Rating: 
Summary: Herrigel Had No Clue
Review: "Zen In the Art of Archery" is, hands down, the absolute worst book one could possibly read if, by reading it, one hopes to get a clear understanding of what kyudo is.I am the translator of the article "The Myth of Zen in the Art of Archery" by professor Yamada Shoji, mentioned upthread by another reviewer. Professor Yamada is an experienced kyudo practitoner. I also have been practicing kyudo for 30 years, 11 of them in Japan under the tutelage of some of the most senior instructors in Japan. To put it bluntly, Herrigel got everything, and I mean everything, wrong. He himself only practiced kyudo for three years, if his translator Sozo Komachiya is to be believed (he started in 1926 and returned to Germany in 1929). He spoke no Japanese. He was himself a mystic (or he wanted to be one, anyway) intent on understanding Zen, not archery, and he had very definite pre-formed ideas about what he was looking for and what he believed Zen, and, by extension kyudo, to be. Given such a situation, the impending disaster was a forgone conclusion. Even with the best instruction he would not have understood kyudo. His book is very seductive, filled as it is with tantalizing mystical stories about a seeker on the road to "enlightenment". So, it will appeal to romantics who have no experience in either Zen or kyudo, and it has been my experience that the book indeed appeals primarily to such people. It is instructive to note that those people who have experience in either discipline are quick to point out how thoroughly Herrigel bollixed it up. I began kyudo under the influence of his book, and it was only after many years that I fully realized exactly how pernicious that influence was. I strongly urge those people who are interested in kyudo to never read it or only to read it after they have been practicing kyudo for a long time under competent instruction. To read it with the intent of forming an informed opinion of kyudo is not only inadvisable, it is positively dangerous. Read "Kyudo: The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery" by Onuma and DeProspero instead. It is as good an explanation of kyudo as Herrigel's book is a bad one.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read...
Review: ...for anyone looking to exel in athletics, or anything for that matter. Has done wonders for my performance in the martial arts.
Rating:
Summary: a classic study of a Westerner learning Zen
Review: This brief book (81 pages) can be read in an hour or two, but it has become a classic in the literature about Zen, the inspiration for "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and other works.In the 1950s, German philosopher Eugen Herrigel traveled to Japan, studied under Buddhist monks, and wrote about the experience of a Westerner trying to comprehend Zen Buddhism. Herrigel detailed his archery training at the hands of Buddhist monks, of not being allowed to draw a bow for months and months, and finally, in a scene worthy of a Hollywood movie, of being shown a demonstration of incredible archery skill by a monk in the dead of night.
Rating:
Summary: a classic study of a Westerner learning Zen
Review: This brief book (81 pages) can be read in an hour or two, but it has become a classic in the literature about Zen, the inspiration for "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and other works.
In the 1950s, German philosopher Eugen Herrigel traveled to Japan, studied under Buddhist monks, and wrote about the experience of a Westerner trying to comprehend Zen Buddhism.
Herrigel detailed his archery training at the hands of Buddhist monks, of not being allowed to draw a bow for months and months, and finally, in a scene worthy of a Hollywood movie, of being shown a demonstration of incredible archery skill by a monk in the dead of night.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: A good explanation of Zen, about letting the unconscious mind override the conscious mind. I sympathize with the author complaining to the teacher, "But it's taking so long!" It took years for him to become a Zen master in archery. I think a good, if oblique, companion piece to this book is THE USER ILLUSION, that explains how the mind works in a conciousness-vs.-unconsciousness way. We have tens of thousand of bytes of information entering our brains every second, but our consciousness only registers up to only 30 bytes! That's a lot of information being absorbed by our subconscious! What the Zen discipline does is try to open up the mind to working with all those subconscious bytes. The week I write this (Aug. 23, 2000) the "New Yorker" has a good article by Malcolm Gladwell about when pro athletes choke. Basically their conscious minds take over too much. I'd read that article, too. Anyway, this book is very readable, very accessible, and makes me feel like a spiritual wienie since I'm so far beneath such mastery of my own mind!
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: A good explanation of Zen, about letting the unconscious mind override the conscious mind. I sympathize with the author complaining to the teacher, "But it's taking so long!" It took years for him to become a Zen master in archery. I think a good, if oblique, companion piece to this book is THE USER ILLUSION, that explains how the mind works in a conciousness-vs.-unconsciousness way. We have tens of thousand of bytes of information entering our brains every second, but our consciousness only registers up to only 30 bytes! That's a lot of information being absorbed by our subconscious! What the Zen discipline does is try to open up the mind to working with all those subconscious bytes. The week I write this (Aug. 23, 2000) the "New Yorker" has a good article by Malcolm Gladwell about when pro athletes choke. Basically their conscious minds take over too much. I'd read that article, too. Anyway, this book is very readable, very accessible, and makes me feel like a spiritual wienie since I'm so far beneath such mastery of my own mind!
Rating:
Summary: wonderful!
Review: An excellent book, I've never read such a peaceful and understanding book in my life. A definate must have.
Rating: 
Summary: Achieving your goal without effort (and a quick read too!)
Review: An excellent introduction to Eastern philosophy, if not for the fact that the book is a novella in its length and therefor easy to focus on. Many books attempt to express the art of Zen in everyday tasks, but do so through a perspective that roots itself in the West and not the East. Herrigel does not attempt to bring Zen to the reader. We are brought to it without our knowing, much like the arrow which finds its target. The author is able to transport the reader to a Japanese archery range through prose that places the bow in one's hand and mind. The descriptions are powerful, yet subtle. You see the target. You can feel the taught string yearning to be set free from your grasp and let fly the arrow to its home. Herrigel translates Zen philosophy into the actions of your hands, that are linked to your mind, that is linked to arrow, that is linked to the target, and back again. It is this innocuous connection to everything outside the body that Herrigel aptly writes in a way that almost indirectly explains what Westerners have attempted to define in innumerous ways, but never quite understood.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthy book, but misrepresents both Zen Buddhism & Kyudo.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A solid, if skimpy, introduction to Zen living
Review: Eugen Herrigel was not a Zen master- he was a German philosopher who came to Japan seeking spiritual experience through the "mysterious" practices of Zen.
What he finds is suprisingly un-mysterious, simple- and- abundantly practical.
In this little volume, Herrigel talks about how Zen is not solely a contemplative discipline, but the core of a "way of doing"- a way of living in the world, a way of practicing an art (in this case, archery), and an integral way of combining life in the world with spiritual practice. Herrigel, upon arriving in Japan, undertakes the study of Kyudo- Japanese Archery- under a master, who explains to him both the practical and spiritual principles of his archery style. The book takes one through Herrigel's practice, his insights, and finally his tests for mastership.
A good book, if a bit thin (a bit over 100 pages) and Herrigel's romanticism and use of western terms might put off some readers, but overall a quality presentation of one westerner's experience with Kyudo.
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