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Eugen Herrigel

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Zen in the Art of Archery Kindle Edition

by Eugen Herrigel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 2,005 ratings

in Archery

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Zen in the Art of Archery, a classic text on Eastern philosophy, is a beautiful and immensely informative narrative of one man's Zen experience. Eugen Herrigel, a German philosopher in Tokyo, began studying archery as a means of better comprehending Zen Buddhism. This is the story of how he overcame his first inhibitions and began to feel his way toward new realities and ways of seeing throughout his six years as a student of one of Japan's great kyudo (archery) masters.

Print length

92 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

GED Books
Publication date

May 13, 2022
File size

381 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eugen Herrigel (1884-1955), a German professor who taught philosophy at the University of Tokyo, penetrated deeply and personally into the theory and practice of Zen Buddhism. In endeavoring to become a Zen mystic, he experienced the rigorous discipline of training with a Zen Master for six years.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“In this wonderful . . . and illuminating account . . . the Western reader will find a more familiar manner of dealing with what very often must seem to be a strange and somewhat unapproachable Eastern experience.” —from the introduction by Daisetz T. Suzuki --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B1DKH7JK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ GED Books (May 13, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 13, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 381 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 92 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1434104699

Best Sellers Rank: #59,487 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Archery (Kindle Store)
- #5 in Two-Hour Sports & Outdoors Short Reads
- #22 in Two-Hour Self-Help Short Reads

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4.5 2,005 ratings

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DPC

Thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023

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Read carefully. An older writing that requires attention to fully comprehend.
Archery is used only to describe the attainment of Zen. I was able to gain plenty of insight and improve my acting and improvisation performance.

One person found this helpful

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Suhao Duan

A confusing read, not sure if I learned anything

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2023

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The language in this book is hard to understand. It is full of mystics and riddles. I know every word, but when they were put together by the author, it doesn’t make sense.
I don’t know if this was caused by translation since the original book was written in German. Or, the writer wrote it in this way on purpose to make people scratch their head.

2 people found this helpful

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K. Sozay

revelatory for the musician

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2013

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I know this book has been on the recommended reading lists of most musicians for a long time, but I finally undertook to read it this year. It happened to be at a time when I was about to start a run of a Rossini opera, which is a very particular musical style requiring the players to play on the front of the beat with extremely precise articulation and unity (musicians are called upon to be able to control their timing by as little as one millisecond), and hold their focus for the duration of nearly three hours. This can sometimes lead to a lot of physical tension, exhaustion, and mistakes, or result in a less enthusiastic performance from the group as the task seems insurmountable. Learning from this book the technique of setting up your shot and it "happens" at the right time, I was able to shift my focus forward to setting up each note and "letting it happen" at the right time on the front of the beat. For thousands and thousands of short notes that each had to be (in theory, at least) precisely placed over the numerous performances, I found the sum of all my training and 35 year performing career comes down to putting it all on THIS eighth note, setting it up to do its part in telling the story. When I dedicated myself to it, I found I could hear a lot more of what my colleagues were playing, and be much more reliable to them, and I felt relaxed and free from worry. Large-scale performances are a pretty cool exercise in group dynamics, and there is a delightful synergy in dozens of people coming together to tell a story. Different than, but remarkably like, practitioners of kyudo coming in from all different careers and walks in life, and reaching new heights of personal achievement through an ancient form of archery.

21 people found this helpful

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"nsmom"

Just great

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2023

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The book came in great condition and earlier than expected. No markings and hardly any wear. Very happy with the service and highly recommend the seller.

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A Universal Tale

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2005

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My martial arts instructor has many books that he allows his students to take out. Some of them he recommends, others he recommends quite strongly. ZEN IN THE ART OF ARCHERY, however, is the only book which he actually handed out to every member of the advanced class. Clearly there is something he wants us to know.

The book revolves around Herrigel's attempt to understand Zen through the practice of kyudo (Japanese archery). Although I am no expert in either Zen or kyudo, I think he does a pretty good job. The concepts that Herrigel communicates to the reader are extremely esoteric and I found them easy to grasp through this slim volume. However, reading the book solely as a story about one person's search for Zen is to read the book far too narrowly.

The concepts that Herrigel addresses are universal concepts. They are not strictly religious (Zen), martial (kyudo) or even Asian (Japanese). Any substantial activity, be it learning kyudo, becoming a chess grandmaster or practicing to become a classical pianist, requires one to reach beyond psychological and internal barriers. This is what should be taken from this book.

