What, then, compels a man to spend fifty, sixty, or even seventy years practicing kyudo when he knows he can never really understand it?
The answer, quite simply, is that he studies not so much to learn about the art as he does to learn about himself."
| Hideharu Onuma, with Dan and Jackie DeProspero (1993).
Kyudo: The essence and practice of Japanese archery.
New York: Kodansha International, p. 2 |
"Working with the precision of the form, a natural process naturally unfolds through which the practitioner has the opportunity to see the mind more clearly. The target becomes a mirror which reflects the qualities of heart and mind at the moment of the arrow’s release."
Thus, an intellectual understanding of kyudo cannot take the place of a master’s intuitive, special understanding - gained through experience, not words.
Clearly, the practice of kyudo is neither a sport nor a means of measuring
performance: it is truly a meditation discipline.
Kyudo has close ties with other Zen-related pursuits such as the tea ceremony
(Chado), calligraphy (Shodo), and flower arrangement (Ikebana). All these art
forms reflect the heart, mind and energy of their practitioners.
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