Commentary: Amidst the drastic changes to daily life wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are frequently reminded about the importance of washing our hands frequently, right and wrong ways of doing that, and how casual touch can spread disease.
There was a time I barely knew what my own hands were doing at any given moment.
After growing up in a secular household, early in my adulthood I took a plunge into a Zen meditation community steeped in Korean Buddhism.
Inexpertly wrapped in a grey temple jacket, I entered a space redolent of woodsy incense and burning candles, rooms lively with chanting accompanied by drum and gong and ethical vows recited in unison, amid altars and calligraphy.
At first I chafed at the liturgy and what seemed an obsessive attention to the smallest details of physical activity, but gradually I came to appreciate the enhanced awareness.
One of the first times I met a real life Zen master for an interview, she pointed out my peculiar relationship with the interview room door.
Unsure of whether it should be shut or open, I would pull the door to the jam without fully closing (lest it make a noise) or leaving it open.
It was a way to avoid being wrong and spare myself the embarrassment of being corrected or having to ask.
For over a decade, I was immersed daily in a temple environment where I was told to pay attention to my hands: Hold the cup this way when receiving tea, fold a robe this way, use two hands when holding altar items, don’t scrape the bowl with your spoon when eating — and turn the doorknob as you pull a door gently and quietly closed.
I came to notice when my hands would absently stray to my face, my neck, or furniture.
My hands are active, not only manipulating objects but exploring the environment, communicating to others, expressing affection as when caressing my child’s hair or frustration when I set a pen down with more force than is necessary. So much of what we express, and how it lands in the world, emanates from our hands into space like throwing a ball with a practiced follow-through.
That kind of interpersonal awareness can be irritating or go against things we’ve been taught, but microbes hold no such opinions.
Alternatively, keeping these spaces and our hands clean unfolds as humane self-expression while also taking care of ourselves and those around us.
Sometimes, for old times' sake, I even murmur a Korean chant as I do it.