The Atacama desert is pretty extreme in its own right. Colder than other deserts, with the most notable exception being the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. This is an austere landscape far from civilization, and strange to see the great hand there.
Monday, December 1, 2025
Hi there
I just found out about the Hand of the Desert, also known translatedly as la Mano del Desierto. It's quite striking. A hand that rises up like a mountain in the middle of the desert. Really, of course, it's a sculpture with an iron base, made in 1992. Looking at it, though, I could see it dating from thousands of years ago.
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That's certainly a distinctive piece of statuary to discover in the wilderness of the Atacama Desert. I was reminded immediately of one of the gestures of the Lord Buddha, namely the Abhaya Mudra. Normally it's performed with the right hand but I guess the artist was taking a liberty, or maybe that wasn't his intention. The mudra stands for:
Protection: The raised hand acts as a shield, offering protection from fear, danger, and negative influences.
Reassurance: It assures the devotee of the Buddha's compassionate presence and ability to provide safety and security.
Fearlessness encourages the practitioner to overcome personal fears and challenges, promoting inner strength and confidence.
Peace: The open palm signifies openness
The picture he took of the Milky Way was amazing. It's something I've always wanted to see but you have to be in very remote areas to do so. The Atacama is definitely austere enough and cold enough too and even so is more comfortable than Antarctica.
You sent me down kind of a fun rabbit hole concerning the Abhaya Mudra. According to another descriptor I found online, "It reminds practitioners of the Buddha's teachings on fearlessness and compassion. Practitioners often visualize this mudra during meditation to cultivate inner peace and security." Now, Buddhism has been around a long time. Since the 6th or 5th century BC. Hinduism and Judaism have roots going back further, but united Hinduism and Temple Judaism happened in the same general timeframe, and all are considerably older than Christianity. Point being, with things that started so long ago, a lot of things might not be documented, at least not anymore. So I'm curious where this gesture comes from and how it gained such significance.
We're in one of the arms of the Milky Way, not the chewy, nougaty center. That's why we're not constantly bombarded with starlight. It also affords a neat view of the rest of the galaxy, at least in some places. And yeah, Antarctica is a ways off from being comfortable if you're not insulated like a Weddell seal.
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