Product Description

This work suggests that the philosophy and competitive strategy presented by the spiritual mentor to Musashi is as useful to modern corporate warriors as it was to 17th-century samurai.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37293 in Books
• Published on: 1988-03-01
• Original language: Japanese
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 104 pages

Customer Reviews

Illuminating, an essential companion for all men of faith
Takuan Soho's insight into the mechanics of the mind and its effects on performance, is much more than a manual for the martial artist. To sum up the first essay simply as saying "practice makes perfect" shows the ignorance Soho addresses in the first line of the first essay.

The three essays requires contemplation and an appreciation of its context. It is a useful companion to anyone who sees the usefulness of constant striving to improve one's Self, "We are that which we habitually do...", and a reminder to all faiths that humanity requires a moral code.

A magnificent collection from an old master
In this book, do not expect to find either enlightenment or the answer to your questions, because this is not a guide to life or spiritualism. Rather, the unfettered mind is a collection of letters, each revealing the viewpoint of the Zen master Takuan to the reciever. An amusing and deeply philosophical book, portraying a "path" long since abandoned. A must for anyone's bookshelf that contains spiritual books.

Interesting, but not illuminating.
Takuan Soho has a book made of 3 parts, the first is a letter he wrote to a sword master about not "stopping the mind" and "the right mind" which basically amounts to "practice makes perfect" to the modern marital artist. I can't say that it went any further than that.

The next section reminded me very strongly of Plato's republic, as Takuan Soho went into the nature of the world as it is, which is very much seen through the lense of his understanding (16th century Japanese science I guess) which is sometimes ridiculous, and of limited use.

The third section is interesting, as he takes writing of various martial artists and interprets them or critiques them. This is useful for a modern martial artist, as we lack much of the historical and cultural context to interpret these directly from the translation. This section, along with the first are what makes the book worth reading. Still, I think that there are many more useful books out there for the martial artist to read before this one. Try Frederick Lovret's "Way and the Power", or Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" or Musashi's "A Book of Five Rings". All of these are much more useful.