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Title: Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Ralph Blum ISBN: 1-55927-061-6 Publisher: Audio Renaissance Pub. Date: 15 June, 1990 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.18 (38 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Inspired and inspiring
Comment: This is an unpretentious,no-nonsense narrative about the author's initiation into the art of archery and, ultimately, into the concept of Zen Buddhism. It speaks in plain language and tries to avoid mystical jargon. Ironically, it is also a story of self-perfection - ironically because Zen Buddhism teaches the abandonment of the idea of a "self".
There are many ways one may go from this book: One of the main themes of Zen in the Art of Archery is "art becoming artless", which is also at the core of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's bestselling study of creativity in "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience".
Someone who is interested in the spiritual qualities that (sometimes) come with the practice of martial arts might like to read "Iron and Silk" by Mark Salzman - don't expect anything holy or warrior-like, though.
Zen-Buddhism is covered in countless books. One of my favorites is Alan Watts's "The Spirit of Zen". A rather unorthodox, funny, skeptic and disrespectful look at Zen Buddhism can be gained from Janwillem van de Wetering's trilogy "The Empty Mirror" (my favorite of the three), "A Glimpse of Nothingness", and "Afterzen".
Rating: 3
Summary: from AN ACTING STUDENT's point of view...
Comment: I have had several bouts of interest in Zen and I've researched it before - not in depth, but enough that I'm relatively familiar with the basics. Naturally, therefore, I was eager to read Zen in the Art of Archery and expand my horizons on the subject. The book was difficult to understand at first, but as I reached the second chapter or so and Herrigel began telling the actual story, it became quite engaging and I settled down for a good read. I'm sorry to say I was slightly disappointed. By the time I finished, I felt I had read a lot about Zen, kyudo and how they are supposed to come together in a spiritual experience for the archer.... but learned very little. I believe I would have felt the same way even if this were my very first encounter with mysticism.
Given, the book has some good, worthwhile aspects. It was not difficult to find the similarities between the Master's instructions and the lessons we are learning as actors. The breathing methods described parallel the techniques used in most physical teaching methods, and are explained beautifully. (I actually found myself much more relaxed while I was reading the book, and discovered I was breathing slowly and steadily without even realizing it.) I especially liked the various comparisons the Master used to clarify himself to his pupil: the child grasping one thing after another without purpose, snow falling from a bamboo leaf, and so on. My favorite passage of all was the following on page 31: "'...We master archers say: with the upper end of the bow the archer pierces the sky; on the lower end, as though attached by a thread, hangs the earth...' " I reread that statement several times before I understood what pleased me so much about it: the Master was teaching his student to see the bow the same exact way we are taught to see our bodies. The Master's description brought me to a fuller appreciation of the advantages of proper alignment; I certainly do not want to be "left in the awful center between heaven and earth".
However, though these various aspects of the book did indeed achieve their purpose in helping me understand my purpose, I thought the story as a whole could have been better. I recognize what Herrigel was attempting to do: not bring Zen to the reader, but rather let the reader discover it for himself - much like he had to allow himself to "be breathed" rather than breathing, and allow "It" to shoot the arrow rather than shooting it himself. But the way that he went about it served to confuse me rather than enlighten me. By the end of his story, I was still expecting to come to a complete comprehension of, well, Zen in the art of archery. Perhaps I was not open-minded enough, and therefore the understanding could not fully get through to me. But if that is so, I don't blame myself in the least. I think that Herrigel went into his lessons with a very set, pre-formed idea of what Zen and therefore kyudo was all about. Therefore I don't think that a book written by him is the best way to learn about the subjects. If I want to truly learn about Zen, kyudo, Buddhism, and other Japanese and Eastern concepts, I will go about it the way I always have - with skepticism regarding other people's accounts. I want to go to Japan and learn for myself, rather than place my learning experience in the hands of an author I'm not sure I completely trust.
All in all, I believe there are some valuable lessons to be learned from reading this book, but I didn't get as much out of it as I thought I would. I will certainly try to work the breathing and alignment techniques into my ongoing lessons, but I'm going to take Herrigel's explanations of everything else with the proverbial grain of salt. I am inclined to think that the Master was right, and that anyone introduced to the Western concepts of philosophy will have a great deal of trouble adjusting to the Eastern concepts of Zen.
Rating: 5
Summary: great book that helped me play and teach piano better
Comment: 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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Title: The Method of Zen by Eugen Herrigel ISBN: 0394712447 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 July, 1974 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
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Title: One Arrow, One Life: Zen, Archery, Enlightenment by Kenneth Kushner ISBN: 0804832463 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Archery Anatomy: An Introduction to Techniques for Improved Performance by Ray Axford ISBN: 0285632655 Publisher: Souvenir Pr Ltd Pub. Date: November, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Instinctive Archery Insights: Enhanced Performance, Accelerated Learning, Increased Accuracy by Jay Kidwell ISBN: 0963971808 Publisher: Rollin Jay Kidwell Pub. Date: 25 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Zen in Motion: Lessons from a Master Archer on Breath, Posture, and the Path of Intuition by Neil Claremon ISBN: 089281361X Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: August, 1992 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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