Dave Lowry
An excerpt from the book Sword and Brush: The Spirit of the Martial Arts.

The shakuhachi flutist plays his instrument from his body center and perfects his breathing. The swordsman strikes from his center and the efficacy of his blow is assured by a proper attention to his own respiration. The goals differ, the attitude is identical.

Click here to read the text.

True, the Do may produce art. It may be of practical value. But the attainment of the Way is in the process. It is doing a thing not for the sake of doing it; it is doing a thing because the doing releases us from certain constraints of the limited self: narcissism, self-centeredness, preoccupation with the fears and worries and doubts that diminish us in daily life. The Way draws us into the domain of the potential self: self-realization, self-cultivation, and self-perfection.

Originally published by Shambhala. Excerpt published here with thanks.