During Herrigel's study, he focused not on the target, but on himself as the archer. The struggle was both an internal one, including physical aspects such as breathing properly and relaxing, as well as a refocusing of his mind, such as NOT focusing on the ultimate destination of the arrows he was shooting. The transcendence was within Herrigel himself.

This lesson is applicable to numerous situations across cultures and across activities. ZEN IN THE ART OF ARCHERY provides a good example of this phenomenon but not the only possible example. Read more broadly, this book provides anyone undertaking a long and arduous activity a simple framework for reaching beyond those plateaus that we all frustratingly find ourselves on from time to time. I recommend it on that basis.

30 people found this helpful

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Jeff Lacy

I retain some of this

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2023

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Spiritual teaching and understanding that requires long, patient, rigorous learning. Now the Zen of trumpet playing. Repeating exercises, expanding range, performing the ritual to play correctly, mastering the craft, the art. Playing with a quiet mind, worrying no longer on the how, but letting go the intellect and playing from the heart, the soul, the mysterious muscle memory, performing without worry, without the critical voice interfering, finding the center in oneself.

3 people found this helpful

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Is this even a true story?

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2021

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A short, concise autobiography about German professor and would-be mystic Eugen Herrigel who travels to Japan and takes up Japanese Archery in a quest to understand Zen. The good thing about this book is that it is short and sweet and communicates Zen simply. But I'm very skeptical as to whether some of the events in this book took place as written. Herrigal seemed to have no trouble casually moving to Japan for five years; or understanding extremely vague and complex Buddhist ideas through conversation with his Master (who must have spoken remarkably good German?); and in one passage the Master's abilities seem superhuman. Did all of this really happen? If so, perhaps 80-ish pages is too short, actually.

The legacy of this book is tainted by the fact that Herrigel was a staunch supporter of the Nazi Party. How can a mind that has been liberated by Zen also subscribe to the Nazi ideology? The two seem incompatible--in fact, any concrete ideology seems incompatible with Zen. Is this really just a book on muscle memory and repetition after all?

30 people found this helpful

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Kindle-Kunde

worth reading

Reviewed in Germany on September 1, 2023

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Pretty good storytelling. Nice metaphor’s to understand the basics of zen and good question’s to take for our own hero’s journey.But I expected some practical meditation ideas to implement in daily life. All in all really good book. Recommend to read it

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ジョブズが愛した「禅」の神髄

Reviewed in Japan on May 30, 2023

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よく、「禅」は宗教か？という議論が起こるが、これは、ジュダイのフォースとしての「禅」を語ったもの。一番近いのが、中島敦の「名人伝」。しかし、方法論が書いてあるわけではない。奥義はやはり名人に弟子入りするしか手に入れられないのかもしれない。しかし、それでも、その道への展望をかいま見競ることにこの書の価値はある。

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Y Maheshwary

Great book.

Reviewed in India on September 3, 2023

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This is a book for everyone. Everyone must read the book in their lifetime. It talks about the importance of the process. This is the key.

wet behind the ears

Not the book I once read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2023

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I read a book of the same name, though I cannot remember the author. It was an account of a gold medalist that decided to try the zen approach and was a very engaging read. This did not.

Frank Bierbrauer

Zen as it is in doing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2007

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The task Professor Herrigel set himself was to experience true Zen, he did this without realising that abandonment of self was a primary objective. In other words the practice or the decision to undertake anything very much is a step into the unknown even when the person involved never considers the possibility of his very self undergoing radical change, somehow one believes "I" will always remain afterwards. Little by little Herrigel underwent powerful changes in his Zen experience which literally must be undertaken in an authentic way i.e. by the sort of practice having no limits or bounds, a wholehearted approach somewhat alien to most westerners. The book is an honest and clear account of his experience in Japan and is somewhat akin to that of Jan Whilhelm van de Wetering in "The Empty Mirror", humourous experiences such as when the master wishes to find out more about what he does and in this way try to understand why the practice of archery is so difficult for him : exclaiming after he reads a philosophy book that "no wonder you have so much difficulty", adds to the humanity of the story. Although a small book it is rich in personal experience and a treasure which can be read again and again to revitalise one's own practice. It is also far more readable than his other books which are full of difficult philosophical concepts and lack the depth of humanity shown in this one. The book stresses what must be said again and again, Zen is about doing rather than knowing (in the conventional sense) and Herrigel realises that only in the practice of Zen, rather than just reading about it, can it be truly "known". He also demonstrates the great challenges to be faced in this practice especially as regards the conflicts which arise between the "artless art", Zen, which is free of thought and that of his profession which is never free of the constricting domain of thought. A superb book which never fails to inspire.

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