TWO RECENT BOOKS

TWO RECENT BOOKS
Let these open your eyes when you read them!

THE FALL OF THE PHILIPPINES

THE FALL OF THE PHILIPPINES
WW II INVASION BY JAPAN OF THE PHILIPPINES

THE RAPE OF NANKING

THE RAPE OF NANKING
by the late IRIS CHANG

JAPAN'S WAR

JAPAN'S WAR
Good history of some things we need to know

BUSHIDO:THE SOUL OF JAPAN

BUSHIDO:THE SOUL OF JAPAN
INAZO NITOBE

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

थे इन्फ्लुएंस ऑफ़ जें ओं मर्तिअल ARTS

In my personal library, I have a few books by Westerners on Japanese culture and on Zen Buddhism which I became acquainted with while in college years ago and which,on and off, I have delved into the various books from time to time that have appeared since then, and I find some of interest, especially those of those Westerners who have shaved their heads, taken up tea ceremonies, even judo and karate, not to mention Ninjutsu,etc, and have entered monasteries devoted to one or another branch or sect of Zen, and who have sometimes gained interesting insights into themselves and have lived ' monastic' life....both men and women have done this. I have to add that the attraction of Oriental and Asian religions is nothing new for the West, that since the early days of discovery of ancient scripts and masterpieces, especially from India, Westerners of all kinds have taken to Vedanta, Yoga, Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and the like and have become adherents and devotees of many sects, organizations, ashrams, and followers of numerous 'saints', 'gurus', 'swamis', 'lamas', etc. and also lived in India and Tibet, Nepal,etc. as monks,etc. while these days many do not go to those lands anymore but embrace the monastic life in the US, for example at similar institutions set up for such purposes.....and have also written some interesting accounts,etc. The same is true for many Westerners who have embraced Sufism, Christianity, Catholicism,etc. in that many have had 'peak' experiences and 'mystical' yearnings and have written about such or received some minor publicity for their efforts, which they are often quite willing to share with the reading public who will not, or seldom ever, enter these realms from their everyday existences for various reasons...despite an interest in such esoteric and arcane subjects..... The general public will remain satisfied with those fraternal organizations and charitable groups and standard religious groups, churches and other centers of 'worshop' and not venture except perhaps to slide shows, lectures, and demonstrations,etc. However, there is a large body of literature dealing with Zen and its relation to various martial arts, many of which have been written by practitioners of martial arts as well as prominent teachers and instructors, some of whom have lived and studied and worked in Japan and other Asian areas and who are versed in other cultural aspects and quite often speak the languages of these countries, like Japanese or Chinese,etc. The impetus for all of this comes as a result of WORLD WAR TWO and slow but steady progress that martial arts have undergone since their early introduction by returning US servicemen, that is, as far as the US is concerned. However, various groups of martial arts have since that time sent their members and teachers abroad so that nearly every country in the world now has a judo, karate, kungfu, tae kwon do, etc. group....and along with this has been attached the religions, in some cases very intensely, of Zen, Buddhism and Taoism.......of which more will be discussed further when time permits.