Zen in the Art of Archery: Training the Mind and Body to Become One

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All right doing, is accomplished only in a state of true selflessness, in which the doer cannot be present any longer as “himself”. Only the spirit is present. The right art," cried the Master, "is purposeless, aimless! The more obstinately you try to learn how to shoot the arrow for the sake of hitting the goal, the less you will succeed in the one and the further the other will recede. What stands in your way is that you have a much too willful will. You think that what you do not do yourself does not happen.” This book comes highly recommended by personages as disparate as Mike Tyson and Norman Mailer (actually, Tyson and Mailer might not be all that different). Wary of Western appropriations of Eastern arts and mysteries, I put off reading this book for some time.

Zen in the Art of Archery - Penguin Random House

You have described only too well," replied the Master, "where the difficulty lies...The right shot at the right moment does not come because you do not let go of yourself. You...brace yourself for failure. So long as that is so, you have no choice but to call forth something yourself that ought to happen independently of you, and so long as you call it forth your hand will not open in the right way--like the hand of a child.”It is also one of the more distinctively Japanese cultural expressions, a mark of a society closed off for hundreds of years. The image of formal kyudoka, with their long asymmetric bows in a bare hall, is one of the most iconic martial arts traditions. Dhyana Buddhism, which is known in Japan as “Zen” and is not speculation at all but immediate experience of what, as the bottomless ground of Being, cannot be apprehended by intellectual means. The shot is a different story. To loose the shot, one must release effortlessly, unconsciously, like a baby grabbing a finger only then to release and reach for something else. If you release with your fingers or your shoulder, you cannot find the perfect shot as you have not let go of yourself. You do not wait for fulfillment but wait for failure. What stands in your way is that you have too much willful will. You think that what you do not do yourself does not happen. Master archers say with the upper end of the bow the archer pierces the sky. With the bottom end, as though attached by a string, hangs the earth. For purposeful and violent people the rip of the thread becomes final, and they are left in the awful center between heaven and earth. When we face the target, it is like a mirror that reflects our heart. We must confront ourselves in this mirror.” – Takeuchi Masakuni I must only warn you of one thing. You have become a different person in the course of these years. For this is what the art of archery means: a profound and far-reaching contest of the archer within himself."

Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, R. Hull

Most kyudo equipment is sourced directly from Japan. The most distinctive item is the asymmetric yumi bow, usually taller than the archer, and the best of which are made of bamboo. In which case this book is a German response to a Japanese response to a European fantasy of a mythic past. But that's the nature of cultural history I guess, the dream of having been a butterfly dreaming that one was human more important than what may not have been. I failed to see a genuine learning in the voice of the author. It was almost caricaturish. Lately I have also become very sensitive to cultural appropriation, and I no longer enjoy reading books on Yog that are written by someone who can't read Sanskrit, or a book on Zen by someone who doesn't understand Japanese language. What stands in your way is that you have a much too willful will. You think that what you do not do yourself does not happen.” The drawing of the bow and the skill of individual archers have been romanticised throughout history. But to watch kyudo for yourself is to witness a sport embodying unsurpassed elegance and ritual. What on the surface seems to be an essential simplicity is anything but.The meditative repose in which he performs them gives him that vital loosening and equability of all his powers, that collectedness and presence of mind, without which no right work can be done" Like the beginner, the swordmaster is fearless, but, unlike him, he grows daily less and less accessible to fear." The painter’s instructions might be: spend ten years observing bamboos, become a bamboo yourself, then forget everything and paint. The more he tries to make the brilliance of his swordplay dependent on his own reflection, on the conscious utilization of his skill, on his fighting experience and tactics, the more he inhibits the free 'working of the heart'"

Kyudo, the way of the bow and the pursuit of Zen in archery Kyudo, the way of the bow and the pursuit of Zen in archery

In the end, the pupil no longer knows which of the two – mind or hand – was responsible for the work. Herrigel, Eugen (January 26, 1999). Zen in the Art of Archery (Later Printinged.). Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0375705090.

Kyudo around the world

Grading might happen once or twice a year, and there is a programme of competitions and events around the world. Books with Master and Pupil theme always work for me. I can hear all the variations of this myth and enjoy them. Again and again. The title "Zen in the Art of Archery" most likely inspired the titles of many other works, either directly or indirectly. Foremost among these is Robert Pirsig's 1974 book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. More than 200 works have been created with similar titles, including Ray Bradbury's 1990 book Zen in the Art of Writing, as well as Zen and the Art of Poker, Zen and the Art of Knitting, Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating, and so on. Before all doing and creating, before ever he begins to devote and adjust himself to his task, the artist summons forth this presence of mind and makes sure of it through practice.

Quotes From Zen in the Art of Archery | Independent Society Quotes From Zen in the Art of Archery | Independent Society

Since Herrigal was over forty when he started his archery studies, we can see this a mid-life crisis book - you've heard of buying the motorbike, the sport's car or if you can afford it - a divorce and a disgracefully younger wife, but let us add Archery to the list as an attempt to recapture the illusion of lost youth etc, etc.The story goes something like this: Eugen Herrigel, a German teaching and living in Japan, set out to understand the meaning of Zen. Realizing it cannot be studied but only experienced, he decided to learn about it through the practice of one of the arts “touched” by Zen, Kyudo (Japanese archery). Out of his experiences came the book Zen in the Art of Archery.