
- The Yoga Journal (Parchment Journals) by Jill Jones in Back Matter
- Zen Meditation in Plain English by John Daishin Buksbazen in Back Matter
- Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitken in Back Matter
- Gateless Gate by Koun Yamada in Back Matter
See all 7 books this book cites
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