The Way of the Bow Part 2

The archer allows many arrows to go far beyond the target, because he knows that he will only learn the importance of bow, posture, string and target, by repeating his gestures thousands of time and by not being afraid of making mistakes.

And his true allies will never criticise him, because they know that practise is necessary, that it is the only way in which he can perfect his instinct, his hammer blow.

And then comes the moment when he no longer has to think about what he is doing. From then on, the archer becomes his bow, his arrow and his target.

HOW TO OBSERVE THE FLIGHT OF THE ARROW

Once the arrow has been shot, there is nothing more the archer can do, except follow its path to the target. From that moment on, the tension required to shoot the arrow has no further reason to exist.

Therefore, the archer keeps his eyes fixed on the flight of the arrow, but his heart rests, and he smiles.

The hand that released the bow-string is thrust back, the hand holding the bow moves forward, the archer is forced to open wide his arms and confront, chest exposed and with a sincere heart, the gaze of both allies and opponents.

If he has practised enough, if he has managed to develop his instinct, if he has maintained elegance and concentration throughout the whole process of shooting the arrow, he will, at that moment, feel the presence of the universe and will see that his action was just and deserved.

Technique allows both hands to be ready, breathing to be precise, the eyes to be trained on the target. Instinct allows the moment of release to be perfect.

Anyone pa.s.sing nearby and seeing the archer with his arms open, his eyes following the arrow, will think that nothing is happening. But his allies know that the mind of the person who made the shot has changed dimensions, it is now in touch with the whole universe; the mind continues to work, learning all the positive things about that shot, correcting possible errors, accepting its good qualities, and waiting to see how the target reacts when it is. .h.i.t.

When the archer draws the bow-string, he can see the whole world in his bow.

When he follows the flight of the arrow, that world grows closer to him, caresses him and gives him a perfect sense of duty fulfilled.

Each arrow flies differently. You can shoot a thousand arrows and each one will follow a different trajectory: that is the way of the bow.

THE ARCHER WITHOUT THE BOW, WITHOUT THE ARROW, WITHOUT TARGET

The archer learns when he forgets all about the rules of the way of the bow and goes on to act entirely on instinct. In order, though, to be able to forget the rules, it is necessary to respect them and to know them.

When he reaches this state, he no longer needs the instruments that helped him to learn. He no longer needs the bow or the arrows or the target, because the path is more important than the thing that first set him on that path.

In the same way, the student learning to read reaches a point when he frees himself from the individual letters and begins to make words out of them.

However, if the words were all run together, they would make no sense at all or would make understanding extremely hard; there have to be s.p.a.ces between the words.

Between one action and the next, the archer remembers everything he has done, he talks with his allies, he rests and is content with the fact of being alive.

The way of the bow is the way of joy and enthusiasm, of perfection and error, of technique and instinct.

But you will only learn this if you keep shooting your arrows.

By the time Tetsuya stopped talking, they had reached the carpentry workshop.

'Thank you for your company,' he said to the boy.

But the boy did not leave.

'How can I know if I'm doing the right thing? How can I be sure that my eyes are concentrating, that my posture is elegant, that I'm holding the bow correctly?'

'Visualise the perfect master always by your side and do everything to revere him and to honour his teachings. This master, whom many people call G.o.d, although some call him 'the thing' and others 'talent', is always watching us. He deserves the best.

"Remember your allies too: you must support them, because they will help you at those moments when you need help. Try to develop the gift of kindness: this gift will allow you to be always at peace with your heart. But, above all, never forget that what I have told you might perhaps be words of inspiration, but they will only make sense if you experience them yourself.'

Tetsuya held out his hand to say goodbye, but the boy said: 'One other thing, how did you learn to shoot a bow?'

Tetsuya thought for a moment: was it worth telling the story? Since this had been a special day, he opened the door to his workshop and said: 'I'm going to make some tea, and I'm going to tell you the story, but you have to promise the same thing I made the stranger promise - never tell anyone about my skill as an archer.'

He went in, put on the light, wrapped his bow up again in the long strip of leather and placed it out of sight. If anyone stumbled upon it, they would think it was just a piece of warped bamboo. He went into the kitchen, made the tea, sat down with the boy and began his story.

TETSUYA'S STORY

I was working for a great n.o.bleman who lived in the region; I was in charge of looking after his stables. But since my master was always travelling, I had a great deal of free time, and so I decided to devote myself to what I considered to be the real reason for living: drink and women.

One day, after several nights without sleep, I felt dizzy and collapsed in the middle of the countryside, far from anywhere. I thought I was going to die and gave up all hope. However, a man I had never seen before happened to pa.s.s along that road; he helped me and took me to his house - a place far from here - and nursed me back to health during the months that followed.

While I was recovering, I used to see him set out every morning with his bow and arrows.

When I felt better, I asked him to teach me the art of the bow; it was far more interesting than looking after horses. He told me that my death had come a great deal closer, and that now I could not drive it away. It was just two paces away from me, for I had done great physical harm to my body.

If I wanted to learn, it would only be in order to keep death from touching me. A man in a far-off land, on the other side of the ocean, had taught him that it was possible to avoid for some time the road that led to the precipice of death. But in my case, for the rest of my days, I needed to be aware that I was walking along the edge of this abyss and could fall into it at any moment.

He taught me the way of the bow. He introduced me to his allies, he made me take part in compet.i.tions, and soon my fame spread throughout the land.

When he saw that I had learned enough, he took away my arrows and my target, leaving me only the bow as a souvenir. He told me to use his teachings to do something that filled me with real enthusiasm.

I said that the thing I liked most was carpentry. He blessed me and asked me to leave and to devote myself to what I enjoyed doing most before my fame as an archer ended up destroying me, or led me back to my former life.

Every second since then has been a struggle against my vices and against selfpity.

I need to remain focused and calm, to do the work I chose to do with love, and never to cling to the present moment, because death is still very close, the abyss is there beside me, and I am walking along the edge.'

Tetsuya did not say that death is always close for all living beings; the boy was still very young and there was no need for him to think about such things.

Tetsuya did not say either that the way of the bow is present in any human activity.

He merely blessed the boy, just as he had been blessed many years before, and asked him to leave, because it had been a long day, and he needed to sleep.

Acknowledgments

Eugen Herrigel, for his book Zen in the Art of Archery. (Ed. Pensamento) Pamela Hartigan, Managing Director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, for describing the qualities of allies.

Dan and Jackie DeProspero, for their book about Onuma-san, Kyudo. (Budo Editions, France) Carlos Castaneda, for his description of the encounter between death and the nagual Elias.