Books
"The Elements of Zen in Martial Arts"
The history of Japan through many decades was a story of permanent struggle between rivalling lords, culminating in a hundred years of civil war. A special caste of warriors, the samurai, evolved in these times. During the perpetual chaos of war their abilities sharpened. As prowess in martial arts was crucial for survival, the effective skills were separated from the ineffective. The samurai found spiritual assistance in the teachings of Zen Buddhism. Zen provided them with a distinctive approach towards their life situation and towards martial arts. Hence they learned to imperturbably face death, and on the other hand to wield their weapons with excelling precision.
In our times budô – the way of the martial arts – is the legacy of the samurai. In budô, striving for skill in practice and fight combines with spiritual influences from Zen Buddhism. Zen, through its special mind-set, sustainably supports that striving.
The goal of this book is to reveal in a practical way the teachings of Zen Buddhism for practitioners of martial arts, for ambitious athletes of other sports and for anyone affected by conflicts in general. Therefore, the elements which prepare the way to prowess will be elucidated. Incidentally, this book also offers unpretentious, pragmatic explanations to basic concepts of Buddhism. Finally, martial arts as such shall be questioned in this context.
Hagen Seibert practices Aikidô (4th Dan) since 1988, also Iaidô (4th Dan), JuJitsu, Kenjutsu and started in 1992 with Zen. He is a trainer since 1993 and presently teaches in Freiburg, Germany.
e-book
The e-book is available at Amazon (mobi-format for kindle readers)
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paperback
The book is available at Amazon and other bookstores
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Reading sample
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