Zen And The Art Of Losing Weight

I re-read Eugen Herrigel's wonderful 1953 book Zen and the Art of Archery, an 80-page gem about learning Zen through the process of learning to shoot arrows accurately in a relaxed, mindless manner. At one point Eugen asked the Master why he watched him as he shot, but the Master did not look where the arrow went. The Master gave two answers.

​First if the Master showed interest in the target, the student would be interested in the target, too, the very mistake the Master was trying to prevent. If the student cared too much about the target, he would surely miss it. Just as he might easily walk the length of a beam on the floor, but if the same beam were placed across a chasm, he would fall off. Anxiety is the enemy of life and performance. One's self is the only obstacle.

Second if the Master saw the student shoot the arrow in a relaxed, mindless manner, the Master knew the arrow hit the target. For it will go where it is aimed, and the student would not aim anywhere else.

I, a master of diet, do not focus on target-weight. I wish I didn't even have to weigh the patients in the office at all; I do so only to keep a chart for legal purposes. At the point the patient knows what I know and thinks as I think, I have won the weight-battle! It can take a year, or it can happen in an hour.

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