these are meditations on Musashi's famous 21 quotes of dokodo or the way of walking alone. this is the second video where we will explore the final 11 quotes Left To Us by the greatest Swordsmen of all time. Miyamoto Musashi was a ronin, a traveling Warrior of ancient Japan. he was a philosopher, an artist, a military strategist, and a samurai who was undefeated in over 60 duels to the death. after Decades of training, self-discipline, and battle, he retreated to a simple life of teaching, perfecting, and reflecting on the way. here are his final words and my elaboration on how these rules can apply to the modern day. number 11 in all things have no preferences. preferences lead to cycles of desire and aversion that ultimately end in suffering. seek your enjoyment from internal discipline and victories. be unbiased toward everything and everyone. that way you are open to learning and truly seeing what is before you. when we are constantly caught up in

assumptions and preferences. We are inevitably judging what is before us, resisting what is, and discontent with our allotment in life. Number 12. Be indifferent to where you live. A wise man once said, wherever you go, there you are. If you are too caught up in where you are living or what you have, you will incessantly want more and be caught up in material things. Don't let the things you own own you. A warrior stakes his contentment on the integrity of his character and not the external conditions or whims of fate. It's not about where you live, it's about how you live. Seneca, the stoic philosopher of Rome, in the opening paragraph of Letters from a Stoic, his most famous book, said, I feel you show great promise. You do not tear from place to place and unsettle yourself with one move after another. Restlessness of that sort is symptomatic of a sick mind. Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well-ordered mind than a man's ability.

to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company. Number 13: do not pursue the taste of good food. Self-discipline begins at curbing the passions of the body. Sexual energy and sensual cravings for food are perhaps the most difficult to tame but a worthy challenge that leads to the self-mastery of a warrior. Overly sweet or spiced foods weaken the body and the mind and are no different than drugs. Perhaps we don't need to become ascetics to walk the Warrior's path but we should learn moderation, pursue purpose over pleasure, what feels good in the tummy, in the core, versus what tastes good on the tongue. If you are not dedicated to your training or to the man you are becoming, to your family, to your values, you will inevitably fall into pleasure-seeking loops that only end in mediocrity. You know, Victor Frankl once said that a man who is disconnected or cannot find deep meaning in life will pursue pleasure. Number 14: do not hold on to possessions.

you no longer need this is a tough one for me, and I know a lot of people out there. You know, we have something we're like, maybe I'll need this in the future, let me hold on to it, let me put it in the closet, in the storage unit, and then you just start amassing all these clothes, all these books, all these different things that you don't necessarily need anymore, and it makes you feel heavy, way down and kind of trapped by the things around you. Now, Musashi, he traveled place to place his entire life carrying very little with him. You know, he had his swords, a little bit of clothing, you know what he was wearing, maybe some food and water, but ultimately, because he carried very little, he was free to roam, to travel where the wind took him, to go to different cities, to train in different styles, right? And by carrying very little, he was forced to learn self-reliance, industriousness, or how to make do with less. The less you hold on to, the more lightly

you can live and like Musashi the more you will come to trust yourself. No matter where you are, who you're with, or what you have because you have built up the skills and the trust inside. Number 15, do not act following customary beliefs. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own. Bruce Lee, this applies to finding your own authentic way in life and in martial arts or training. In training, it's important to learn from the traditions and techniques of the past, but there comes a point where you must take what is best, reject what doesn't work for you, and develop your own style. Musashi, like Bruce Lee, did this. Musashi started the school of twin swords where he taught how to fight with both hands simultaneously. Bruce Lee, you know, took the best from martial arts traditions across the East and created Jeet Kune Do, you know, a new style of fighting. In martial arts, both of these great masters and many others have created their own authentic style, just as they walked their own.

authentic way in life. The same idea goes for you, goes for culture, society, and how you live. We must question the prevailing dogmas and beliefs of our time and see if there's any value or weight in them. We must question the customs of religion, society, or the worldview we have been brought up in if we are going to live a free life and find our own authentic way and genius. Frederick Nietzsche writes of three Metamorphoses in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. He proposed a re-evaluation of all values as critical to becoming a unique and essentially whole individual. He says the higher man starts as a camel carrying the heaviest load he can bear. This is physically, you know, career-wise training, but essentially morally carrying the heaviest load you can bear. Then he must become a lion in the wilderness who casts off the prevailing values and beliefs of his time with the mighty Roar of no. And then the successful lion is free to transform into the child who is the creating one. The child is free to create.

