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. An esteemed scholar of Eastern religions, King deftly traces the development of Zen and discusses the personal nature of its practice, its emphasis on individual discovery and attainment. He then presents an accomplished capsule history of the samurai class, from its rise in the middle ages to formal abolition in the nineteenth century--an account filled with details of wars, political maneuvering, and cultural achievements. King also looks at the arms and vocation of the individual samurai, placing the details of armor and weapons in the context of the samurai conception of warfare. In particular, King focuses on the sword--the soul of the samurai, as it was called--describing how it was forged, the honor given famous swordsmiths, the rise of schools of swordsmanship, and breathtaking feats of the great swordsmen. Throughout, 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 philosophical strength in Zen as they prepared themselves for death. "What mind can penetrate his opponent's mind?" one authority has written. "It is a mind that has been trained and cultivated to the point of detachment with perfect freedom....His mind should reflect his opponent's mind like water reflecting the moon." In other words, a mind trained by Zen. King goes on to trace the role of Zen in samurai life through the peaceful eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, examining the absorption of Zen into broader Japanese culture and its influence on Japanese behavior in World War II and the post-war period. Throughout, he provides a thoughtful perspective, both sympathetic and aware of the ethical problems inherent in a school of Buddhism turned to the needs of a military class. A scholarly, absorbing account, Zen and the Way of the Sword provides fascinating insight into the samurai ethos, and the culture of Japan today.

Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche

Arts & Photography

King, Winston L.

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

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. An esteemed scholar of Eastern religions, King deftly traces the development of Zen and discusses the personal nature of its practice, its emphasis on individual discovery and attainment. He then presents an accomplished capsule history of the samurai class, from its rise in the middle ages to formal abolition in the nineteenth century--an account filled with details of wars, political maneuvering, and cultural achievements. King also looks at the arms and vocation of the individual samurai, placing the details of armor and weapons in the context of the samurai conception of warfare. In particular, King focuses on the sword--the soul of the samurai, as it was called--describing how it was forged, the honor given famous swordsmiths, the rise of schools of swordsmanship, and breathtaking feats of the great swordsmen. Throughout, 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 philosophical strength in Zen as they prepared themselves for death. "What mind can penetrate his opponent's mind?" one authority has written. "It is a mind that has been trained and cultivated to the point of detachment with perfect freedom....His mind should reflect his opponent's mind like water reflecting the moon." In other words, a mind trained by Zen. King 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. Throughout, he provides a thoughtful perspective, both sympathetic and aware of the ethical problems inherent in a school of Buddhism turned to the needs of a military class. A scholarly, absorbing account, Zen and the Way of the Sword provides fascinating insight into the samurai ethos, and the culture of Japan today.

History

Asia

Buddhism and Christianity

After a brief historical survey, the doctrines of dharma and karma are discussed and key elements that appear in contrasting forms in the two religions are examined. Originally published in 1963.

Buddhism and Christianity: Some Bridges of Understanding

Reference

Routledge

After a brief historical survey, the doctrines of dharma and karma are discussed and key elements that appear in contrasting forms in the two religions are examined.  Originally published in 1963.

In Religion and Nothingness the leading representative of the Kyoto School of Philosophy lays the foundation of thought for a world in the making, for a world united beyond the differences of East and West. Keiji Nishitani notes the irreversible trend of Western civilization to nihilism, and singles out the conquest of nihilism as the task for contemporary philosophy. Nihility, or relative nothingness, can only be overcome by being radicalized to Emptiness, or absolute nothingness. Taking absolute nothingness as the fundamental notion in rational explanations of the Eastern experience of human life, Professor Nishitani examines the relevance of this notion for contemporary life, and in particular for Western philosophical theories and religious believes. Everywhere his basic intention remains the same: to direct our modern predicament to a resolution through this insight. The challenge that the thought of Keiji Nishitani presents to the West, as a modern version of an Eastern speculative tradition that is every bit as old and as variegated as our own, is one that brings into unity the principle of reality and the principle of salvation. In the process, one traditional Western idea after another comes under scrutiny: the dichotomy of faith and reason, of being and substance, the personal and transcendent notions of God, the exaggerated role given to the knowing ego, and even the Judeo-Christian view of history itself. Religion and Nothingness represents the major work of one of Japan's most powerful and committed philosophical minds.

Religion and Nothingness (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture) (Volume 1)

Nishitani, Keiji

Bragt, Jan Van

Religion & Spirituality

University of California Press

A Thousand Lives Away: Buddhism in Contemporary Burma

Harvard University Press

In the Hope of Nibbana

Open Court Publishing Company

Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include companion materials, may have some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes, may not include CDs or access codes. 100% money back guarantee.

Death Was His Koan: The Samurai-Zen of Suzuki Shosan (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture)

Buddhism

Asian Humanities Pr

Biography and views of Shosan (1579-1655), a samurai turned Zen Buddhist monk, by a noted scholar. 
"...should be required reading for students of Japanese religion in the early modern period..."--Monumenta Nipponica 
"...a systematic and thorough study...invaluable for the study of Japanese Zen..."--Religious Studies Review

Death Was His Koan: Samurai Zen of Suzuki Shosan

In the Hope of Nibbana gives a fascinating look into the process of a "religion" and culture struggling to align ethical values with the realities of the modern world. The author provides an overview of Buddhist psychology and the process of self-perfection, and describes the ultimate goal of Nibbana.The Buddhist layperson's effort to gain merit is a central theme. Includes a new postscript for this second edition.

Vipassana Dhura

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by King, Winston L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by King, Winston L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by King, Winston L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche

Zen and the Way of the Sword: Arming the Samurai Psyche

Buddhism and Christianity: Some Bridges of Understanding

Buddhism and Christianity

Religion and Nothingness (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture) (Volume 1)

A Thousand Lives Away: Buddhism in Contemporary Burma

In the Hope of Nibbana

Death Was His Koan: The Samurai-Zen of Suzuki Shosan (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture)

Death Was His Koan: Samurai Zen of Suzuki Shosan

In the Hope of Nibbana