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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
challenging
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Be as quick as its reflection, be swift to reach out when the clouds yield, be calm as the water, perceive the first sword, the first touch of the foot on the water, see the waves and keep your sword quiescent. Feel everything and hold nothing, be empty but never passive, never falling back.
Be the scrolls.
Be the scrolls.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Although written for swordsmen, this book has a lot to appreciate for anyone. For the most part, it is easy to understand and was a quick read, though there were some sections I'll have to go back over.
The profundity of this succinct text, essential to its longevity, can be gauged from the fact that it outlived its premier readership- the aristocratic Samurai warrior class in feudal Japan.
So what makes it relevant today? Takuan Soho renders crisp advisory guidance which emphasizes that contrary to popular religious thought (in the East at least), the human mind is not to be made static. Rather, it is to be unfettered of all coagulation. The mind must flow like water rather than statify.
William Scott has done an exceptional job in preserving both the brevity and essence of the original text while rendering it in lay English. A marvelous read indeed.
So what makes it relevant today? Takuan Soho renders crisp advisory guidance which emphasizes that contrary to popular religious thought (in the East at least), the human mind is not to be made static. Rather, it is to be unfettered of all coagulation. The mind must flow like water rather than statify.
William Scott has done an exceptional job in preserving both the brevity and essence of the original text while rendering it in lay English. A marvelous read indeed.
This is one that needs a few listens or reads to really grasp the concepts. Lots of ancient wisdom here, but like many old proverbs l it sometimes requires quite a bit of pondering to fully understand and internalize the message.
The main points that I took from the letters were the necessity of focus and intent with anything you do. Did Samurai do a lot of killing? Yes. But they didn’t take it lightly. No.
They had immense focus, incredible calm, and purposeful intent. Kill only when necessary, let live when necessary. In addition to these ideas it seems as though the Zen Master intended to communicate the need for practice to achieve mastery. He spends a lot of time describing that if you let your brain slip your body will follow. So perfect practice paired with perfect focus makes perfect zen swordsmanship (rinse, apply to anything in your life, repeat). You should be such a master that you can weigh grain perfectly with just your eyes.
So much wisdom that we forget today in a world of multi-tasking and obsession with productivity. Sometimes it pays to slow down and perfect the small details so that when it’s time to execute you don’t have to think about it.
The main points that I took from the letters were the necessity of focus and intent with anything you do. Did Samurai do a lot of killing? Yes. But they didn’t take it lightly. No.
They had immense focus, incredible calm, and purposeful intent. Kill only when necessary, let live when necessary. In addition to these ideas it seems as though the Zen Master intended to communicate the need for practice to achieve mastery. He spends a lot of time describing that if you let your brain slip your body will follow. So perfect practice paired with perfect focus makes perfect zen swordsmanship (rinse, apply to anything in your life, repeat). You should be such a master that you can weigh grain perfectly with just your eyes.
So much wisdom that we forget today in a world of multi-tasking and obsession with productivity. Sometimes it pays to slow down and perfect the small details so that when it’s time to execute you don’t have to think about it.
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced