Zen in the Art of Archery

Rating:
Summary: This will make your commute tolerable!
Review: If one desires to pursue the path of enlightenment under Zen, one must select as a vehicle one of the Zen arts - archery, swordsmanship, brush-and-ink, the tea ceremony or flower arranging. Eugen (pronounced OI-gen) chronicles his struggle to overcome his "much too willful will" and master the bow. This interesting story is very moving, educational and inspiring, while never becoming heavy as it easily could have under less skillful authorship.

The ultimate challenge Eugen faces ends up being the smooth release of the bowstring and arrow without conscious intent, "like the ripe fruit falls from the tree", "like a baby's hand releases one object to grasp another", "like the bamboo leaf slowly bends under the weight of the snow, then releases the clump of snow without thought". Eugen, during a summer sabbatical, develops a "technique" that he believes will solve this problem and nearly gets himself thrown out of the program for "offending the Spirit of Zen". There is also an interesting account of an after-hours meeting where his teacher gives an amazing demonstration of quiet mastery in order to raise Eugen's morale and level of understanding.

I had read the book several times and decided to get the tape to listen to while driving. Ralph Blum's sonorous voice is perfect for the reading and I enjoyed listening to the book as much or more than reading it. There is much that this presentation has to offer and its message will live in your heart for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: "Be the Ball"
Review: Immensely popular and with a cult like following, this work is worthwhile if read with a grain of salt [sic?: rice]. Frequently assigned reading to students of the arts (pick one); I disagree with most of it.

With Zen in the Art of Archery Eugen Herrigel has secured his place among the great allegorical philosopher/comedians. Chevy Chase is in good company. Artists, as much as art, must be understood in perspective. Unlike Eugen Herrigel, Chevy Chase and his genre did not spend most of their adult life teaching philosophy in Tokyo between the wars. Professor Herrigel (or "Master" Herrigel as I am sure he would prefer) was German, and it is through a mid-nineteenth-century western perspective that he attempts to open our minds to a greater understanding of Zen Buddhism. Like other allegorical philosopher/comedians he has chosen sport as a metaphor to hasten our understanding. Two generations later Chevy Chase would do the same with golf. Golf was not popular in Japan between the wars so Professor Herrigel was faced with the limited choices of floral arrangement or archery as his allegorical theme. As the title to the book suggests: he chose archery. (His wife chose floral arrangement, but gender distinctions were more predictable between the wars.)

Archery has been around for at least 15,000 years. Mankind utilized it to hunt and fish with and to also kill other human beings with in the practice of that most exalted art form: warfare. But archery it is and Professor Herrigel utilizes the synthesis of archer-bow-arrow-target as an effective literary device by which to explain essential principles of Zen Buddhism and how one can, by seemingly indirect paths, come to be one with the universe. Zen in the Art of Archery was published in 1953 and unfortunately Professor Herrigel reached the highest state of consciousness conventionally accepted in western society in 1955 when he died at the age of 71. His death so soon after the publication of this work probably denied us its logical sequel based upon his experiences during the war years following his return to Germany after years abroad in Japan. It might have been called Zen in the Art of Rocketry. ("As the ascending V-2 rocket approaches the zenith of its arching ballistic course over the gently lapping waves of the English Channel, the minds of the rocket scientists, warhead manufacturers and children at play in Coventry at once become one and the rocket is thus involuntarily compelled to its target as if a greater force were at play.")

The author "for the sake of comparison," concludes the book by "cast[ing] a glance at another of these arts, whose martial significance even under present conditions cannot be denied: the art of swordsmanship." [p. 68] Cannot be denied? Tell every child who has seen Star Wars that it really is true that the way to total consciousness is to engage in mortal combat and simply "let The Force be with you."

My quarrel with Professor Herrigel is obviously with his choice of metaphor and not his message. To paraphrase one World War II fighter pilot, the medium could have been "kinder and gentler." Such was the comparative message I took from the movie Caddie Shack. Was not Ty Webb's (Chevy Chase) masterful instruction to the young caddie precisely what Professor Herrigel teaches us: "Be the ball."

