Eugen Herrigel Quotes

He grows daily more capable of following any inspiration without technical effort, and also of letting inspiration come to him through meticulous observation.

In the case of archery, the hitter and the hit are no longer two opposing objects, but are one reality.

The shot will go smoothly only when it takes the archer himself by surprise.

The more a human being feels himself a self, tries to intensify this self and reach a never-attainable perfection, the more drastically he steps out of the center of being.

The right shot at the right moment does not come because you do not let go of yourself. You do not wait for fulfilment, but brace yourself for failure.

By letting go of yourself, leaving yourself and everything yours behind so decisively that nothing more is left of you but a purposeless tension .

You must act as if the goal were infinitely far off.

Far from wishing to awaken the artist in the pupil prematurely, the teacher considers it his first task to make him a skilled artisan with sovereign control of his craft.

This, then, is what counts: a lightning reaction which has no further need of conscious observation. In this respect at least the pupil makes himself independent of all conscious purpose.

The man, the art, the work--it is all one.

Zen Buddhism does not preach. Sermons remain words. It waits until people feel stifled and insecure, driven by a secret longing.

You must learn to wait properly.

Assuming that his talent can survive the increasing strain, there is one scarcely avoidable danger that lies ahead of the pupil on his road to mastery.

Don't think of what you have to do, don't consider how to carry it out!" he exclaimed. "The shot will only go smoothly when it takes the archer himself by surprise.

That's just the trouble, you make an effort to think about it. Concentrate entirely on your breathing, as if you had nothing else to do!

... the Master's warning that we should not practice anything except self-detaching immersion.

...being able to wait without purpose in the state of highest tension...without continually asking yourself: Shall I be able to manage it? Wait patiently, as see what comes - and how it comes!

You worry yourself unnecessarily. Put the thought of hitting right out of your mind!