The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master (Paperback)

by Takuan Soho (Author) "The term ignorance means the absence of enlightenment..." (more)
Key Phrases: immovable wisdom, own martial art, mysterious ability, Latent Cause, External Cause, Manifest Effect (more...)

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


Product Description
So succinct are the author's insights that these writings have outlasted the dissolution of the samurai class to come down to the present and be read for guidance and inspiration by the captains of business and industry, as well as those devoted to the practice of the martial arts in their modern form.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (March 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087011851X
• ISBN-13: 978-0870118517
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #251,107 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Way of the Warrior Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 68 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

34 of 35 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

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.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.