“Archery, fencing, spear fighting, all of the martial arts, tea ceremony, flower arranging...in all of these, correct breathing, correct balance, and correct stillness help to remake the individual. The basic aim is always the same: by tirelessly practicing a given skill, the student finally sheds the ego with its fears, worldly ambitions, and reliance on objective scrutiny - sheds it so completely that he becomes the instrument of a deeper power, from which mastery falls instinctively, without further effort on his part, like a ripe fruit.”
Quote by Karlfried Graf Durckheim
Author
Karlfried Graf Durckheim
Karlfried Graf Durckheim (1896-1988) was a German diplomat, writer, and psychologist of noble origin. During his diplomatic career in Japan, he deeply studied Zen Buddhism and Japanese culture, which profoundly shaped his later work. After World War II, he transitioned to psychoanalysis and founded the Georg Groddeck Institute in Munich. He became a key figure in integrating Eastern philosophy with Western psychology, making significant contributions to humanistic and transpersonal psychology. His works including 'The Way of Transformation' and 'Japan and the Spirit of the West' influenced generations of psychologists and spiritual seekers in the West. more
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