The Zen Master teaches us, or so we are informed, that before we even pick up a bow (and by extension this is equally true of a club, bat, pen, brush or clump of clay), we must learn to breath properly. Now this is interesting. Breath control is critical to many undertakings: all sports, both the act of procreation and childbirth itself, oration and song, meditative thought and scuba diving -- just to name a few. Breathing, if the brain is functioning properly, is an involuntary act. Breathing occurs in both the conscious and unconscious state. Stresses in the higher brain functions will almost always cause disturbances in breathing patterns. (Anxiety, fear, or worry for instance will cause suppression of normal breathing, changing its patterns and manifesting itself in the form of frequent sighs or hypertension.) Stresses in the lower brain functions will cause similar disturbances, often with more serious consequences. (Blunt trauma, toxic drugs and organic brain disease will often repress breathing altogether.) So breathing is important and it is important that before the painter paints, the writer writes, the foul shooter shoots, or the pilot lands, it is best to stop banging one's head against the wall, breath naturally (really naturally), and try to "unabsorb" oneself from everything except the task at hand. (Mastering breath control was invaluable to the Kamikaze pilots -- an outgrowth of the ancient Samurai -- of World War II. If the pilots became gripped with fear, they would often hyperventilate and either overshoot their target or crash into the sea before their predestined evaporation into their holy part of the "Great Doctrine.")

The Zen Master teaches us that we are surprised by the strength of the grip of the infant to whom we offer our extended finger (this is undoubtedly true in not only eastern culture and western culture but all cultures in between, beneath and above), and we are struck by the inexplicable effortless of the baby's release, which is only possible because the baby does not think, it simply does. So it is with many athletic endeavors and we are taught thusly: relax your grip and let the club, bat, racket or what-have-you, do the work. But this grip thing attaches too much importance in the archer-bow-arrow-target synthesis to the bow and arrow components. It is sort of hyperbolic buck passing to the instruments themselves. (Have you ever seen a frustrated tennis player throw a racket to the ground as if it was the rackets fault?) This "be the ball" stuff cannot be understood in serial parts; the whole literally is greater than the sum of the parts.

Rating:
Summary: Read with a grain of salt
Review: In "Zen Combat" author Jay Gluck states that Herrigel went on to become a fervent Nazi. If true (I lack the inclination to research this), it speaks poorly of the quality of his kyudo instruction. Decide for yourself.

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Summary: This book has created a myth
Review: It is absolutely useless for anyone seeking an understanding of the history and culture of Zen Buddhism. The author went to Japan with an apriori agenda, found an instructor who was not a Zen master, and communicated ineffectively with his instructor. On the basis of these miscommunications, and the authors own agenda, he developed an elaborate and fabulous misinterpretation of everything he was exposed to. Do not waste your time. It only propagates the myth. The truth of this story is out there. Seek and find. After seeing the reactions of some readers who STILL seem unable to ascertain the "truth" of this book, and continue to wander aimlessly in Samsara, here is a link to a Japanese scholar who has written a very good paper on the origins of this misleading work of [...]

Rating:
Summary: Tops!!!
Review: It took a moment to finish reading, but years to finally understand and feel the teaching of this book. Great for actors or anyone in the creative arts. The audio tapes are just as good as the read (the reader has a soothing voice especially matched to this type of book). Highly recommended to all!

Rating:
Summary: It was fantastic go and buy it and the rest, I am
Review: It was really goo

Rating:
Summary: A different view
Review: Living in Japan for a very long time and practicing Aikido, I was presented the book, which is a standard work in Zen in Japan by an old Japanese man. I think the book which I read in the original German language version puts the essence of Zen in a few words. I do not agree with the righteous comments of reader jbcave. And as to reader randmeister, if you accuse someone of being a nazi, even indirectly, you should at least put in the effort to check the records, otherwise your are just a rumor monger. By the way in 1953 when the boo
k was published, Germany was already firmly in the hands of American culture and politics.

Rating:
Summary: great, great book!
Review: My ballet teacher made me read this book to improve my dancing. It was an incredible help! I recommend it to anyone in dance or athletics.

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Summary: A Universal Tale
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: the righteous reader cannot miss this book
Review: Read this book in a quiet room, keep a pad and pencil handy. You're mining for jewels with a teaspoon, sift thru everything carefully.