Bushido: the Way of the Warrior

Bushido, the famous “Code of the Samurai” is often entirely misunderstood. It is commonly believed that it is a morbid, Existentialist, death-obsessed philosophy when, in fact, the exact opposite is true. This post will attempt to not only correct the understanding of this invaluable way of life but also show how it is as necessary and relevant to all of us today as it was to 15th century samurai.

Bushido literally translates as “the Way of the Warrior” and for those who embrace its philosophy its application extends to the entirety of one's life. In short, it is a way of living in which awareness is maintained at every moment, every situation is assessed strategically and every action is executed with absolute commitment – reflecting the mindset and decisiveness that is essential for victory in combat. It's primary application, however, is in one's life and can be applied to every aspect of it.

The starting point for shifting one's point of view to mirror that of a warrior's begins with recognizing and accepting one's own impending death. Recognition and acceptance of that fact not only focuses the mind on the value of every moment but also frees one from all illusions of permanence and the fear and attachment that naturally follows. Don Juan sums this idea up nicely when he remarks, “In a world where death is a hunter, my friend, there is not time for doubts or regrets. There is only time for decisions.”

Marcus Aurelius, too, echoed these thoughts when he wrote,"Since it is possible that you may be quitting life this very moment, govern every act and thought accordingly."

The tendency, however, is to attempt to prolong life as much as possible because of the assumption that a longer life is, implicitly, better. To change our perspective on this idea we again turn to Marcus Aurelius:

"If any god told you that you should die tomorrow, or certainly the day after tomorrow, you would not care much whether it was the third day or the morrow, unless you were completely mean-spirited - for the difference is too small to consider. So think no great matter to die after as many years as you can name rather than the morrow."

And if that were not enough to persuade one of the futility of trying to hold on to life, perhaps the directness of one of Marcus Aurelius' other statements will put things in perspective: "Soon you will have forgotten all things; and soon all things will have forgotten you."

With the acceptance of his own death, then, and the conclusion of the play already determined, the warrior is now free to act in the most impeccable manner, without fear of failure or an ounce of hesitation. That freedom actually results in the flawless execution of every act and, ironically, creates the greatest possibility of success in any endeavor. Ultimately, however, the victory or defeat is irrelevant for it is only one battle in an already-lost war. The victory lies is in the impeccable execution of the act and not in whether or not it is “successful”.

Miyamoto Musashi, the infamous Japanese swordsman and 17th century samurai, in his masterpiece The Book of Five Rings, admits that “I dueled more than sixty times...never once did I lose...When I had passed the age of thirty and reflected on my experiences I realized that I had not been victorious because of consummate attainment of martial arts. Perhaps it was because I had an inherent skill for the science and had not deviated from natural principles. It may also have been due to shortcomings in the martial arts of other schools. In any case, I subsequently practiced day and night in order to attain an ever deeper principle, and spontaneously came upon the science of martial arts. I was about fifty years old at that time.”

There is an old kendo saying that sums up the spirit of Bushido and how the warrior faces his opponent:

Forget about winning and losing; forget about pride and pain. Let your opponent graze your skin and you smash into his flesh; let him smash into your flesh and you fracture his bones; let him fracture your bones and you take his life! Do not be concerned with escaping safely – lay your life before him!

Don Juan gives the same advice to Castaneda when he says to him, “Let each of your acts be your last battle on earth. Only under those conditions will your acts have their rightful power. Otherwise they will be, for as long as you live, the acts of a timid man.”

The warrior has to maintain awareness and clarity regardless of the chaos that may envelope him so that he may have the presence of mind to recognize the smallest sliver of chance that presents itself and be able to seize it. Don Juan refers to this opportunity as the “cubic centimeter of chance.” “All of us,” he says, “whether or not we are warriors, have a cubic centimeter of chance that pops out in front of our eyes from time to time. The difference between an average man and a warrior is that the warrior is aware of this, and one of his tasks is to be alert, deliberately waiting, so that when this cubic centimeter of chance pops out he has the necessary speed...the gumption necessary to grab it.”

With cool-headed clarity the warrior quickly assesses the battlefield, considers his possible courses of action, and makes the best decision he can at the moment. Once the decision is made, however, he never looks back. Again, don Juan: “A warrior is a hunter. He calculates everything. That's control. But once his calculations are over, he acts. He lets go. That's abandon.”

Don Juan's statement should not be taken to mean that one should act with reckless abandon once a decision is made, though. Responsibility is the cornerstone of the life of a warrior and the reason that he is of any use to those around him for without it he is potentially a destructive force. With consciousness of his power and, consequentially, his responsibility, he acts with full awareness of his actions. In the words of the don, “When a man decides to do something he must go all the way but he must take responsibility for what he does.”

The life of a warrior is not an easy one. If it were, it would have no value. It results in a state of near-constant tension and alertness and the discipline required to walk the line is difficult to maintain. Despite the difficulty of the Way, however, the impeccability that one strives for is perhaps the most essential attitude that one must have in life. Marcus Aurelius summed it up beautifully when he wrote, "You shall not live to read your own memoirs, or the acts of the ancient Roman and Greeks, or the selections from books which you were reserving for old age. Hasten then to the goal which you have before you. Throw away vain hopes and come to your own aid, while yet you may, if you care at all for yourself." Later on in Meditations he writes, "Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it." We would be wise to listen to his words.

In the end “a warrior is only a man. A humble man,” as don Juan says. And all that remains is to act as impeccably as possible up until that final moment in which, as don Juan describes “his impeccable spirit, which has stored power after stupendous hardships, can hold his death for a moment, a moment long enough to let him rejoice for the last time in recalling his power.”

In concluding this post on Bushido, I leave you with the words of Marcus Aurelius:

"Soon, very soon, you will be ashes or a skeleton, a name or not even a name; and what is a name but sound and echo? And the things much valued in life are empty and rotten and trifling, like little dogs biting one another, and like children quarreling, laughing, and then straightaway weeping. But fidelity and modesty and justice and truth are fled

Up to Olympus from the wide-spread earth."