The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman (The Way of the Warrior Series) [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Takuan Soho (Author), William Scott Wilson (Translator)

Book Description

Series: The Way of the Warrior Series | Publication Date: January 17, 2003

In a life-and-death situation of being sword-tip to sword-tip with the enemy, where should the swordsman put his mind?

This is the first question posed in the first of three essays written by a Zen master for the guidance of samurai swordsmen. Among the other questions that arise are the difference between the right mind and the confused mind, what makes life precious, the nature of right-mindedness, the Buddhist paradigm of form and consciousness, and what distinguishes the True Mind. So succinct are the author's insights that these writings have outlasted the dissolution of the samurai class to come down to the present as sources of guidance and inspiration for captains of business and industry, as well as those devoted to the practice of the martial arts in their modern forms.

The history of the sword in Japan goes back to antiquity. Zen and its meditative practices also have a long history, but it was not until the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns, beginning in the early 1600s, that the techniques of swordsmanship fused with the spirit of Zen. And if one man can be said to have been the prime mover in this phenomenon, it was none other than Takuan Soho, confidant and religious instructor to an emperor, to a great sword master, and to the heads of the most important sword schools of the time.

Takuan's meditations on the sword in the essays presented here are classics of Zen thinking.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"All of the essays aim at helping the individual know himself and in helping him to embrace the art of life." -The Japan Times

"Takuan's writing is light on sword-handling and heavy on the spiritual side." -Asahi Evening News

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 142 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha USA; Gift edition edition (January 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770029470
• ISBN-13: 978-4770029478
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those seeking The Way, this book is great, July 10, 2001

By 

LANCE R LINDLEY "hagakure" (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master (The Way of the Warrior Series) (Paperback)

If you are a martial artist or Zen student seeking new ways of understanding the "enlightenment" of mastering an art, then this book can offer different angles from which to think about your practice. It can help you acknowledge the frustrations you feel as you reach that plateau where the harder you try the worse you perform, and it can give you the encouragement to get beyond that.

If, on the other hand, you're not into Zen texts, this book will bore you into a coma.

I found most enlightening Takuan's remarks on the stages of learning a skill, each with its own challenges; from the beginner struggling to teach his muscles the postures and movements, through the sophomore trying to "unstick" his mind from such details and focus on strategy, to the master who gives his actions no more thought than an adult gives standing up and walking across the room. These apply not only to martial arts, but to any activity that requires both physical skill and tactical thinking, from swordfighting to tennis, judo to golf.

The book is in three sections, which are actually translations of three letters written by Takuan to Yagyu Munenori. If you read this book, you should also read The Sword and the Mind, by Yagyu Munenori; they could almost be considered companion texts. Both have their interesting sections and their obtuse, no-longer-apparently relevant sections; and both at their most helpful address how to approach your practice and therefore your life.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT, July 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master (The Way of the Warrior Series) (Paperback)

I have been involved with the martial arts for over 25 years. Student, instructor, swordsman. I consider this book a reference tool and a source of inspiritation. My copy is worn and tattered, what more can I say.

I am sure that Musashi valued his friendship with the author. The insights into human nature and self improvement are timeless.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unexplicated work of profound simplicity, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master (The Way of the Warrior Series) (Paperback)

Takuan's voice in this work provides resonance for scholars and martial artists alike. For avid readers of the Zen tradition, this book offers both contrast and compliment to Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. Most intersting I thought was his disticntion between the "mind of principle" and the "mind of technique". It stimulates meditation on our own day-to-day quality of thought and action.