| There are hundreds- if not thousands of | | | | standard, but it is exciting to read- but it is not a |
| books that concern the topics of Zen and/or | | | | light read- it requires real thinking. It is a great |
| karate and the many aspects of their | | | | way to get into some real college level philosophy, |
| philosophies. For anyone interested in these | | | | and it contains deep discussion of both western |
| topics, I would like to suggest just a few standout | | | | and eastern philosophy; |
| books- ones that have held the test of time, and | | | | 4) Tales of Power- by Carlos Casteneda- |
| are very interesting - that is, they are both | | | | a 70's book also. This book is part of a series of |
| substantive and they will not bore you in any | | | | works that Carlos authored concerning the time |
| way, Here are some great books regarding the | | | | that he spent with a certain Indian group in |
| above: | | | | Central America- the Yaqui Indians. the book is a |
| 1) The Tao of Jet Kune Do- by the late, | | | | mystical work of art- and it centers around a |
| great, Bruce Lee. This book, written some 40 | | | | character called "don Juan"- a great master who |
| years ago, contains a great wealth of information | | | | can control and "play with" his own vision of |
| concerning fighting techniques- and also, | | | | reality- and he leads Casteneda on a "trip" through |
| importantly, many tidbits of Bruce Lee's wisdom- | | | | that reality. It is a book of wonder- and also- of |
| his advice on many aspects of life and the martial | | | | Zen. It is a lot of fun to read. One might first |
| arts and Zen. It is both a training manual and | | | | read "ajourney to Ixtlan"- which is earlier in the |
| also, a great source of inspiration. The book | | | | same series. |
| serves to illustrate just how far Bruce was ahead | | | | 5) The Three Pillars of Zen"- by D.T. |
| of his time- it shows how far he had evolved | | | | Suzuki- written earlier in the last century- this is a |
| mentally- beyond the "traditionalist" karate person | | | | classical work concerning Zen, and it is a classic in |
| of that time period; | | | | all ways. It is a great way for the general |
| 2) What is Karate?- by Mas Oyama- a | | | | reader to get to know the classic concepts of |
| beautifully illustrated book that contains many | | | | Zen and Budhism. |
| photos and descriptions of traditional karate | | | | There are many other great books- but |
| techniques. Oyama was a great karate master | | | | the reader who is interested in either Zen or |
| who passed away many years ago and he is | | | | Karate- or philosophy in general may find any or |
| considered one of the greatest of the masters- | | | | all of the above quite interesting. My goal is to |
| he accented strength and he was a fearless | | | | set you in the right direction so that you don't |
| fighter. | | | | have to plow through possibly lesser books- these |
| 3) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle | | | | listed above are a great way to start, or to get a |
| Maintenance- by Robert Pirsig- written during the | | | | glimpse of this whole field of knowledge. Many |
| 1970's. This is a great novel that concerns the | | | | of these concepts have been incorporated at our |
| idea of "Quality"- and what that really means. | | | | fitness and karate club located at karobix.com, |
| This concept lies very near the heart of Karate- | | | | said concepts often being illustrated in the Guides |
| and Zen. The book is not only a classic by any | | | | that can be accessed at that site. |