Takuan Soho – författare

This version of the Tao Te Ching presents the classic in a unique light, through the eyes of a renowned master of the Rinzai Zen tradition. Takuan Soho, who lived from 1573 to 1645, was an acerbic, witty, free spirit who; a painter, poet, author, calligrapher, gardener, and a tea master. He was also a confidante and teacher to shoguns and many other powerful and famous figures, among them the the famed swordsman Yagyu Munenori, and (according to legend) Miyamoto Musashi. True to the teachings of the Tao Te Ching itself, as well as to the tradition of Zen, Takuan draws from everyday experience and common sense, to reveal the basic sanity of nature and the inherent wholeness of life. Takuan reveals how the Tao Te Ching applies to a wide range of concerns, including health, personal relationships, and individual lifestyle. He interprets the text through a philosophical and psychological lens, and also elucidates its radical social and political concepts.

This classic samurai-era text fused Japanese swordsmanship with Zen and influenced the direction that the art has taken ever since. Written by the seventeenth-century Zen master Takuan Soho (1573–1645), The Unfettered Mind is a book of advice on swordsmanship and the cultivation of right mind and intention. It was written as a guide for the samurai Yagyu Munenori, who was a great swordsman and rival to the legendary Miyamoto Musashi. Takuan was a giant in the history of Zen; he was also a gardener, calligrapher, poet, author, adviser to samurai and shoguns, and a pivotal figure in Zen painting. He was known for his brilliance and acerbic wit. In these succinct and pointed essays, Takuan is concerned primarily with understanding and refining the mind—both generally and when faced with conflict. The Unfettered Mind was a major influence on the classic manifestos on swordsmanship that came after it, including Miyamoto Musashi''s Book of Five Rings and Yagyu Munenori''s Life-Giving Sword.

Dans leur ensemble, les trois écrits qui constituent cet ouvrage s’adressent à la classe des samouraïs et ont pour objet d’unifier l’esprit du zen à l’esprit du sabre. Les conseils donnés mêlent les aspects pratiques, techniques et philosophiques qui président à toute confrontation et apportent à l’individu la connaissance de soi. En établissant clairement l’unité du zen et du sabre, Sôhô Takuan a influencé les écrits de grands maîtres qui continuent à être lus et leurs préceptes à être appliqués; c’est le cas du Heihô-Kadensho (Le sabre de vie) de Munenori Yagyû et surtout du Gorin-no-shô (Le livre des Cinq roues) de Miyamoto Musashi. Le style de ces hommes varie mais leurs conclusions s’imprègnent d’un haut niveau d’introspection et de compréhension, qu’elles soient exprimées en termes de « liberté et de spontanéité » par Musashi ou « d’esprit ordinaire qui ne connaît aucune règle » par Munenori, ou encore « d’esprit indomptable » par Takuan.