Synopsis "The Elements of Zen in Martial Arts (in English)"
Do you know what suffering has to do with violence? Or the meaning of mushin, zanshin and mushotoku? Is your idea of Buddhism rather vague, or have you understood it s basic concept: dependent origination? Then, maybe, you might like to have a look at this book. 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. 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. 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 (3rd Dan), JuJitsu, Kenjutsu and started in 1992 with Zen. He is a trainer since 1993 and presently teaches in Freiburg, Germany.
