C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part 22 Never Veer from the Way "Samurai contemplating the Way" (design by C.S.) We have come to the "end-of-the-road" of Musashi's The Dokkodo .  This last musing is at once extremely basic and simple, and also - because of its very simplicity - is a profound and never-ending well to be explored to greater and greater depths of both interiority and physicality. The "Way" (that we are to never veer from) is the "Do" in "Budo" or "Karate-Do."  Many times, when used by Musashi, and by other Zen/Budo textualizers, this Way is the same as a "path" or even a "discipline."  It's very straightforward when used in this manner, and it's meant to be.  You must follow  Musashi's path in the way that he intended if you are to become a skilled exponent of his sword-school.  But the Way  can, and often does , mean the Tao .  Now, and let me be clear on this point, the...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part 21 You May Abandon Your Body But Preserve Your Honor "Hotei watches a cockfight."  Painting by Miyamato Musashi (courtesy Wikimedia) "All things have an inner divine essence and an outer marvelous function.  The essence of a tree is manifested in its wonderful blossoms and abundant foliage.  The essence of tree could not be perceived if there were no blossoms and leaves.  Human beings have an inner divine essence that cannot be seen but is manifested as the marvelous techniques of budo."      ~Heiho Jikansho (of the Kajima Shinto School)  We are nearing the end of Musashi's final master-work, and Musashi is going to make sure that he leaves no stone unturned.  Knowing that he will die soon, his Dokkodo  takes on the sense of urgency he feels one needs in order to practice the way . Most translations of this precept are essentially the same.  William Scott Wilson, who you can typically co...

  Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part 20 Respect Buddha and the Gods Without Relying on Their Help Statue of Fudo Myoo - deity of Shingon Buddhism - at To-Ji Monastary in Kyoto (courtesy Wikimedia) I have a small confession before we begin this particular maxim of the great sword-saint Musashi: this is my favorite by far of all of his precepts in The Dokkodo .  I "confess" this, of course, because - as you should well know if this isn't your first piece in the series - the Budo Zen  of Musashi means that we must learn to "not pick and choose" and that the key to the success of the warrior is to "have no preferences."  All that aside, it's still my favorite.  But I hope you understand why  exactly that is so as you continue to read, for there is so much to "mine" from this, especially when you consider the number of "religious" people that may be offended by this maxim.  But I'm sure Musashi offended more than his fair ...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Nineteen Do Not Seek to be Rich in Your Old Age Bodhidharma sits facing the wall (Reigen Eto, 18th century) Bodhidharma is considered the founder of Zen Buddhism, and his "style" of meditation may be something that "helps" us with what we REALLY need for old age. Although Musashi died at the "ripe old age" of 60 or 61 - there is some disagreement as to the date of his birth - he lived to be surprisingly old considering both his occupation and the number of duels that he participated in.  Most samurai - especially  those who lived before the Tokugawa era - would have died at a significantly younger age.  Interestingly, it is only because  Musashi lived to be so old (for a samurai) that he understood the wisdom of this musing.  With age does  come wisdom in many cases, and so you can look at the whole of The Dokkodo  in this same vein.  He knows the wisdom of these "precepts" because he has lived t...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Eighteen Do Not Fear Death While Following the Way Portrait of Zen Master Dogen (public domain), 1253, founder of the Soto school of Japanese Zen. His teachings on death impacted Zennists such as Musashi, either directly or indirectly. "Love and Death are the great gifts given to us; mostly, they are passed on, unopened." ~Rainer Maria Rilke This precept is the beginning of what can best be categorized as the "home stretch" of his final work. After this precept, there are 4 more. In many ways, each one of them summarizes, or perhaps seals , the preceding ones. I read an opinion one time that this should have been used by Musashi as the final precept. I don't agree. Now, I do think that this precept, or either of the final two precepts, could have been used as the final musing, simply because all three's emphasis on the finality of things. But I also believe that Musashi was - as we should know by this point in o...

