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.238|Dimensions:
5.27 x .52 x 7.5 inches
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Description
A real-life samurai’s Zen teachings on sword training as a spiritually transformative practice—essential reading for aspiring martial artists and strategic thinkers alike
The legendary seventeenth-century swordsman Yagyu Munenori was the sword instructor and military and political adviser to two shoguns—and a great rival to Miyamoto Musashi. Despite his martial ability and his political power, Munenori’s life was spent immersed in Zen teachings. These teachings formed the framework for his deeply spiritual approach to sword fighting. Munenori saw in the practice of the sword a way to transform the student into a total human being.
The Life-Giving Sword is Munenori’s manifesto on his approach. His central themes are the “life-giving sword”—the idea of controlling one’s opponent by spiritual readiness to fight rather than by actual fighting—and “No Sword,” which is the idea that the mind must be free of everything, even the sword itself, in order to get to the place of complete mastery. Munenori’s ideas are applicable not only to martial arts but to business and human relations as well.
About the Author
Daidoji Yūzan (1639–1730) was a samurai and military strategist during the Edo period in Japan. He was descended from a long line of prominent warriors, and was a well-known and sought-after teacher.
William Scott Wilson is the foremost translator into English of traditional Japanese texts on samurai culture. He received BA degrees from Dartmouth College and the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, and an MA in Japanese literary studies from the University of Washington. His best-selling translations include Hagakure, The Book of Five Rings,and Taiko. He is also the author of The Lone Samurai,a biography of the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi.
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