[.ca] KODO: Ancient Ways: Lessons in the Spiritual Life of the ... (ISBN 0897501365)

Inspiring:
Buy this book and read it many times. It is a lollection of excelent writings by a great Aikido teacher. Ze'ev Erlich Israel.

Inspirational:
Don't overthink this one. If you want to be inspired and you believe in the more traditional, oriental ways of the martial arts, this book will fulfill your desire for inspiration. If you are cocky, shallow and prefer the "short-cut methods" that so many watered-down Americanized martial arts offer, then you probably won't like this book. The author is definitely sincere and obviously a very knowledgeable and effective teacher. This is not really a book though, rather, it is a collection of articles the author wrote for martial arts magazines. This makes no difference because actually it is much easier to read because the info is presented in small digestible chunks.

Excellent Book!:
Rev. Furuya's book is quite exceptional. This book is truly inspirational. The author writes ancedotal stories about his life studying martial arts and the things he has learned along the way. He does not beat you over the head and force you to see or do things his way. He respectfully gives you insight into his own journey. It is an easy read and hard to put down. I have been studying Tai-chi for over 30 years and I throughly enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone on the path. A must read for all human beings.

An Important Book for Serious Martial Arts Practitioners:
Rev. Furuya's "KODO" is a remarkable collection of essays exploring the meaning of training and attitude. The primary audience for this work is martial artitsts. However, anyone with a serious interest in Eastern arts - and their connections with the subjective philosophical, spiritual, and cultural attitudes that engendered them - will find these essays to be of value. Indeed, Rev. Furuya has a broad range of knowledge about Japanese arts, including Zen, the tea ceremony, Noh drama, sculpture, painting, poetry, and calligraphy. The essays abound with historical and mythical anecdotes that are used effectively to illustrate the meaning and consequences of spiritual commitment to one's teachers and to one's art. Rev. Furuya has provided a first-hand account, necessarily personal and subjective, of the spiritual life of a martial artist. The content of the book is not matched by the quality of the publication. There are a number of pictures, sketches, and other reproductions in the book that could be improved with higher production standards. Given the price of the publication, this is not surprising. Still, many of the remarkable items portrayed in "KODO" deserve a better exposition. In summary, this is a unique and important book which can help today's martial artists touch and nurture the spiritual heritage from which their arts have grown. Highly recommended.

A truly great work...:
Although at times it seems self-indulgent and repetitive as well, it is truly a strong work. Philosophical, historical, inspiring, and rare, this book should be in the library of every martial artist. However, regardless of your exposure to the arts, its Zen reflections can be applied to any task in life. In its historical context of the "old ways", it actually makes one a bit nostalgic. Highly worth reading. Very highly worth re-reading.