The Archer

But do not stop either out of fear or out of joy: the way of the bow has no end.

The Moment of Release

There are two types of shot.

The first is the shot made with great precision, but without any soul. In this case, although the archer may have a great mastery of technique, he has concentrated solely on the target, and because of this he has not evolved, he has become stale, he has not managed to grow, and, one day, he will abandon the way of the bow because he finds that everything has become mere routine.

The second type of shot is the one made with the soul. When the intention of the archer is transformed into the flight of the arrow, hi

s hand opens at the right moment, the sound of the string makes the birds sing, and the gesture of shooting something over a distance provokes—paradoxically enough—a return to and an encounter with oneself.

You know the effort it took to draw the bow, to breathe correctly, to concentrate on the target, to be clear about your intention, to maintain elegance of posture, to respect the target, but you need to understand too that nothing in this world stays with us for very long: at a given moment, your hand will have to open and allow your intention to follow its destiny.

Therefore, the arrow must leave, however much you love all the steps that led to the elegant posture and the correct intention, and however much you admire its feathers, its point, its shape.

However, it cannot leave before the archer is ready to shoot, because its flight would be too brief.

It cannot leave after the exact posture and concentration have been achieved, because the body would be unable to withstand the effort and the hand would begin to shake.

It must leave at the moment when bow, archer, and target are at the same point in the universe: this is called inspiration.

Repetition

The gesture is the incarnation of the verb; that is, an action is a thought made manifest.

A small gesture betrays us, so we must polish everything, think about details, learn the technique in such a way that it becomes intuitive. Intuition has nothing to do with routine, but with a state of mind that is beyond technique.

So, after much practicing, we no longer think about the necessary movements; they become part of our own existence. But for this to happen, you must practice and repeat.

And if that isn’t enough, you must repeat and practice.

Look at the skilled farrier working steel. To the untrained eye, he is merely repeating the same hammer blows.

But anyone who knows the way of the bow knows that each time he lifts the hammer and brings it down, the intensity of the blow is different. The hand repeats the same gesture, but as it approaches the metal, it understands that it must touch it with more or less force.

So it is with repetition; although it may appear to be the same thing, it is always different.

Look at the windmill. To someone who glances at its sails only once, they seem to be moving at the same speed, repeating the same movement.

But those familiar with windmills know that they are controlled by the wind and change direction as necessary.

The hand of the farrier was trained by repeating the gesture of hammering thousands of times. The sails of the windmill can move fast when the wind blows hard and thus ensure that its gears run smoothly.

The archer allows many arrows to go far beyond the target, because he knows that he will learn the importance of bow, posture, string, and target only by repeating his gestures thousands of times and by not being afraid of making mistakes.

And his true allies will never criticize him, because they know that practice is necessary, that it is the only way in which he can perfect his instinct, his hammer blow.

And then comes the moment when he no longer has to think about what he is doing. From then on, the archer becomes his bow, his arrow, and his target.

How to Observe the Flight of the Arrow

Once the arrow has been shot, there is nothing more the archer can do, except follow its path to the target. From that moment on, the tension required to shoot the arrow has no further reason to exist.

Therefore, the archer keeps his eyes fixed on the flight of the arrow, but his heart rests, and he smiles.

The hand that released the bowstring is thrust back; the hand holding the bow moves forward; the archer is forced to open wide his arms and confront, chest exposed and with a sincere heart, the gaze of both allies and opponents.

If he has practiced enough, if he has managed to develop his instinct, if he has maintained elegance and concentration throughout the whole process of shooting the arrow, he will, at that moment, feel the presence of the universe and will see that his action was just and deserved.