Rating: 4/5
Favorite Quote:
"People always judge others by taking as a model their own limitations, and other people’s opinions are often full of prejudice and fear. Join with all those who experiment, take risks, fall, get hurt and then take more risks. Stay away from those who affirm truths, who criticise those who do not think like them, people who have never once taken a step unless they were sure they would be respected for doing so, and who prefer certainties to doubts"
Paulo Coelho “A novelist who writes in a universal language” - He teaches us life's valuable lessons through the archer, arrow and bow.
I read this book too quickly. I’ll definitely go back and dwell in it more. This book speaks to me at this time of life, and encouragement to go forth in the world.
This book has very mixed reviews, which I read after I read it myself. Reading those reviews had me questioning my own experience, but I can only share what I felt.
There are plenty of self-help books for those looking for guided plans, but this is not one of them. Grab this book if you are in the mood for a more Zen, thought provoking idea that will encourage you to come up with your own answers. It can be related to any part of life and isn't specific enough to give you a step by step guide to achieving your goals. Instead, this book would let you to think for yourself, to be brave and make mistakes in translating its meaning, to determine what it is saying to you; Not what it is saying to someone else.
Zen Buddhism can, for those of us growing up in the west, be very difficult to grasp with its multiple paradoxes, but this book eases the reader into the very essence of the philosophy through the analogy of archery. As Paulo says in his blog, ‘It is a short book, you don’t need to complicate things. In fact, life is simple. We complicate a lot. And a fable or allegory talks to the hidden parts of ourselves.’
The Archer by Paulo Coelho is a book about a boy who is keen on learning archery. He is in search of Tetsuya, a man once famous for his prodigious gift with a bow and arrow but who has since retired from public life. Through the brief snippets, the author provides us an insight into how one should be living a fulfilling life.
Why did Paulo choose the art of archery to reveal the life-art of Zen? Besides being a weapon of war, in many ancient texts on Buddhism, listed among the sacred implements is the bow and arrow. The premise is simple; by understanding the art of archery, we can learn the art of Zen - which is the art of life. In addition to this, archery is Paulo’s favorite sports pastime, so he has a knowledge of the intricacies of the skills needed.
What can we learn from archery about Zen and the art of life?
Paulo offers insights into a number of key lessons from Zen:
Know and respect your allies in the contest, while learning from their successes and failures.
The bow is your greatest asset and is the source of your energy.
Your intention is within the arrow.
The object of your focus is the target.
How you execute a successful shot - from your posture, through letting fly the arrow, to hitting the target - is the same as the skills you need in life.
The Archer will not leave my coffee table and my guess is over many years, I will subliminally commit most of the wisdom it imparts to memory. Even if I never become a full-time student of Zen Buddhism, I will at least have learned to adopt its most essential life enriching lessons by making this book my daily companion.
"Use your bad moments to discover what makes you tremble. Use your good moments to find your road to inner peace. But do not stop either out of fear or joy: the way of the bow has no end"
Shi'tare
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