Jyoti Rawat's Key Ideas from The Archer
by Paulo Coelho

The Arrow symbolizes the intention.It must be crystal clear and straight and balanced.

Though never hold back from firing the arrow if all that paralyzes you is fear of making a mistake.If you never take a risk, you will never know what changes you need to make.Each arrow leaves a memory in your heart, and it is the sum of those memories that will make you shoot better and better.

The target is the objective to be reached.It was chosen by the archer and though it is a long way off, we cannot blame it when we fail to hit it. In this lies the beauty of the way of the bow: you can never excuse yourself by saying that your opponent was stronger than you. You were the one who chose the target and you are responsible for it. The target can be larger, smaller, to the right or the left , but you always have to stand before it, respect it, and bring it closer mentally.

Elegance is achieved when everything superfluous has been discarded, and the archer discovers simplicity and concentration; the simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful.

The archer learns when he forgets all about the rules of the way of the bow and goes on to act entirely on instinct. In order, though to be able to forget the rules, it is necessary to respect them and to know them. When he reaches this state, he no longer needs the instruments that helped him to learn. He no longer needs the bow or the arrows or the target, because the path is more important than the thing that first set him on that path. Between one action and the next, the archer remembers everything he has done; he talks with his allies; he rests and is content with the fact of being alive