Zen And The Art Of Archery

[boo radley]

On a whim, while my wife was shopping at the dreaded mall, I walked over to Barnes and Noble, asked the saleslady if they had "Zen and the Art of Archery," and damned if they didn't.

Bought it, read it -- it's very short -- and found it a little disturbing. It's a fascinating story, but I'm struck by the sense that there aren't shortcuts -- a Master's students practice in an extremely rigid manner for years and years. And, the notion of "learning some Zen," to quiet a racing mind and nerves at an archery match, or specifically at L.A.M.R, to ensure a good performance, is probably *not* Zen, no?

[AikiDale]

Enlightenment is instantaneous. Some take longer than others to prepare themselves for instantaneous....

[zhunter]

Merlin is the archery man!!!!

[Rikarin]

I love that book! I see shooting quite same as how things are explained in that book.

That's been said, that book was written quite a long ago and how things are taught in Japan back then was VERY VERY rigid. Especially traditional art like that are taught in a way "see and do" only. No varbal instructions and all a pupil can do is to watch your master and try&error. On top of that, for some reason, how to clean the dojo, to bow, to talk to master, to clean your equipment etc. were/are supposed to be crucial to your learning. Ok, I can accept that but, like, if you want to be a swordsmith and become apprantece, for the first 3 years all you do is clean, cook, chop wood, prepare and watch. I mean for 3 years! Supposed "to eliminate weak and test how much one really want to be a swordsmith"...

I'm Japanese and all, I'd say f*&k that. Japanese society praise masochists and that mentaity and tradition got all mixed up sometimes.

[benos]

And, the notion of "learning some Zen," to quiet a racing mind and nerves at an archery match, or specifically at L.A.M.R, to ensure a good performance, is probably *not* Zen, no?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"Zen" can be confusing, especially if you think or believe that some things are Zen and some things are not Zen.

From Answers.com - Zen, which has been in English since 1727, is the Japanese pronunciation of Chinese chán, “quietude.” Chán comes from Pali jh?nam?, from Sanskrit dhy?nam, “meditation,” from the Sanskrit root dhy?–, dh?–, “to see, observe.”

Zen - at it's simplest level of understanding - means to be aware or to observe. If you are just observing, then you are not "using" observation to "do" anything. You are just observing. It may be difficult, however, to understand what it really means to "just observe." I think this is mostly due to the fact that we have not been educated as to the value of remaining aware, so we never practice, incorporate, and benefit from "being aware."

No dogma, belief, or superstition is involved in that understanding. You simply must try it for yourself and see.

At L.A.M.R., it's much better to be aware of one thing than it is to just be randomly thinking. It's also better to be aware of one thing than it is to be unaware of anything specific at all. At L.A.M.R., after you've assumed the starting position, fill your mind with the feeling of waiting to see what you know you need to see for the first shot. So your mind is not just holding the "first shot image," it's also aware of the feeling of waiting to actually see it before shooting. At the least, this will get you started in a good place. At the best, it may crack the door to ...the zone....

Everything good has awareness for its root.

Boddhidharma

[AikiDale]

If you are just observing, then you are not "using" observation to "do" anything

and that's worth doing!

[brother bad]

'if you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?'

-hui neng

[mcoliver]

Wow! Lot's of yoda-talk in this thread.

[boo radley]

Thanks, all -- I learned something from every response. Well, mostly.

I think I picked up the book specifically for two reasons, or goals in mind.

1) General curiousity -- from comments made here, it sounded like an interesting journey.

2) A vague notion that I could use some of the book as a "cheat sheet," or grab a pithy "Zen" phrase or two, to use to help quiet a nervous and jumpy mind, when shooting practical pistol matches.

Number 1, for sure -- well worth reading, I think.

Number 2, I'm not so sure this book is the easiest guide, and I still struggle with the contradiction, in my mind, anyway, that while amazing feats of accuracy are an external manifestation of a student well on his or her Path, if the *goal* is amazing accuracy....ya' ain't on the Path. The water gets deep, quickly.

At least from my interpretation.

And I'm absolutely OK with that, because I think as BE, and others, have pointed out that it's possible to leverage fundamental aspects of Zen in very practical, and simple manner.

[benos]

'if you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?'

-hui neng

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's a great one!

[Singlestack]

Is my Z-Max Zen legal?

[Got Boost?]

"The most powerful thing you can do to change the world, is to change your own beliefs about the nature of life, people, reality, to something more positive...and begin to act accordingly." Shakti Gawain