Customer Reviews

Zen Bow, Zen Arrow: The Life and Teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Archery Master from "Zen in the Art of Archery"

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Informative, readable and inspiring account of Kenzo's life as well as an excellent anthology of his actual teachings. I loved John Stevens' way of explaining complex Zen terms in simple English: e.g., kensho - "see your nature" or "look into your nature;" jobutsu - "become Buddha;" and the ultimate Zen experience, satori, which Stevens explains means literally "remove distinctions," and which he, along with many others, translates as "enlightenment." This is great stuff for anyone interested in Japanese language and culture as well as providing a springboard for deeper investigations of Zen, of archery as a form of "practice" and of martial arts in general. Includes detailed notes on sources and an excellent bibliography. Highly recommended.

Don't miss this book if you are interested in "Zen in the Art of Archery" and "The Method of Zen" by Eugen Herrigel.
The teaching of Awa is a pearl of wisdom.

John Stevens produces another one of his find vignettes of prominent Japanese martial artists. The field of Kyudo is not well known in the U.S. and anything that can be done to remedy that should be. I believe this book is best read alongside Herrigel's "Zen and the Art of Archery."

interesting and informative, but a little short for the money. If you read "zen in the art of archery" by eugene herrigel and didn't hear enough about awa kenzo, this book will give you what you want: it presents a limited biography and then gives some of his ( most important?) sayings and a few pictures of him with his bow. It got 4 out of 5 stars because it cost 12.95 list price plus shipping and is 101 pages long. Still a great read if you are interested in zen archery.

a small book but diamonds are small-as is the brief instant of satori. a wonderful history of the great Zen archer Awa Kenzo with a treasure of gems of wisdom from his teachings: statements, aphorisms, koans and haiku.
whether you are seeking thru t'ai chi, target shooting or archery, the wisdom here will guide you in your practice.

I had read Zen and the Art of Archery a long time ago and decided to check out this book. Definitely worth my time. A lot of great words of wisdom from Awa Kenzo are presented for absorption. Much of what is said in this book can be incorporated in to daily life. Definitely a book worth having if you like to have a text you can quickly pick up and read some powerful statements to keep you on the path.

Zen Bow, Zen Arrow is a different kind of hunting book for most people. To hunt for and find an understanding of self and this life we live is, perhaps, the greatest adventure of all.