On Zen, and Swordsmanship. Minimoto Mushashi’s advice for a good life

Selective quotes from Mushashi’s famous book written in the 1600s. The Book of Five Rings.

It is not a simple “Martial Arts Manual” It is a book on how to lead a life of success, written from the deep perspective of Zen. Such advice is a cure to the sort of simplistic wishful thinking type of spirituality advocated by books like “The Secret”.  There is nothing like facing death to help someone see through aimlessness and mediocrity.

These Maxims are applicable in School, at work and in Business, in Relationships, in Worldly pursuits, and in Spiritual pursuits. And most of all, in becoming fit. Your spirit and body both demand of you nothing less than excellence. Shall you betray your own self?

“Truth is not what you want it to be. It is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.”

“You should study all things to broaden your life. You should specialize in several things to polish your life.”

“Only intense training and experience will teach you to recognize the difference between what is important and what is meant to distract.”

“To build anything quickly and maintain quality means not being disorganized with anything.”

“Keep your options open and remain flexible. Too much dependence on any one thing is just as bad as not depending on anything.”

“Those who have missed the mark may chatter all day long about this and that, but they have never done anything. Anyone can make a good argument, but few can show good results.”

“The truth is that victory comes by manipulating the circumstances to your advantage.”

“Overuse of power isn’t a good thing. If you cut with the mind of being very strong, your cut will be crude and sloppy. It is almost impossible to consistently win by relying on strength alone.”

“Business is like the waves of the sea. All things rise and all things fall. You must be able to discern the time that you are in and the time that is approaching.”

3 Comment

  1. I should’ve realised Musashi was a real historical figure, the way he kept on appearing in videogames. e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3kN4nFo8Zw (appears at 2:30 in his own videogame)
    Rolling in the armour that is his grave is probably the expression for the desecration of his memory these videogames seem to represent (or is it some strange way of making his name live as a great ‘hero’?)

    “Only intense training and experience will teach you to recognize the difference between what is important and what is meant to distract.”
    A principle one lives by in the field of medicine, I believe. Theory is all well and good, but…

  2. .. training and practice prevents the sewing up of scalpels inside of patients.

    Ah, the stories my dad used to tell me about medical school…

    I believe that video games represent, in a way, the decay of our collective imagination and memory. We externalize our dreams, because we have lost the imaginative and visionary faculties to dream internally..

    Have you ever seen the movie “Until the End of the World”? If not, give it a good watch. It deals with something similar

  3. Medical school is brilliant for good stories, yes 😉

    I shall put it on my To Watch list (in fact, also quite a big queue.)

    I believe that video games represent, in a way, the decay of our collective imagination and memory. We externalize our dreams, because we have lost the imaginative and visionary faculties to dream internally..
    I would’ve doubted this. But if I contrast children as generations progress… yes. There’s truth.

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