The Way of the Modern Ronin, Part 12

Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo

Part Twelve

In All Things, Have No Preferences

Picture of the 3rd Patriarch of Zen, Seng T'san, whose famous work, Hsin Hsin Ming ("Inscription of Faith in Mind," Shinjinmei in Japanese), is strikingly similar to some of the musings of the Dokkodo.  Musashi was clearly influenced by Seng T'san's work, wittingly or not. (Picture is in the Public Domain)

Here, at the midpoint of the work, Musashi seems to return to a musing that is very close to his first one, to accept everything as it is.  In order to accept life and reality as it truly is, you must also "have no preferences."  I believe Musashi did this in order for the reader (which would have been Terao Maganojo at first, but Musashi knew it would be passed on to students under Maganojo, and to future generations), to stay focused on the overall meaning of the text, and of following the Way in general.

Although the samurais at Musashi's time - and throughout their history in Japan - were influenced deeply by Buddhism (along with Confucianism, Taoism, and, quite obviously, Shintoism), the Buddhism that influenced the samurai the most was Shingon Buddhism (often referred to as Mikkyo in samurai texts) and NOT Zen, even though the most famous samurai texts (at least in the West) are ones that have a strikingly Zen flair to them.  I believe, however, the reason that many of the well-known texts are so popular is their uniqueness in the samurai world.  Texts such as The Hagakure, The Life-Giving Sword, and The Unfettered Mind are famous because of their very Zen approach.  But the most Zen of them all might be this work, and Musashi is going to hammer that point home throughout The Dokkodo.

One of the most famous works among Zennists at that time in Japan would have been the Hsin Hsin Ming, or the Shinjinmei in Japanese, a 7th century Zen "hymn" written by the 3rd patriarch of Zen, Seng T'san (Kanchi Sosan).  It's easy to see how it would have had an influence upon Musashi.  Here are the opening lines of the Zen poem:

The Great Way (Tao) is not difficult for those who don't pick or choose.

Cut off all likes and dislikes, and everything becomes clear like empty space.

But make the slightest distinction, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.

If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinions for, or against, anything.

To set up what you like against what you dislike is a disease of the mind.

When the deep meaning of things is not understood, the mind's essential peace is disturbed.

Although one could argue that the Shinjinmei is basically, in its distilled essence, a meditation manual, it's also much more than that.  It's a guide to life.  Which explains its enduring appeal among Zen practitioners throughout the ages.

In his book No Fear Zen, Roshi Richard Collins has the following to say about the "problem" with preferences: "Preferences are the symptoms of desire.  Preferences are the first symptoms of suffering.  Preferences kill Zen practice.  Preferences kill zazen.  We see this in the dojo almost every day.  One person would rather sit in the morning, another at night.  One person would rather the heat be turned up, another the air conditioning.  One person would rather sit for thirty minutes, another for forty or fifty.  One person would rather have a shorter ceremony or no ceremony at all, while another wants more ceremony."   Although Roshi Collins is writing here about a Zen dojo, any budoka or martial practitioner who has been training for any lengthy period of time can easily see the correlation to a budo dojo.  One person would rather classes start at 6 p.m. as soon as he gets off work, another would rather it start at 7:30 so she can have time to go home and relax and shower before class starts.  One person would rather have an intense, 45 minute class with a lot of fast-paced drills, and another wants an hour and a half class that focuses primarily on teaching technique.  One would rather the class consist almost entirely of kumite, another of kata.  So, yes, preferences kill budo practice as well.

One concern budoka might have with this particular maxim is that it implies rigidly going along with what one is taught, and not making any creative - but effective - changes to one's style.  In "having no preferences" should you strive to teach your style in the exact manner that you were taught it?  Even if you know your change is an improvement?  I believe that Musashi would tell you this is not what he has in mind.  Musashi himself created his own style of swordsmanship, a highly creative one that used two swords, so he had no problem with creatively improvising.  In fact, he may have believed that improvisation is the very thing that prevents "preferences".  If you think that there is only one way to do your particular style, or if you believe that your style (MMA, Karate, Muay Thai, Sambo, Kung-fu, whatever) is the only one, then you won't be able to see the effectiveness of another technique, or another way of doing the same technique in a different style that may be more effective than your own.

In all things, have no preferences.  Because preferences kill progress, and preferences kill effective training!