Miyamoto Musashi's Dokodo Principles: Living a Meaningful Life

Miyamoto Musashi's "Dokodo" offers 21 principles for a simple, meaningful life, emphasizing acceptance, meaningful pursuits, and detachment from desire.

### Dokodo: Embracing the Warrior Philosophy of Miyamoto Musashi
* 🗡 Dokodo is a set of **21 principles for living a simple and meaningful life**, written by legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi as his **final work before he died**.
* 💬 With his last breath, Musashi spoke the words, "**never stray from the way**," passing on his wisdom to his best disciple.
* The first principle is to **accept everything just the way it is** and to find the **strength to suffer well**.
* The second principle advises not to seek pleasure for its own sake, but to pursue **meaningful work and relationships**.
* Under no circumstances should one depend on **partial feelings**, as **wisdom must guide the heart**.
* It is essential to think **lightly of oneself** and **deeply of the world**, avoiding **self-centeredness**.
* One should be detached from desire throughout life, finding **contentment in the present moment** and channeling desire toward the **ideal**.
* Do not regret what you have done, learn from the past, and be your **best self now**.
* Never be jealous of others, but be **grateful for what you have been given**.

dokodo, or the way of walking alone, is a set of 21 principles for living a simple and meaningful life as outlined by the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. It is the last work he wrote before he died, an inheritance given to his best disciple. With his final breath, he spoke the words, never stray from the way. Let's explore the way and the wisdom and lessons from one of the greatest warriors of all time. This video elaborates on the first 10 principles of dokodo, so make sure to subscribe for more on the warrior philosophy. The next video on dokudo and make sure to watch my other videos on Musashi. Number one, accept everything just the way it is. Instead of always resisting pain and chasing pleasure, learn to accept life with the heart of a warrior. Instead of bouncing between desires and fears, learn to radically accept all that comes to you. Take a deep breath, let go, and face life truthfully. When things go to stand upright and bear your cross, find the strength to suffer well.

Amor fatih. The stoics say, love your fate, accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny. Marcus Aurelius writes, For what could more aptly fit your needs? Number two, do not seek pleasure for its own sake. Go pursue what is meaningful, fulfilling, and important. Let pleasure and happiness be the byproduct. We all have a void within us, a want for more, but filling the void with pleasure only makes it grow. Happiness and fulfillment come from doing meaningful work that is yours to do or spending time with friends and family you love. The excessive pursuit of pleasure only ends in addiction, mediocrity, and suffering. Number three, do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling. Wisdom must guide the heart. Maturity means stepping back from your emotions and immediate reality, finding the deeper center within you, and facing yourself truthfully, thinking soberly. It requires letting go of fear and cravings and making decisions from the upright and integral place within. It means choosing what is best and right, even if your fears and cravings say

otherwise partial feelings are often wrong. [Music] Number four: think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world. If you are too caught up with self-love or self-hate, you'll miss the mystery and the unfoldment of the world around you. Don't get over-caught up with yourself in either the positive or the negative; both are narcissistic in nature. Be with the greater world around you. Ponder deeply on the way. Number five: be detached from desire your whole life long. I think there are two truths here. The first is, if you chase fleeting desire, you'll wind up endlessly disappointed and wanting more. Take a moment to be content now, be satisfied with the sip of tea, the breath of the wind, and this opportunity to love and create. Practice contentment now and recognize and detach from the fleet and desires as they come and go. The second truth here is, learn to channel desire directly into your training and toward your ideal. I think desire is natural and it's there, and yes, we need to learn how to detach from the outcome, but we shouldn't resist.

the impulses of our soul. We can use desire instead of letting it use us. Number six: do not regret what you have done. Feeling sorry for yourself is an indulgence. Learn from the past and correct what you can, but do not get caught up in regret. It happened for you. Be present with being your best self now. You are a becoming. You are not your past, and you are not your future. Move on and step into the stream of becoming. Step into the way of a warrior. Number seven: never be jealous. Rather than envy what others have or might have, be grateful for all you have been given. Jealousy springs lies in our own mind, illusions, and creates our own personal hell. It is the path to the dark side. Number eight: never let yourself be saddened by a separation. Again, I think this is one side of the coin. Loss is inevitable, broken hearts are unavoidable. We shouldn't avoid the darkness in my mind, but we shouldn't dwell in it any longer than necessary. Obsessing over a loss or what could have

been creates emotional hell instead redirect the pain into something productive let it sharpen your spirit use separation as an opportunity to reinvent yourself but at the same time don't run from your feelings feel them with the heart of a warrior number nine resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others don't spend your precious time blaming others and complaining about your situation to the warrior he recognizes that he could die at any moment he has no time for self-hate and hate of others that is for lesser men learn to channel your frustration into action and excellence in a life well lived foreign do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love love can be one of the greatest delusions of mankind it drives you mad but it is also one of the best delusions lust is a hollow and fleeting feeling many spend their whole life chasing lust and leave their mediocre existence with an empty heart we must temper the powerful drives and feelings within with reason a warrior connects his heart and mind

he connects wisdom and love and does not let the stallion of his heart run wild without a driver. I think the feelings of lust and love, especially love, are very powerful, especially if they are guided correctly. At the end of the day, we must step back into that more mature presence, into that deeper place of integrity, and make decisions that connect wisdom and love together, that connect the mind and heart, and come from the upright and more noble place within. Thank you for watching this first video on dokodo. This is Wisdom Warriors. I'm Christian. Please hit that like button and share this video with someone you think it will impact. If you're new here, subscribe for more. A lot more Warrior philosophy is coming your way. Peace.

Dokkodo - 21 Principles of Miyamoto Musashi

Wisdom Warriors

The Principles of Dokodo for a Meaningful Life

Miyamoto Musashi's Dokodo consists of 21 principles for living simply and meaningfully, passed on to his best disciple as his final work.

The first principle emphasizes accepting everything as it is, the second warns against seeking pleasure for its own sake, and the third highlights the importance of not depending on partial feelings, but rather letting wisdom guide the heart.

Think more about the world and less about yourself to avoid narcissistic tendencies.

Practice detachment from fleeting desires while channeling them towards personal growth.

Learn from the past without getting caught up in regret, focusing instead on being your best self in the present.

Avoid jealousy and be grateful for what you have instead of longing for what others possess.

Embrace loss as a natural part of life, allowing yourself to feel the pain but not dwelling on it excessively.

Embracing Emotional Challenges with a Warrior Mindset

Redirect the pain into productivity and use separation as an opportunity for reinvention, while still acknowledging your feelings.

Resentment and complaint are not the path of the warrior, who channels frustration into positive action.

The warrior mindset involves tempering lust and love with reason, acknowledging their power but not being solely guided by them.

Wisdom and love, when guided correctly, are powerful and must be integrated into decision-making.

Christian, from Wisdom Warriors, emphasizes the importance of connecting the mind and heart to make noble decisions.

The video encourages viewers to subscribe for more content on Warrior philosophy.