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Zen in the Art of Archery (Vintage Spiritual Classics) (平装)
by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki
| Category:
Archery, Zen, Sports, Philosophy |
| Market price: ¥ 128.00
MSL price:
¥ 118.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Using archery as a metaphor, this brilliant book is a tale about a man's spiritual journey driven by intention and personal integration. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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A reader (MSL quote), Canada
<2006-12-31 00:00>
There is the Zen of no mind in which you eat when hungry, rest when tired, and stop when finished. There is also the Zen known through the ritualized arts of discipline and beauty such as archery, swordsmanship, brush-and- ink, the tea ceremony, or flower arranging. This book is Herrigel's story of striking the target bull's-eye blindfolded. |
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Robert Diefendorf (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
I have played the piano for thirty-five years and taught it for over twenty. I have written a book on teaching piano that is in the Lincoln Center Library for Performing Arts. The ideas and examples in this book, along with my mentor, helped me achieve breakthroughs in music when many other methods failed. In a way, I owe much of my teaching success to this book.
The book's beauty lies in a westerner's desperate attempts to make logical sense of concepts that are irrational and experiential. For example, the master told the author to let go of the string but also to not let go... Let the spirit "It" pull the string from the hand. Gradually releasing it, the string should leave the hand as though passing through butter.
I can attest to this idea's power. In piano, achieving pleasant tone is a contradictory skill. On the one hand, you have to play with enough force to project tone, on the other hand, you have to attack the key gently to create a rounded sound. The solution I found is called the "controlled drop," where you must let the arm drop but catch it. Like letting go of a bowstring, letting go of my arm to make pleasant sound at the piano is a joint effort between conscious and unconscious will.
Illustrating the sometimes difficult ideas are great anecdotes and quotes in the book. Like when the author challenged the master to shoot blindfolded, thinking it would be a rhetorical request. Instead, the master did just that, hitting the bullseye and splitting the first arrow with a second. And like when the master said, when you make a good shot, do not celebrate, bow and thank the spirit It. You are not responsible.
Perhaps the quotes and stories in this book anger some students of kyudo because they are kind of movie cliches by now, but at the time, it was new. And more important than the sensational stories are the concepts and conundrums present in an entertaining, short memoir.
I have read it many times and will go back again. Perhaps it is not exactly what Zen masters are teaching nowadays, but it has the solid feel of strong, cogent ideas. And the reader works struggles to understand the ideas along with author in what seems like real time.
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Tollak (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
This inspiring account of Eugen Herrigel's encounter with Zen through the art of Zen archery is such a rare example of beauty and wisdom expressed in a truly humble, poetic manner. I've read lots of Zen literature and while there may be some inconsistencies with orthodox views on Zen philosophy and practice, beauty and truth are beauty and truth no matter what package they come wrapped in. If you insist on only accepting enlighten- ment when it conforms to your preconceptions or your intellectual prejudices then you've already circumvented the process before it's begun.
The fact that this book has had such an immense impact on so many lives, including my own, for so many years speaks volumes about the profound truths that it encompasses in it's modest dimensions. Thank you professor Herrigel wherever you are in the ethers for this extraordinary gift. |
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Andrew Kushner (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
I grew up with my father very active in Zen archery, and have been practicing meditation myself for about one year now. (Readers familiar with the Zen arts understand that this is a pitiful drop in the bucket; in his account, Herrigel spends that long learning to hold the bow.) Zen Buddhism is, by definition, a problematic subject to describe in words or in print. Herrigel seemed cognizant of the irreconcilability of the language of philosophy with the reality of Zen, but he did his best nonetheless. It also suffers from its status as one of the first Western works in its field. Some of the language is dated and anachronistic: e.g., "The Great Doctrine". These small criticisms aside, I would overwhelmingly recommend this book anyone with the slightest interest, not only in religion or philosophy, but in athletics or the arts. However, those coming from a background in Western religion or philosophy, no matter how sophisticated, may not know what to do with this book. In fact, such knowledge may impede the reader (p. 48):
"He [Herrigel's sensei]...tried to work through a Japanese introduction to philosophy in order to find out how he could help me from a side I already knew. But in the end he had laid the book down with a cross face, remarking that he could now understand that a person who interested himself in such things would naturally find the art of archery uncommonly difficult to learn."
Zen and the Art of Archery is not intended as a comprehensive overview of the Zen tradition. It is probably not the place to start for those that are completely unfamiliar with Zen, kyudo, Buddhism or Japanese culture. (I'm at a loss to recommend any one definitive work, but the works of D.T. Suzuki and Huston Smith come to mind.) What it is, is a fantastically written account of one man's historic experience as one of the first Westerners to study the Japanese art of archery. In proper Zen style, it is succinct; I read it in one hour-long sitting. It is packed with all manner of brilliant insights. My copy is virtually illegible from dog-earing, underlining, and note-taking. If you have some contextual knowledge of the afore- mentioned subjects, read this book immediately. If you don't, I might suggest that you hold off; it might strike you as so much "mystical mumbo-jumbo", as it did to my father (who subsequently dedicated his book - One Arrow, One Life - to Herrigel). |
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Jon (MSL quote), UK
<2006-12-31 00:00>
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It is a biographical account of one mans experience as he moves from a position of ignorance towards an understanding of Zen. The bewildering spiritual "How to" which seems to have a lot more to do with what you don't do than what you do. The confounding realization that all effort is false, whereas no effort can lead to superhuman feats of accuracy. It's a magical true story about how a man’s confusion and understanding become fused into something of an incomprehensible truth: You don't understand it, but it works.
