Reviews

Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel

casscasscass's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

3.5

_moth_'s review

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5.0

“The more obstinately you try to learn how to shoot the arrow for the sake of hitting the goal, the less you will succeed in the one and the further the other will recede.”

hellhoundharry's review against another edition

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5.0

I will say this: Don't DNF this. The beginning is a bit of a slog, a lot of talk about japanese archery, technical stuff and whatnot.
But it all comes back later!
There is also a lot on not only zen archery, but zen and the art of painting, the art of arranging flowers and so on.

Now when I picked this up not too long ago I had previously read some books on zen buddhism and I was expecting something more stripped down. Like being talked to by a teacher: "Do this, then do this. But don't forget to breathe."
This book is not that, it's told in Eugens interactions with his master. What the master said and how eugen tried to interpret and implement it in his archery. I actually like this a lot because while I have read other books on zen, sometimes the sayings and examples can be difficult to interpret. But with this, it's easier to follow.

The book is short. I went through it in two sittings.

arcanumxiii's review against another edition

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3.0

Tel le Maître du livre, l'auteur ne vous donnera pas de clé miracle mais vous fera au moins réfléchir à l'art du tir à l'arc. Certaines choses néanmoins sont par trop nébuleuse que pour tenir le choc du temps (une certaine expressivité par exemple), qui rende la lecture parfois plus difficile que nécessaire (spécialement les premières pages).
Pour comparer avec un ouvrage (traduit) de philosophie chinoise (tel les pensées du moine Citrouille Amère), ce n'est pas à l'avantage de notre philosophie occidentale!

johnke's review against another edition

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4.0

A great introduction to zen concepts from a western point of view. Archery is just used as the jumping off point - one of the things I love about this book is how its lessons can be applied to pretty much any physical endeavour.

yellowbilledmagpie's review

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4.0

I read this at the recommendation of Claudio Arrau in his interviews. From the context of a performer this book is incredibly useful.

remlezar's review

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5.0

I first read this book years ago, but I didn't appreciate it as much as I did this time.

In the last year, I have taken up disc golf as a regular hobby. I quickly discovered what so many who came before me already knew - golf is a mental game. After becoming frustrated at my regular mental foul-ups on the course, I picked up "The Inner Game of Golf" by Gallwey. It has helped my game in a significant way, but the entire time I read it I kept thinking about "Zen in the Art of Archery."

Many of the concepts, while called by different names, are the same. It was a neat experience to pick this book up and realize that the same mental foibles that cause me to miss putts in my silly round of disc golf have plagued mankind for ages, and the treatment is as simple but illusive today as it was in ancient Japan.

I also teach, and both "The Inner Game of Golf" and "Zen in the Art of Archery" made me think about how humans learn, and how, too often, our egos get in the way of our own success.

Great book, a classic.

amojicorns's review

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3.0

nice read about the japanese archery

maruan's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

4.0

Quiero volver a releerlo. Me hizo pensar mucho sobre mi trabajo como artista y profesora.

rhwhite00's review

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.25