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Kyudo is a highly meditative martial art whose ultimate goals are Shin (Truth i.e. the ultimate reality), Zen (Goodness) and Bi (Beauty). When asked the question "What is Truth?" a master archer would pick up a bow and arrow and shoot it, without saying a word, allowing the level of mastery of the bow to serve as the gauge of the archer's progress along the "way" thereby showing the archer's knowledge of reality i.e. "Truth" itself. (ecb) Whoever sees a demonstration of kyudo ('the way of the bow')
for the first time understands right away that it is not a sport. Neither is it
a martial art that you would practice in order to obtain degrees or black belt
ranks. "In kyudo you don't try to hit the target," explains Japanese
Master Kanjuro Shibata. "It's a matter of precision and discipline: the
relationship you have with the bow, the arrow, your body, and your mind. Kyudo
is like zazen, but it is standing meditation. When you shoot, you can see the
reflection of your mind, as in a mirror. The target is the mirror. When you
release, you cut ego. You can see your own mind." (mac)
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