What I enjoyed most about the text is that it gives inspiration to Zen learners, something to aim for, so to speak. What I didn't like is that it doesn't really offer insight into how one combines an attitude of no presumed effort with the experience of splitting an arrow-shaft lengthwise from the far side of an unlit warehouse. In other words, the book sufficiently illustrates the effects of success with Zen practice but having read the book the cause still remains a mystery: A relaxed attitude alone will do nothing to improve your golfing average, so how does it work? |
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Dan Herak (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
My martial arts instructor has many books that he allows his students to take out. Some of them he recommends, others he recommends quite strongly. Zen in the Art of Archery, however, is the only book which he actually handed out to every member of the advanced class. Clearly there is something he wants us to know.
The book revolves around Herrigel's attempt to understand Zen through the practice of kyudo (Japanese archery). Although I am no expert in either Zen or kyudo, I think he does a pretty good job. The concepts that Herrigel communicates to the reader are extremely esoteric and I found them easy to grasp through this slim volume. However, reading the book solely as a story about one person's search for Zen is to read the book far too narrowly.
The concepts that Herrigel addresses are universal concepts. They are not strictly religious (Zen), martial (kyudo) or even Asian (Japanese). Any substantial activity, be it learning kyudo, becoming a chess grandmaster or practicing to become a classical pianist, requires one to reach beyond psychological and internal barriers. This is what should be taken from this book.
During Herrigel's study, he focused not on the target, but on himself as the archer. The struggle was both an internal one, including physical aspects such as breathing properly and relaxing, as well as a refocusing of his mind, such as NOT focusing on the ultimate destination of the arrows he was shooting. The transcendence was within Herrigel himself.
This lesson is applicable to numerous situations across cultures and across activities. Zen in the Art of Archery provides a good example of this phenomenon but not the only possible example. Read more broadly, this book provides anyone undertaking a long and arduous activity a simple framework for reaching beyond those plateaus that we all frustratingly find ourselves on from time to time. I recommend it on that basis. |
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Hallstatt Prince (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
The book isn't really about archery but Zen but I think just about everybody knows that by now. As well as being about Zen it is a self help book for if you never read another book about Zen or take up the practice you will benifit from reading this book. In it is the humble opinion of this reviewer if you read only one "self help book" this is the one to read. It is a powerful book that is as much about human psychlogy as it is about anything.
it is a must read and must be experienced to be appreciated but that being said let me elaborate on some of the topics in the book.
The bow is difficult to bend and so one must practce again and again to bend it. That is just one task of archery that is broken down in Zen archery training.
Instead of the initiate begining by shooting an arrow at a target, every step of the task is broken down and each practiced until each is perfected.
This I would call the "neurotic" side of Zen. For by one interpretation neurosis that is not unbriddled or pathologic is necessary in the careful preparation for tasks.
Too many (especially of my generation) see Zen as an "anything goes" phiolosophy which is in my mind far from the truth.
So after the repitition of each of the various indivual parts of the process of archery is repeated over and over. The archer is finally ready. A this point (not to sound overly mystical) the archer, the arow and the target become one.
You don't have to be a mystic to get the mesage here.
Part of what the book describes is the psychological process called "chaining" but this book takes that process to a new height.
A book that is much more practical and concise than the 2005 best seller Blink.
I recommend that everyone read it and an reflect on it. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-01 00:00>
Before I begin, I would like to mention that I have been a student of Zen Buddhism for some years and have also been a kyudo practitioner for some time. Thus, I think I can speak a little from both sides. I shall first state that this book is truly an inspirational account of Mr.Herrigel's own personal, spiritual journey and should be recognized as a good read. It is also a good starting point for a Western beginner of Zen Buddhism as it gives him/her a glimpse from a Westerner's perspective. Having said that, Zen in the Art of Archery has some fundamental problems and errors that misrepresents both Zen Buddhism and kyudo.It might surprise some readers to learn that it has been severely criticized by modern teachers and practitioners of kyudo. To start with, as stated in the book, Herrigel has only one intention of learning kyudo-to become a Zen mystic. Thus his heart is not in kyudo at all. Just as one should do zazen for the sake of zazen one should also do kyudo for the sake of kyudo. Herrigel came to study kyudo with his cup half-full. Next, one must also know that Awa, Herrigel's teacher himself has never been a Zen practitioner and has never done a formal Zen training at all, which is all-important for someone who wishes to understand Zen. Awa, while a fantastic archer, has also been regarded as highly unorthodox in his teaching and views and one should thus not equate his teachings to be the norm of kyudo and Zen. Another glaring problem is that Mr. Herrigel himself does not understand Japanese and relies on an interpreter, Mr. Komachiya. Mr. Komachiya has himself wrote that he has taken liberty in explaining some of Awa's words to Herrigel. One of the most important part of the book, the Target in the Dark, highlights this problem. The careful reader will realize that in the entire episode, Herrigel is trying to understand Awa without an interpreter at all. One can easily speculate the misinterpretations that might have taken place. Another famous incident is where Awa supposedly says, "It Shoots". Scholars of both Japanese and German have speculated that what Awa meant was that "It just happened." Meaning that he was lucky. For those looking for a more detailed criticism, one should read Yamada Shoji's excellent essay, The Myth of Zen in the Art of Archery. My contention in this review is not to debase Zen's relationship with Kyudo. Indeed Kyudo is heavily influenced by Zen and one can absorb traces of Zen in the practice of Kyudo. But one should also try to read this book with an open eye and should not treat this book as a reliable, definitive account of both Zen and Kyudo.
(A negative review. MSL quote)
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1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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