Musashi became famous for his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and inconceivable undefeated record across 61 duels. He was disciplined, humble, and contemplative in his pursuit of expertise, which in itself became a vehicle for self-mastery. Due to his achievements as a swordsman, he was bestowed the title of Kensei, meaning the sword-saint of Japan.
While he was a highly skilled martial artist,
Musashi was also a philosopher and a Buddhist monk, who was well-versed in the
arts of practicing inner peace. Two years before his death, Musashi retreated
to a cave, where he meditated and lived the rest of his life in seclusion.
In the
last week leading up to his death, Musashi wrote a book containing the
philosophy of his life to leave for his favorite student. He called
it Dokkōdō (The Path of Aloneness, or The Way of
Walking Alone).
The book contains 21 principles or precepts that a
warrior must live by in order to be mentally, emotionally, physically and
spiritually strong and undefeatable. It also shows us the way we need to
follow alone in order to become unbothered by external factors and become more
resilient in life.
Thus
the Dokkōdō can be interpreted as a guidebook to humility, self-discipline,
asceticism, and personal development, and an early commentary on the psychology
of mastery and optimal performance
The
approach to combat and everyday life should be the same. — Miyamoto Musashi
The book is still relevant in this day and age even
though it was written almost four centuries ago.
Here are the 21 precepts
on self-discipline mentioned in Miyamoto Musashi’s Dokkodo.
No.1.
Accept everything just the way it is.
Unconditional acceptance
is not just good for your mental health, it also leads to an internal locus of control. Instead of
blaming everything and everyone else for all the bad things going on in your
life, accept life as it is and focus on what you can do to change the situation
in your favor. Whether in your career relationships or personal life
accept the things that you cannot change instead of being stressed, anxious,
overwhelmed and worried about them. Avoid opposing the laws of nature
and ways of the world and focus on improving yourself. Be flexible in
your approach and don’t stick to a rigid worldview.
No.2.
Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
A life of self-discipline requires you to pursue
what is meaningful and useful often at the expense of what is pleasurable or
expedient. For Musashi, happiness is not an end in itself worth chasing. It is
fleeting and simply a by-product of pursuing meaning growth and mastery.
Again Tokitsu points out that such a conception of
life is derived from Buddhist thought as well as ancient Japanese notions of
nature and the world — two pervasive themes throughout this text and all of
Musashi’s writing.
No.3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
Being emotional and
making decisions based on fleeting emotions can spell certain doom, as most of
us are aware. Yet, we often rely on our feelings to make crucial life
decisions. This is why it is important that we consider different
factors, other than our feelings, before making a decision and are always sure
about a decision before acting on it. This can help you avoid
self-doubt, be more confident and gain more clarity in life.
Certain
decisions need total conviction and hence, we should be cautious before acting
on our feelings. A
warrior never attacks their opponent without clear and proper thought as the
counterattack can lead to defeat.
Maintain a clear-sighted view of your circumstances, eschew biases and
preconceived notions, and practice decisiveness.
No.4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
This beautiful aphorism reminds
us of the all-too-human tendency to view ourselves as the center of the
universe.
This is an exercise in humility. Musashi’s biographer Tokitsu explains that he
is inviting us to meditate on our own smallness - another decidedly Buddhist
concept - in relation to the power of nature, the immensity of the world, and
the ever-changing, unpredictable essence of reality. Maintaining a light sense
of self will facilitate better judgement, adaptability, and growth, and can act
as an antidote to frustration and pain.
According to Dokkodo,
only the weak look for their personal gain, while the strong always look out
for the needs of others. Caring about others allows you to experience kindness,
love and generosity for others. It helps you see the true beauty in the world
and in people, making you appreciate life better.
Being detached from
attachment and desire is one of the core principles in Buddhism. When
we are too attached to our goals, dreams and wants, our mind, heart and life is
completely dominated by them. It is only by truly detaching from
desire can we observe ourselves, think independently and become the best version of ourselves. However, it does not mean
that we should not be ambitious or pursue our dreams, it simply means that we
need to put in the effort to reach our goals without trying to manipulate the
outcome.
Letting
go of your expectations of the outcome will empower you to be happy regardless
of what lies ahead in
life. When we are too attached to our desires, we become vulnerable to
mistakes, manipulation and desperation
No.6. Do not regret what you have done.
While it is natural to
regret our past mistakes, in his book Dokkodo, Miyamoto Musashi suggests that
we should never feel guilty for our actions as we can never change
the past. Regret is a useless feeling. What is important is that we
learn from our mistakes and make sure not to repeat them again. Mistakes
allow us to understand ourselves better, be more mature and gain experience
about life. Constantly regretting the past will limit our abilities
and prevent us from living the way we want to live life.
