"Zen and the art of archery" by Eugene Herrigel.

"Zen in the Art of Archery", by Eugene Herrigel describes the ritualistic arts of discipline and focus that the Zen religion is centered around. Herrigel describes many aspects of archery as an art form, and is very spiritual to those in the east. Overcoming his initial inhibitions he began to look toward new ways of seeing and understanding. In the beginning of the book Herrigel writes about the 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 in archery 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 make archery 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.

Zen in the Art of Archery

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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 Herrigel's 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...