was a

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngsh� ...

priest,

origami ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...

master, and abbot of Antai-ji near

Kyoto, Japan Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the cit ...

. Uchiyama was author of more than twenty books on

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

and origami, of which ''Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice'' is best known.

Education and career

Uchiyama graduated from

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Western philosophy Western philosophy encompasses the philosophical thought and work of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The word ' ...

in 1937 and was ordained a priest in 1941 by his teacher

Kōdō Sawaki was a prominent Japanese Sōtō Zen teacher of the 20th century. He is considered to be one of the most significant Zen priests of his time for bringing Zen practice into the lives of laypeople and popularizing the ancient tradition of sewing the ...

. Throughout his life, Uchiyama lived with the damaging effects of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. Uchiyama became abbot of Antai-ji following Sawaki's death in 1965 until he retired in 1975 to Nokei-in, also near Kyoto, where he lived with his wife. Following the death of his teacher he led a forty-nine-day

sesshin A ''sesshin'' (接心, or also 摂心/攝心 literally "touching the heart-mind") is a period of intensive meditation (zazen) in a Zen monastery. While the daily routine in the monastery requires the monks to meditate several hours a day, d ...

in memorial of his teacher. In retirement he continued his writing, the majority of which consisted of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

''Opening the Hand of Thought''

''Opening the Hand of Thought'', first published in English in 1993 by Arkana Press, was edited by Jishō Cary Warner, and translated by Thomas Wright and Uchiyama's Dharma heir Shohaku Okumura. Portions of the book first appeared in a different English language translation in the author's Approach to Zen: The Reality of Zazen, Japan Publications, 1973. The book attempts a straightforward and practical description of Zen, with a emphasis on the practice of

zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...

, and uses comparisons of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

as a way for westerners to understand Uchiyama's approach His summary is: which refers to his own formula: two practices of "vow" and "repentance", and three minds: "magnanimous mind, nurturing mind and joyful mind". He says his book covers ''butsudō'', the effort of an individual to actualize their universal self.

Bibliography

* * * Uchiyama, Kosho (2008): ''Das Leben meistern durch Zazen''. Angkor Verlag. . * Uchiyama, Kosho; Sawaki, Kodo (2007): ''Die Zen-Lehre des Landstreichers Kodo''. Angkor Verlag. . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Seven chapters from Uchiyama's book "The Zen Teaching of 'Homeless Kodo'"

Kosho Uchiyama: "To you who are still dissatisfied with your zazen"

Kosho Uchiyama: "To you who has decided to become a Zen monk"
* https://web.archive.org/web/20111003051939/http://www.zen.ite.pl/masters/kosho_uchiyama.html (Polish language) {{DEFAULTSORT:Uchiyama, Kosho Zen Buddhism writers Soto Zen Buddhists Zen Buddhist priests 1912 births 1998 deaths Japanese Zen Buddhists Origami artists People from Tokyo Writers from Tokyo