Zen--serene, contemplative, a discipline of meditation associated with painting, rock gardens, and flower arranging--seems an odd ingredient in the martial psyche of the Japanese samurai. "One who is a samurai must before all things keep constantly in mind...the fact that he has to die," wrote a seventeenth-century warrior. "That is his chief business." But the demands of that "business," writes Winston King, found the perfect philosophical match in the teachings of Zen Buddhism. In Zen and the Way of the Sword , King ...
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Zen--serene, contemplative, a discipline of meditation associated with painting, rock gardens, and flower arranging--seems an odd ingredient in the martial psyche of the Japanese samurai. "One who is a samurai must before all things keep constantly in mind...the fact that he has to die," wrote a seventeenth-century warrior. "That is his chief business." But the demands of that "business," writes Winston King, found the perfect philosophical match in the teachings of Zen Buddhism. In Zen and the Way of the Sword , King offers a fascinating look into the mind of the samurai swordsman in a far-reaching account of the role of Zen in the thought, culture, and the martial arts of Japan's soldier elite. King shows how the samurai cultivated Zen, relating its teaching of a free and spontaneous mind to the experience of a warrior in individual combat, and finding the philosophical strength in Zen as they prepared themselves for death. He focuses on the sword--the soul of the samurai, as it was called--describing how it was forged, the honor given famous swordsmiths, and the rise of schools of swordsmanship. And he goes on to trace the role of Zen in samurai life through the peaceful eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, examining the absorption of Zen into World War II psychology and broader Japanese culture. An intriguing account, Zen and the War of the Sword provides fascinating insight into the samurai ethos, and the culture of Japan today.
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Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $2.63, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $2.97, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $2.97, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $2.97, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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Seller's Description:
The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $3.32, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $3.64, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $3.64, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $3.65, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hillsboro, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche to cart. $3.89, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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