Zen in the Art of Archery

When Eugen Herrigel takes a post at a Japanese university, his philosophy lectures are only a side interest. He is there to learn Zen from a Master, and his discipline is archery. After two years, Herrigel can barely draw his bow; after four, he can shoot arrows, but not aim them. After six years, he can at last claim Zen mastery. But what, precisely, has he learned? Herrigel charts his progress through the weeks, months and years of practice; through the sweat and tears of effort and frustration; through the succession of strange analogies with which his teacher explains the nature of his goal and how to achieve it - without effort. Published eighty years ago, this first European attempt to explain the Zen path to lay-people was an extraordinary bestseller in its time - and remains iconic to this day.