The Way To Be Followed Alone
Posted on March 10, 2009
A good friend pointed me towards The Dokkōdō, a work written by Miyamoto Musashi at the very end of his life.
Musashi has been in my mind, and in my life (as much as a really old, dead guy can be), off and on, since I was about 14, when I first read his “Book of Five Rings“, arguably one of the two most significant writing on martial arts and combat to come out of asia (the other being Sun Tzu’s Art Of War).
Despite my longstanding awareness of Musashi, I hadn’t encountered The Dokkōdō before being sent the link, so reading it the first time hit me really hard. Given when it was written (1645 or so), it doesn’t relate 100% to modern life, but a lot of it trends very strongly along the Way that I’m trying to walk these days. I’ve read it a few dozen times since then, and every time I gain from it.
In this post, I’m taking the liberty of expanding on Musashi’s points, details how I see them potentially impacting on a modern life that embraces them. This has probably been the post that’s taken me the longest to write – every one of these little lines strikes deep chords with me, and requires much thought. I’m not entirely sure I’m communicating what goes through my mind from each of these points, but I’m trying.
Musashi was very much a creature of extremes – he lived in a world of pure black and white. His way of life was complete and he committed himself to it absolutely, he lived it absolutely, and deliberately sought to avoid everything which didn’t add positive value to his Way. This isn’t the way I’ve chosen to live my life, and I imagine that’s true for most of us. Nevertheless, there are lessons here, and they don’t require much deep through to start applying them to your life.
1. Accept everything just the way it is.
I’ve heard this paraphrased in a number of ways, but the one that’s stuck with me is “Don’t fight with the weather”. You can’t change what you can’t change, so accept it. Of course, you need to carefully consider what you can and can’t change, and accurately decide which is which. It would be all too easy for this to be a recipe for giving up.
2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
Now, I’m obviously a bit more of a hedonist than Musashi was, but I get where he’s coming from here. Pleasure, in and of itself isn’t a bad thing to seek, but in very small doses. However, it’s appropriate to seek it in moderation, and only when it doesn’t come at too high a cost. For Muasahi, his Way of life was absolute, and any deviation was to be avoided.
3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
Feel fully. Know fully. Once you are complete in your knowledge or your feelings, than act accordingly, with full commitment of heart, body and soul. No half measures.
4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
Consider yourself as a part of the world, and act accordingly. Act as you would prefer that everyone else act. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Don’t inflict your desires upon others, but instead, share yourself with them to their benefit.
5. Be detached from desire your whole life long.
Do not seek worldy things too deeply. Now, I’m not advocating going and living in a cave (although, that’s just what Musashi did), but try and minimise your desires. If you covet less, you’re happier with what you have. Instead of seeking to possess something you have not, seek to be something you are not (yet).
6. Do not regret what you have done.
A regret is nothing but a grudge you hold against yourself, and I’ve written about bearing grudges here before. If you make a mistake, you should try to correct it, make every effort to learn from it, but beating yourself up about it serves no purpose. Regrets are an anchor, dragging you back into your past.
7. Never be jealous.
Jealousy is another form of covetousness. Put it aside, be who you would be, act in the way that you would act.
8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
Part of Musashi’s detachment from society in order to pursue his perfection of his art also meant that he spent a lot of time away from friends and family. He regarded this as simply a part of the cost of his chosen way of life, and as such, not something to be regretted.
9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself or others.
Both resentment and complaint look to the past, not the future. The past cannot be changed by your actions in the now – only in the future can you have an impact.
10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
Let’s assume that Musashi is talking about in his professional life here – but bear in mind the name of this – The Way To be Followed Alone. To a great extent, Musashi had no personal life. Personaly, that’s a far larger sacrifice than I’m prepared to make, but it’s the one he made.
11. In all things have no preferences.
Make intelligent decisions, but don’t be hamstrung by them. In the Book of Five Rings, Musashi talks about the fighting schools that prefer longer swords, or heavier swords, and considers these to be a deviation from the true way. A sword is a sword is a tool – learn to use it, and use it in all its forms. If the manner in which you work depends on a sword that is longer than usual, then you are limited to only using long swords if you wish to be effective.
12. Be indifferent to where you live.
Much like the preceding, but looking outwards to the broader world. The where part of where you live should be less important than what the locale can provide to you ,in terms of furthering your chosen career path.
13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
My waistline is proof enough of this – but more than that, Musashi is restating the second point, above.
14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
This is so true, and very much forms the basis of this site. Getting rid of old possessions has freed my mind more than I ever imagined possible, opening up worlds of opportunities to me.
15. Do not act following customary beliefs.
Challenge the mainstream. Don’t do what everyone else does just because it’s the thing that everyone does. Do what you know to be right.
16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
OK, so collecting weapons isn’t particularly relevant for most of us. However, bear in mind that Musashi was a swordsman, weapons were the tools of his ‘trade’. If you replace the word “weapons” with “your tools”, this precept becomes far more relevant to the modern world. Personally, I’d love a huge collection of camera gear. I enjoy the technology space, I’d love to collect cameras, both old and new. To a certain extent, I could justify it, but would it make me a better photographer, or cause me to be able to create better images? I’ve already lived through the process of doing this with computer equipment, and I don’t intend to do it again. So, I’ll gather the tools I need, the tools that will assist me in being a better craftsman.
17. Do not fear death.
For a warrior, death equates to failure – to fail in battle was to die, to fail in your duties opened the possibility of your life becoming forfeit for your failure, so the ideas of failure and death were almost synonymous for Musashi. Fear of failure is what prevents many of us from starting something, prevents us from giving our all, trying our hardest, just in case it’s not good enough. So, do not fear to fail – fearing failure can prevent you from committing fully to take action – thus, failure is almost inevitable.
18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
Kinda disagree here, but that’s probably more a reflection of the time in which I live.
19. Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
Not being in the least bit religious, I’d prefer to paraphrase this: “Be self reliant in all things, depending on no outside agency for assistance. Yet respect the beliefs of others, knowing that they do you no harm”
20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.
To thine own self, be true.
21. Never stray from the Way.
Be mindful of the path you’ve chosen to walk. Actively walk it, day in, day out. Be self-correcting on your path.
Even re-reading what I’ve written, so many thoughts spin off in other directions. I’d love to hear what you have to say about this – either the original piece, or my commentary/expansions.
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