his own authentic way, instead of values liberated from the status quo, and even from Rebellion against the status quo. The reborn child creates with innocence, will, and genius. Essentially, learn from the past, take what is best, and pave your own way. Number 16: Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful. This idea probably is most relevant to the samurai or the warrior of the 1600s, but it also echoes the wisdom of less is more. Instead of learning 20 ways to make money and collecting certificates or degrees, maybe just pursue and train obsessively in one craft at a time. Instead of reading 30 books this year, maybe study three deeply, the best ones you know. Instead of collecting resources and relationships and mentors, invest yourself into what is best and most useful. Don't collect swords per se. One kick practiced ten thousand times is far better than ten thousand kicks of practice once. Number 17: Do not fear death. Musashi said that generally speaking, the way of the warrior is the Resolute.

acceptance of death. This is very interesting because not only does it echo of stoicism, this echoes of warrior traditions across the world. The warrior tradition is usually founded on a relationship with death because, you know, the warrior's craft in combat, death is always the consequence, one way or another. And this relationship with death created this absolute love for life and vibrance in life. Death for the warrior was not something to be feared, but it was an event to be highly respected. And through this respect, death became a source of power. Just think about the vitality, the flow state a warrior dueling to the death would get into, the absolute focus, aliveness, spontaneity, power erupts out of you when you are living with the mindfulness or the chance of dying, yet you are not fearing it. You are dancing with it. You have resolutely accepted the possibility of death, and you are letting it spur you to your heights. When we have the courage to accept that life will end, death can invigorate us to live well and live all in.

the warrior spirit that do-or-die all-in mentality can only be born from the mindfulness of death. And the warrior spirit is the treasure. It is the greatest weapon the warrior uses. Most live timidly as if there are immortals and have all the time in the world. The warrior, however, lives as if this was his final day, his final hour, and each breath is imbued with meaning and vitality. Number 18. Do not seek to possess either goods or thieves for your old age. Most people spend their whole lives trying to accumulate wealth and build a pile of gold or security beneath them. When they are young, they want all these things, primarily money and relationships and you know to make it. But once they're old, all they want is to be young again. I think it's wise to be responsible with your money and frugal and forward-thinking. But self-reliance, personal power, and skills are far more valuable than houses and gold because the latter can be taken away. But what you grow inside can support you.

forever, instead of greedily, you know, seeking more and protecting what you have gained externally. You can rest easy with the self-assurance that you are a total badass and will make it no matter what happens. Number 19: Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help. Oof, this is a deep one for spiritual people and religious people out there. A warrior is rooted in supreme self-reliance and competence. Yes, you might respect the sacred, respect the divine, pray, you know, follow the traditions. But ultimately, he counts on himself. Okay, and Bruce Lee echoed this. He says, Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one. Instead of having things change externally, look for the internal change where you can overcome the external. Respect the divine, but do not depend on some magical hand to come save you. You are a warrior, and a warrior finds the strength inside to bear the unbearable or beat the unbeatable. Number 20: You may abandon your own body, but you must preserve your honor.

Integrity of character, honor, is more important than your life or body. The body is mortal and will one day perish, but honor is of the spirit and therefore immortal. Is not the purpose of the body to serve the immortal spirit in the first place and help it grow. Number 21, never stray from the way. Integrity, Excellence, heart, courage, wisdom. What do these truly mean? The way or the Dao can never be spoken of with crude words. Words can only point the way, but your inner self, your deep self, knows it. [Music] Thank you. [Music] There is the way alive and every day, in every breath, in every moment. It's up to you to wake up and claim it, to have the courage to face the truth and live the truth, to stand in Integrity, to follow your heart, your intuition, and most importantly, to always do your best. To do these things is to proceed along the way. As we said, Musashi won over 60 duels to the death. Think of the nerves of walking into one of these battles where you know one of

you is not going home. Think of living with the awareness that the next fight might be your last, and this kind of mentality, this kind of dueling, this relationship with death was widespread across Warrior culture of Japan. It's no wonder why this kind of extreme training and lifestyle gave birth to the absolute reverence of and commitment to the way to the ancient Swordsmen of Japan. The way would have been a mixture of Zen and Taoist ideas combined with the Warriors code of Bushido. The way it would have been Divine to Warriors because how you trained, how you lived needed to be a reflection of how you're going to go into battle, how you're gonna fight, and how you're gonna die. Never stray from the way; to seek Perfection is to embody the way, both when you are alone and when you are in company. The way must become your standard for life so that when the time comes to dance with death, you are ready to dance beautifully. Hey, thanks for watching this video on dokudo. Make sure to click here for the

first video and hit that Bell notification for more videos on the warrior philosophy. Philosophy in general masculinity and personal development. Thanks for being here. This is wisdom Warriors. I'm Christian. Have a badass day.

The Warrior's Code | Dokkodo by Miyamoto Musashi

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