Criticizing yourself for
past mistakes serve no purpose as you did not know any better. You did
your best in that particular moment and learned a valuable lesson from it. We
must use the lessons learned to create a better life for ourselves and others.
The fact that Musashi wrote this on his
deathbed makes it all the more poignant.
Jealousy is born out of
insecurities. When we compare ourselves to others, we put ourselves down and
tell ourselves that we are not good enough. This can dampen our warrior spirit
and demotivate us. Instead of being jealous of others, be inspired by
their skills and achievements. Invest your energy in building yourself
rather than drowning in such a toxic and negative emotion.
Jealousy will only make you feel hurt and steal your
happiness. It
will make you ungrateful for what you already have and make you falsely believe
that your life is not satisfying. Use that energy to do what you want to do.
Where love goes, pain
follows. While a breakup or the loss of a loved one is undoubtedly painful, we
should not carry the pain in our hearts for too long, suggests Musashi in his
Dokkodo. Love never leads to pain and suffering, only attachment does.
Instead of holding onto people who are no longer in your life, let them go and
accept the present situation. Separation is an unavoidable part of our
lives and relationships are never permanent.
What
matters is that we love them unconditionally, and keep their memories alive in
our hearts. When
someone wants to leave, allow them to go, wish them well and keep them close to
your heart. Physical separation can never end emotional love.
There is another form of practicing detachment.
While grief is a normal human emotion, understand and accept that all things -
every event, relationship, and even life itself - comes to an end. This allows
you to prioritize, maintain presence, appreciate things more fully, and live
with a sense of urgency.
True warriors and ronins
do not nag, whine and complain in life. They face whatever challenge life
throws at them and emerge victorious. Warriors who walk alone don’t
pretend to be the victim nor do they complain about life not being fair. Having
a victim mindset can fill you up with cynicism, bitterness, frustration and
resentment that will hold you back in life and erode your inner peace and
happiness. Instead focus your energy on being productive, improving your
abilities to deal with your situation and moving forward.
To forgive is to free yourself from a form of unnecessary attachment - i.e. clinging to a past hurt - and to continue on your journey unburdened.
No.10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love. Steer clear of the path to attachment
Love and passion, like all forms of
attachment, are desires that can distract you or lead to mistakes.. For
Musashi, attachment was indulgence, and indulgence leads to daze and
distraction.
Understand that all things - objects,
emotions, relationships, even life itself - have an end. Practice detachment,
and pursue presence of mind in your pursuit of mastery, a higher purpose, and
the Way.
While we live in an era
where we believe that our opinions, choices and preferences matter and we
should always stand up for our preferences, it can lead to a rigid mindset that
can affect our life adversely. But according to Dokkodo being
open-minded and having a flexible attitude can help you gain new experiences
learn new things and go to places you never knew existed. While it is
okay to have your personal preferences, you should not be too attached to them
and restrict yourself. That’s not how a warrior lives.
Unless
you want to live a small life trapped inside the mental boundaries you created
for yourself develop a more flexible and open approach towards life.
Stay focused, disciplined and detached. Some of the most valuable things in your pursuit of excellence won’t be pretty, but they’ll be useful. Pursue optimal performance as a vehicle for developing yourself not for glamor and attention.
No.12. Have no luxury in your house. Be indifferent to where you live.
Do not
be overly concerned with where you live, rather focus on what you do in life to
make it better. Whether
you live in the forest or in a mansion your happiness or sadness should not
depend on your living conditions.
While in this era of social media madness, we are overtaken by FOMO (fear of missing out) be happy with right where you are if you want to be a ruthless ronin. And if you feel unhappy or frustrated with where you live, then move away. Work hard so that you can live in a better way without getting too attached to our house or living arrangement.
Your sense of satisfaction should not come from the things you accumulate. In
his poem Let
it Enfold You Charles Bukowski remarks that a life of
glamour comparison and fleeting pleasures can wear you down:
cautiously I allowed
myself to feel good
at times.
I found moments of
peace in cheap
rooms
just staring at the
knobs of some
dresser
or listening to the
rain in the
dark.
the less I needed
the better I
felt.
So if you wish to be a
true warrior you need to focus on eating food that is good for your health and
not become obsessed with food that only tastes good. Eat mindfully. Eat
nourishing food that makes you full and satisfied. While the taste of
the food you eat may be important at times it should not be your primary
concern when it comes to eating. Always focus on eating for nourishment advise Dokkodo.
True warriors are never materialistic rather they practice minimalism as a lifestyle. According to Musashi’s Dokkodo you should not hold onto things that you no longer need or don’t serve any purpose in your life. Avoid hoarding and remove all the clutter from your home, workspace and your life. Keep what you actually need and give away the rest to those who are in need of it. Once you get rid of all the clutter you will become mentally physically and spiritually free. The more junk you possess in life the more challenging your path will be as a warrior. Think of yourself as a wandering traveler who carries the minimal luggage so that you can move from one place to another easily.