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Seventeen Do Not Collect Weapons, Nor Practice with Them, Beyond What is Useful Samurai wields two swords - a katana and a wakizashi - the hallmark of Musashi's "two heavens as one" style.   Here is another precept where there are often subtle differences in how it is translated.  But these subtle differences in translation can lead to subtly different outcomes.  So let's see if we can figure out the meaning of Musashi's words, then we'll see if we can apply it to our day-to-day lives. Roshi Richard Collins's translation is similar to the one I used: "Do not seek especially either to collect or practice arms beyond what is useful."  William Scott Wilson - who typically has the most "accurate" translations - has this one as: "While it's different with military equipment, do not be fond of material things."  Lastly, David K. Groff translates this as: "Do not concern yourself with...

  Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Sixteen Abstain from Fasting and Other Things That Affect You Physically Mas Oyama - modern-day heir to the Budo throne of Musashi - was a believer in Kangeiko , or "cold training" the same as the samurai at the time The Dokkodo  was written. Of all the musings/thoughts of The Dokkodo , this precept is the most widely translated - perhaps even mis translated.  For instance, Wikipedia  has it translated as, "Do not act following customary beliefs."  Roshi Richard Collins in his book No Fear Zen,  translates it almost exactly the same way: "Do not follow customary beliefs."  If you have read my past posts here on The Dokkodo , you know that I love  Collins's book, but I think this is the one musing where he  might  miss the point a little. Compare those translations with the translation by William Scott Wilson, the preeminent scholar and translator of traditional budo  and Bushido  works....

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Fifteen Do Not Hold Onto Possessions You No Longer Need By this point in our commentary on The Dokkodo , you know the drill.  There is always something more  to Musashi's work than at first glance.  Even for native readers in Japan, Musashi can seem paradoxical, quizzical in something akin to how a Zen koan might take a period of time to wrap one's thoughts around the nature of what is being read.  But this is even more so for those of us reading an imprecise English translation.  Once you couple this with the fact that Musashi seems so ancient  to our time and day, hopefully you begin to see how one can't just dismiss Musashi as being outdated, or how you must not be so quick to translate Musashi into a meaning that you  want his words to have.  That might make it more comfortable for us, but it's not going to bring about the changes that Musashi prescribes for us as modern martial artists. Let's look...

   Essays and Thoughts on  The Dokkodo Part Fourteen DO Not Pursue the Taste of Good Food Apparently not everyone agrees with Musashi, as the Netflix tv show "Samurai Gourmet" is all about tasty food! As with the previous maxim, here we have another seemingly  straightforward maxim that must be - yet again - an example of how ascetic  Musashi was, and (of course!) asceticism is not something that we can abide by in our modern world.  So that must mean that Musashi was a little off , right?  And since he lived such a long time ago, it must mean that we should only "take what we find useful, but reject the rest" (to paraphrase Bruce Lee)? I think the criticism of Musashi's ideas, because they are seen as both (a) ascetic and (b) "ancient," misses a couple of key points. First, let's tackle his "asceticism."  I don't  think there is any reason to NOT follow an ascetic life in the modern world.  In fact, the reason you may want to follow ...

  Essays and Thoughts on  The Dokkodo Part Thirteen Be Indifferent to Where You Live Ronin at dusk Compared to some of the more philosophical musings in The Dokkodo , this one just seems as if its straightforward stoic advice.  But is it?  Could there actually be more to this maxim than what is on the surface?  I think the answer is yes... and no. Many musings in The Dokkodo - this one, and the others of a similar bent - or much of the advice given in The Book of Five Rings   is  meant to be philosophical, while, at the same time and without distracting from the philosophical aspect of it, are also supposed to be straightforward.  You "practice" this maxim by doing exactly what Musashi says to do.  When you do this, the living philosophy  of it begins to make itself known to you.  And everything appears to take on the appearance of what the Buddhists call "One Taste."  Your life - your actions and your thoughts, and all that f...