|
Zen in the Art of Archery | 
 enlarge | Author: Eugen Herrigel
Creator: Daisetz T. Suzuki
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $11.95
Buy New: $5.50
You Save: $6.45 (54%)
New (36) Used (32) Collectible (8) from $4.95
Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 14498
Media: Paperback
Pages: 96
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.1
ISBN: 0375705090
Dewey Decimal Number: 799.32
EAN: 9780375705090
Publication Date: January 26, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Slightly aged McGraw version including The Method Of Zen, Art Of Archery and introduction by Suzuki, better book, though not brand new
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
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
Product 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.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 55 more reviews...
 Great book; not supposed to teach you how to release an arrow! October 30, 2008
Joseph C. McDaniel (Arizona)
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.
A Book for all Artists May 9, 2008
Keith A. Williams (Virginia USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the famous little book that Minor White advised his pupils to read. It's an account by German professor Eugen Herrigel of several years of archery lessons with a Japanese archer in the 1950s. My review is written with photography in mind, though the principles discussed in the book can be applied to many arts.
If you have an interest in photography, should you read it?
Here are a few quotes from this little book in which I have taken the liberty of replacing archery lingo with photography lingo:
1. "...fundamentally the [photographer] aims at himself and may even succeed in hitting himself."
2. "Do you know why you cannot wait for the shot and why you get out of breath before it has come? The right shot at the right moment does not come because you do not let go of yourself. You do no wait for fulfilment, but brace yourself for failure."
3. "If [the photographer] is to fit himself self-effacingly into the creative process, the practice of the art must have the way smoothed for it. For if, in his self-immersion, he saw himself faced with a situation into which he could not leap instinctively, he would first have to bring it into consciousness."
If these ideas interest you, then this book is for you. It is a pleasing and thought-provoking little book, written in a conversational manner lacking the overcomplicated lingo and "isms" of most philosophical and spiritual texts.
 This is not a book on kyudo. November 22, 2007
roger (europe)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is not a book on kyudo. As Earl Hartman says in another review, Herrigel did have little contact with kyudo in Japan (3-4 years). This book could be about many interesting things (zen, misticism, ...), but I don't know of them. But it's not a book on Kyudo. It seems more a book on Herrigel himself.
I don't says this is the worst book someone can read if is interested on kyudo. Last years saw apearing one or two terrible book's with kyudo in title.
Should be read with precaution and specially doesn't substitute pratice and guidance from a teacher or a master. Many persons come to kyudo allready knowing this book but after a few sessions they give up. and many of them continue to claim that they know about kyudo only by reading this book.
Zen in practice November 7, 2007
Simon Wiley (San Francisco, CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
For me this book is first and foremost about Zen. Students of Japanese archery can come to it to take their craft to another level but for me the archery is just a mantle for the teachings to sit on. I've been studying Zen for ten years or so, and have read many great works on the subject. This book was a gentle reminder, ushering me back onto the path. It's wisdom can be applied to almost anything. For a more in depth look at some of the discussions in this book, see Suzuki's Zen and Japanese Culture.
One reviewer, with whom I disagree, says that this book is not a valid source of Zen because the master archer in the book had never "studied" Zen. I think he came in touch with the Zen Mind through his art. The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng had never "studied" Zen either and came by his enlightenment through living life and carrying fire wood. "Studying" Zen, in terms of following the rituals of an institution, can be formative but is not necessary. Zenmind existed long before the Zen religion.
So whether you're studying Japanese Archery or looking to deepen your awareness of your own art (I study painting, music and Tai Chi), this book can help if you're ready for it.
 wonderful insight... August 8, 2007
Kerry O. Burns
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
there's an old adage in the acting world..'don't give a performance, let the performance give you'..so what does that have to do with this book? well, I read this wonderful book a few years back when I was studying acting in NYC and I really worked hard at incorporating some Zen technique into my acting process..it wasn't easy..but I stuck with it and I feel as if I reached a different level consciousness and ability with my craft. This book is a wonderful teacher for the ways of Zen and incorporating those lessons into real life events not just archery.
|
|
|
. | |
