Zen in the Art of Archery
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Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel describes the ritualistic arts of discipline and focus that the Zen religion focuses around. In this book, Herrigel describes many aspects of how archery is, in fact, not a sport, but an art form, and is very spiritual to those in the east. The process he describes shows how he overcame his initial inhibitions and began to look toward new ways of seeing and understanding. In the beginning of the book Herrigel tells us that he is writing about a ritual and religious practice, “whose aim consists in hitting a spiritual goal, so that fundamentally the marksman aims at himself and may even succeed in hitting himself.” (Herrigel p. 4) Through his studies, the author discovers that within the Zen ritual actions, archery in this case, there lies a deeper meaning. Herrigel explains throughout this book that it is not through the actual physical aspect of shooting arrows at targets that archery is Zen, but through the art and spirituality through which it is performed. It is not merely shooting an arrow to hit a target, but becoming the target yourself and then, in turn, hitting yourself spiritually. By meeting this spiritual goal, you will then meet the physical goal. The struggle then is, therefore not with the arrow or the target but within oneself.
Archery, in this book, was the way that the author found his way into Zen Buddhism. One of the most important lessons that Herrigels master taught him was, to correctly master the art of archery you must do so without grasping. If all you do is focus on what you are doing you will not reach your target. Let go and enlightenment will come to you. This is the same underlying concept that Zen and Buddhism rely on. If one focuses too much on meditation then he will never actually clear your head and reach the blissful goal of enlightenment. His master explains this as, “The right art is purposeless, aimless! 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.” (Herrigel p. 31) So, for Herrigel to learn the art of archery he must cease to strive towards hitting the target and stop grasping at his goal. Instead he must focus only on the moment and let the goal come to him.
As Herrigel spent more time with his master he learned more and more about the Zen ways of thinking. Throughout his time there, his master taught him time after time that it is important to be in the moment when the moment is happening. To reach your goal you must allow yourself to become part of it and not focus on one individual aspect. “The right frame of mind for the artists is only reached when the preparing and the creating, the technical and the artistic, the material and the spiritual, the project and the object, flow together without breaks.” (Herrigel p. 43) All of your actions up to reaching your