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Author : Herrigel Eugen
Title : Zen in the Art of Archery
Year : 1953

Link download : Herrigel_Eugen_-_Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery.zip

Preface. In 1936 a lecture which I had delivered to the German− Japanese Society in Berlin appeared in the magazine Nippon under the title "The Chivalrous Art of Archery". I had given thislecture with the utmost reserve, for I had intended to show the close connection which exists between this art and Zen. And since this connection eludes precise description and real definition, I was fully conscious of the provisional nature of my attempt. In spite of everything, my remarks aroused great interest. They were translated into Japanese in 1937, into Dutch in 1938, and in 1939 I received news˙so far unconfirmed˙that an Indian translation was being planned. In 1940 a much improved Japanese translation appeared together with an eyewitness account by Prof. Sozo Komachiya. When Curt Weller, who published The Great Liberation, D. T. Suzuki’s important book on Zen, and who is also bringing out a carefully planned series of Buddhist writings, asked me whether I agreed to a reprint of my lecture, I willingly gave my consent. But, in the conviction of having made further spiritual progress during the past ten years˙and this means ten years of continual practice˙and of being able to say rather better than before, with greater understanding and realization, what this "mystical" art is about, I have resolved to set down my experiences in new form. Unforgettable memories and notes which I made at the time in connection with the archery lessons ,stood me in good stead. And so I can well say that there is no word in this exposition which the Master would not have spoken, no image or comparison which he would not have used. I have also tried to keep my language as simple as possible. Not only because Zen teaches and advocates the greatest economy of expression, but because I have found that what I cannot say quite simply and without recourse to mystic jargon has not become sufficiently clear and concrete even to myself. To write a book on the essence of Zen itself is one of my plans for the near future. EUGEN HERRIGEL. ...