Musashi had an appreciation for a thing’s utility,
but parted with it when it was no longer useful to him.
Fittingly in his final days the warrior-poet gave
away the last of his possessions to friends and pupils.
Just because everyone
around you is doing something, doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have to
do it. Simply because you are walking the path alone doesn’t
necessarily make you wrong. Walking alone is the true path of the
rebellious ronin.
No.16. Do not concern yourself with superfluous trappings, only the tools of your trade
Do not
collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
Words of wisdom for only
the true warriors. Samurais are masters of weapons especially the katana a
curved single-edged blade sword. However in his second book Dokkodo The
Path of Aloneness Miyamoto Musashi says that it is better to be the master of
one weapon than dabble with many. Being a Kensei, Musashi himself was seen
as a sword-saint of Japan.
For
us, it may mean that we should focus on the skill that we are best at instead
of multitasking using multiple gadgets or trying to do too many things at once. When you hone your craft and gain mastery
over a specific skill you will become untouchable whether in the battlefield,
in your career or in your life. Be a specialist not a generalist.
Death is inevitable, yet
all of us take steps to avoid it. The secret to be a strong and
courageous warrior is to overcome your fear of death and accept it openly when
it arrives. Death is hard to accept for most of us. But the truth is
all of us will die eventually and we can never know when and how it will
happen. While it may be sad to realize this truth, accepting death instead of
fearing it can encourage us to live our life to the fullest.
It can make us
appreciate our life more, be more grateful and live in the present moment
instead of worrying about the future. When a warrior is afraid, they
become mentally weak and they can be defeated easily. Being calm,
focused and unafraid of death increases your chances of victory.
Tokitsu
says that Musashi went on a
journey in the course of which one put one's life on the line in order to make
progress in the way of the sword. Musashi was more than willing to lay down his
life in pursuit of mastery in the martial arts and in turn mastery of himself.
The ever-present possibility of death only served to make the experiences more
profound and the lessons more ingrained.
How will material
possessions serve you when you are dead? Being a ronin himself, Musashi
believed collecting valuable possessions was a waste of time and energy. He
believed that a true warrior should invest their time in honing their skill,
not lust after collecting possessions. Things and objects cannot give
you happiness and satisfaction. Even if possessing a valuable object may make
you feel better, it will be fleeting.
It is believed that in his final days
Musashi gave away what little possessions he had to friends and family. His
fulfilment came from his lifelong pursuit of the Way, of mastering the martial
arts to which he dedicated his life. Following his legendary fighting career,
he dedicated the remainder of his life not to accumulating land or useless
trappings, but to teaching and training others, and refining his philosophies.
No.19. Respect Buddha and the gods but ask them for nothing
Ever heard of the old
saying God helps those who help themselves? Loving God and worshiping
God with the expectation of being blessed in return are fundamentally very
different. Don’t leave the fate of your life in the hands of God – that
is not the way of a true lone warrior, according to Dokkodo. If you
want to develop a warrior mindset, you need to take charge of your life, be
self-reliant and love God for the sake of loving God.
Respecting Buddha or
God because you want something in return is a way of disrespecting God.
This was not hyperbole for Musashi. He respected
the gods and tradition, but relied only on himself. He cultivated his sense of
personal agency. And throughout his epic life, his
self-belief and self-efficacy served him well.
A samurai always fights
for his honor. Being a true warrior, you
should never engage in any activities that are considered dishonorable.
Our character is
something we build through hard work, and a true warrior will always protect
their character. Think before you act. Even if you may need to
sacrifice your life, never sacrifice your values or internal code of
ethics. Musashi believed that it is better to lose your life than your
honor.
Rather than back down and sacrifice his honor, Musashi claims to have fought an
unfathomable 61 duels, enjoying near-mythical success. Because of his ethics
and legacy, he has since been canonized — Musashi is now considered a Kensei, a sword-saint of Japan.
No.21.Never
stray from the Way of strategy
A warrior walks on their
path alone and never gets distracted. Be determined to walk on the path
you have chosen and stay on it no matter what. This symbolizes that
you believe in yourself, your values and your choices.
Walk
ahead on your path with full conviction, otherwise don’t walk on it at
all. Go all
in and cast away all your doubts and insecurities.
Musashi was
an advocate of deliberate, unwavering discipline and focus. You will be tempted by attachment, attention, luxuries, and
glamor. There will be doubt, your enthusiasm will wane, you will question your
path. But the Way is the ever-ascending journey.
This classic samurai
wisdom will turn you into a fearless, focused, intelligent and ruthless
ronin.
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