Miyamoto Musashi

The Book of Five Rings

Written in the 17th century by one of the most famous samurai, The Book of Five Rings describes mastery in terms of self-understanding and inner calm. "In martial arts, speed is not the true Way. As far as speed in concerned, the question of fast or slow in anything derives from failure to harmonize with the rhythm."

Chogyam Trungpa

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

The Shambhala teachings are named for the legendary kingdom in the Himalayans where prosperity and happiness was available to everyone. "The goal of warriorship is to express basic goodness in its most complete, fresh, and brilliant form. This is possible when you realize that you do not possess basic goodness but that you are the basic goodness itself."

Joe Hyams

Zen in the Martial Arts

Zen in the Martial Arts teaches the principles of Zen, as reflected in the martial arts, to open a potential source of inner strength. "The mind of a perfect man is like a mirror. It grasps nothing. It expects nothing. It reflects but does not hold. Therefore, the perfect man can act without effort."

Translated by Thomas Cleary

Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu

Teachings of the great Chinese master who lived in the 11th century. "The present perception is the Truth, but the Truth is beyond this perception. If you are attached to perception, then this is a perception -- it is not the arriving at the Truth. Those who arrive at Truth transcend perception, but they manage to use perception without dwelling in perception. When you pass directly through perception and get free of it, it is all the fundamental Truth."

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