Zen in the Art of Archery

Zen in the Art of Archery Zen in the Art of Archery
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Description

The path to achieving Zen (a balance between the body and the mind) is brilliantly explained by Professor Eugen Herrigel in this timeless account. This book is the result of the author's six year quest to learn archery in the hands of Japanese Zen masters. It is an honest account of one man's journey to complete abandonment of 'the self' and the Western principles that we use to define ourselves. Professor Herrigel imparts knowledge from his experiences and guides the reader through physical and spiritual lessons in a clear and insightful way. Mastering archery is not the key to achieving Zen, and this is not a practical guide to archery. It is more a guide to Zen principles and learning and perfect for practitioners and non-practitioners alike.

So many books have been written about the meditation side of Zen and the everyday, chop wood/carry water side of Zen. But few books have approached Zen the way that most Japanese actually do--through ritualized arts of discipline and beauty--and perhaps that is why Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery is still popular so long after it first publication in 1953. Herrigel, a philosophy professor, spent six years studying archery and flower-arranging in Japan, practicing every day, and struggling with foreign notions such as "eyes that hear and ears that see." In a short, pithy narrative, he brings the heart of Zen to perfect clarity--intuition, imitation, practice, practice, practice, then, boom, wondrous spontaneity fusing self and art, mind, body, and spirit. Herrigel writes with an attention to subtle profundity and relates it with a simple artistry that itself carries the signature of Zen. --Brian Bruya

Features

  • ISBN13: 9780375705090
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Reviews

"I really know nothing."

by J. H. Minde from Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York on 2010-08-22
Professor Eugen Herrigel, a German-born professor of philosophy, taught at Tokyo University during the interwar period. During his stay in Japan he became fascinated by Zen Buddhism, then little known in the West, and undertook to study the art of archery with Bowmaster Awa Kenzo, who taught archery not as a technical skill but as a form of meditation practice. I have read that Kenzo was not a Zen teacher and that this book misrepresents Zen, but I respectfully disagree. Zen has permeated the Japanese fine arts for centuries, and Kenzo's lessons express Zen, regardless of his formal status in the Zen community. Others have criticized Herrigel for coming at Zen obliquely, through Kyudo (the art of archery); again, I respectfully disagree. Zen is not just a segregated "practice" of chants, incense and sitting meditation, it is living life itself, fully. Hence, cooking, cleaning, eating, archery, or even motorcycle maintenance can be Zen practice if done with mindfulness. Herrigel was writing long before any idea of "Zen" entered into the general Occidental mindset. Indeed, Herrigel's book title has inspired hundreds of copycat "Zen in the Art of . . .", "Zen and the Art of . . .", "The Zen of . . .", and "The Art of Zen in . . ." titles. While there were other Western (and transplanted Eastern) exponents of Zen in 1948 when Herrigel's book appeared, Herrigel's book became the first "Zen bestseller". Much of this short (90 page) book discusses the No-Mind necessary to successful mastery of any art. Since Herrigel is attempting to express what is essentially inexpressible, the book's language (in English translation) seems both esoteric and arcane in its utter simplicity. For all its brevity, this is a dense book, and an interested reader will return to it many times over many years.

His Story

by Steven K. Olson from USA corn belt on 2010-08-13
This is a very honest book about the experiences of the author. It has a German sensibility that is quite different from the American sense and for me this made it even more interesting. The reader needs to make an effort to be able to put himself in the author's place. If you can't do this the book has little to recommend it. If you can this book will deliver more value in the short time it takes to read this thin work than many a mighty tome one ponders over for weeks on end.

Inspirational

by Carlyn Campbell from on 2010-03-08
I was assigned to read this book for an oboe studio seminar course. I had never read anything zen-ish before, and mostly discounted my professor's decision to include Zen in the Art of Archery. But oh, how I'm glad she did! This book is an easy read and a true piece of inspiration. I highly, highly recommend it.

A journey worth reading for western archers

by J. Rawyk from Providence, RI on 2010-01-15
I was left with the distinct feeling of having just completed a long journey after finishing this 80 page book. I have been practicing (traditional) western archery for over a year now and I completely agree with many of the tenets of archery that Master Kenzo Awa spoke of. I took up archery because I was interested in the idea of letting the arrow go versus the common mentality of shooting the arrow at the target and this book reiterates that kind of thinking. I have never undertaken Kyudo so I cannot speak to the accuracy of what was written, but I do know that many of things written by Herrigel, such as breathing exercises and being surprised when you release the arrow, can applied to western archery. I found the author's prattling and difficulties a bit irritating but it is understandable due to Kyudo's complexity. However, I was left skeptical with the author's understanding of "zen", and while he mentioned this idea of the "Great Doctrine" (of archery), I could not find his definition anywhere. At the end of this text there are a few pages dedicated to archery's relationship to swordsmanship which I understand but felt it was incongruous with the overall feeling of the rest of the book.

Not an archery textbook!

by Joseph C. McDaniel from Phoenix, Arizona on 2008-11-02
I have just re-read Zen and the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel. I was a philosophy student in my undergraduate days, and my primary focus was on Zen, so I had underestimated that little volume in my youth; it was too short, and too easy to read. And the author didn't make the process sound exotic enough for my arrogant youthful tastes. But now, Zen and the Art of Archery talks to me through a megaphone. The book recounts the experiences of a German philosophy professor who studied Kyudo (traditional Japanese archery) for several years. He undertook the study to develop his understanding of Zen Buddhism. As you read the book, you will see that the concepts and practice of traditional Japanese martial arts have leaked into popular U.S. culture. See Karate Kid and Star Wars, for example. And there's nothing wrong with that. But when you read this book, you get to see one of the real-world prototypes of Mr. Miyagi and Yoda. So read it, and thank me later. But don't think you're going to learn to fire arrows. This isn't an instruction manual.