Copyright © 2012 by Bohdi Sanders

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sanders, Bohdi, 1962-
Modern Bushido: Living a Life of Excellence

ISBN – 978-1-937884-06-2
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62345-495-1

1. Martial Arts. 2. Self-Help. 3. Philosophy. I. Title

 Acknowledgments
 

I want to express my sincere appreciation to my beautiful wife, Tracey,

for all of her patience for my many hours spent at my computer researching
and writing Modern Bushido. Without her love and support this book would
have never come to fruition. I also want to thank her for taking time out
from her busy schedule to read and edit Modern Bushido. That is just one of
the perks of being married to a great English teacher.

In addition, I want to thank all of my readers who continue to buy my

books and pursue the warrior lifestyle. All of your emails and letters
definitely let me know that my books and writing are making at least some
difference in the world. I hope that you each find Modern Bushido worth
your time.

Note to the Reader

 
Although the term “warrior” is most often used to refer to men, it is used in
this book as a generic term which refers to both men and women. Also, for
the ease of reading, I have used the generically accepted term “he”
throughout this book instead of the politically correct derivative “he or she”
to refer to both men and women warriors. This book in no way is meant to
discriminate or insinuate that true warriors are only men. Modern Bushido
is written for everyone, men and women, who want to live a life of
excellence.
 About the Author

 
Bohdi Sanders is a lifelong student of wisdom literature, the healing
arts, and the martial arts. His studies led him to explore the wisdom behind
natural health, naturopathy, herbs, Reiki Qigong, meditation, and the power
of the mind to heal the body and to make positive changes in one’s life.
These explorations led to him earning doctorate degrees in naturopathy and
in natural health.

Dr. Sanders is also a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, a Certified

Specialist in Martial Arts Conditioning, a Certified Reiki Master, and a
Certified Master of G-Jo Acupressure. He holds a black belt in Shotokan
Karate and has studied various other martial arts for over 30 years. He has
worked with young people for over 20 years and is endorsed to teach in five
different subject areas. He is the author of:

     •   Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

     •   Warrior Wisdom: The Heart and Soul of Bushido
     •   The Warrior Lifestyle: Making Your Life Extraordinary
     •   The Secrets of Worldly Wisdom
     •   Secrets of the Soul
     •   Wisdom of the Elders
     •   Modern Bushido: Living a Life of Excellence

Dr. Sanders’ books have received high praise and have won several national
awards, including:
     •   The Indie Excellence Book Awards: 1st Place Winner 2010
     •   USA Book News Best Books of 2010: 1st Place Winner 2010
     •   IIMAA: Best Martial Arts Book of the Year 2011
     •   USA Martial Arts HOF: Literary Man of the Year 2011
     •   U. S. Martial Artist Association: Inspiration of the Year 2011
     •   U. S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame: Author of the Year 2011

www.TheWisdomWarrior.com
 Table of Contents
 

Acknowledgments
About the Author
Forward
Introduction

Chapter 1:    Character: The Nature of the Superior Man

Chapter 2:    Integrity: The Essence of the Warrior
Chapter 3:    Virtue: The Moral Excellence of the Warrior
Chapter 4:    Correct Thought: The Mind of the Warrior
Chapter 5:    Right Actions: The Warrior’s Building Blocks
Chapter 6:    Correct Speech: The Words of the Warrior
Chapter 7:    Wisdom: The Way of the Sage
Chapter 8:    Honor: The Warrior’s Mark of Distinction
Chapter 9:    Respect: The Consideration of Thoughtfulness
Chapter 10:  Discipline: The Art of Self-Control
Chapter 11:  Honesty: The Elusive Facts of Life
Chapter 12:  Courage: The Spirit of Valor
Chapter 13:  Endurance: The Warrior’s Fortitude
Chapter 14:  Justice: The Warrior’s Conviction
Chapter 15:  Sincerity: The Genuine Article
Chapter 16:  Self-Knowledge: The Warrior’s Introspection
Chapter 17:  Preparedness: The Spirit of Readiness
Chapter 18:  Benevolence: The Warrior’s Heart
Chapter 19:  Courtesy: The Art of Civility
Chapter 20:  Spirituality: The Warrior’s Peace
Chapter 21:  Meditation: The Inner Secret
Chapter 22:  Insight: The Art of Discernment
Chapter 23:  Self-Reliance: The Warrior’s Independent Spirit
Chapter 24:  Friendship: The Sacred Brotherhood
Chapter 25:  Filial Duty: The Warrior’s Ultimate Responsibility
Chapter 26:  Balance: The Art of Harmony
Chapter 27:  Excellence: The Spirit of Kaizen
Chapter 28:  Loyalty: The Warrior’s Dedication
Chapter 29:  Total Self-Defense: The Warrior’s Invincibility
Chapter 30:  Acceptance: Living in the Shadow of Death
Chapter 31:  The Fool: The Antithesis of the Warrior

Conclusion
 Foreword
 

In 1899, Inazo Nitobe wrote the classic, Bushido: The Warrior’s Code.
He gave the early 20th Century Western world a glimpse into the mind-set
of the 18th & 19th Century Samurai and the virtues of their warrior
traditions. He illuminated the seven qualities of what it meant to be a
Samurai, such as loyalty, integrity and respect. Drawing parallels to the
knights of Europe, and their code of chivalry, he tapped into the mythical
warrior archetype that lives in each of us, and more importantly, he gave us
a blueprint to see how these attributes translate into everyday living.
From that blueprint, and his many years of experience as a martial
artist and healer, Dr. Sanders has built a beautiful piece of work, Modern
Bushido. Contained within these pages you are about to read, Dr. Sanders
supplies you with an update of what it means to be a warrior today. Like
Mr. Nitobe, yet drawing from many traditions and cultures, Dr. Sanders
brings forth and illuminates the virtues and attributes that exemplify the
mythical warrior that beats in the hearts of all men and women.
I have seen in my practice as a psychotherapist and helping people
heal from trauma and pain, that the warrior archetype is very strong
medicine indeed. The mythical warrior archetype is what empowers and
connects you to the source of our own personal power. Carl Jung, the noted
psycho-analyst, whose work in the identification of psychological
archetypes stated, “Myth is more individual and expresses life more
precisely than does science. Science works with concepts of averages which
are far too general to do justice to the subjective variety of individual life.”
Dr. Sanders brings to you a no watered-down version of what science
or the experts tell you a warrior is or is not. He has tapped into the very
essence of the Warrior’s Way and brings it here to your attention today. This
book is destined to become a classic in its own right. Read carefully. Digest
each chapter, each page, and each sentence. Meditate upon the message. Let
it sink in and feel its power. Dr. Sanders has placed it here for you to find.
Be well and enjoy.
 David Nelson, PhD
Martial Artist & Author of: Black Belt Healing:
A Martial Artist’s Guide to Pain Management & Injury Recovery.
 Introduction
 

I have studied martial arts for almost 30 years, and have seen many
amazing martial artists do things with their bodies that can simply boggle
the mind. I have seen some of the best fighters in the world and have
trained with many martial arts instructors and other practitioners. I have
also been involved in more physical confrontations than I care to remember,
and know what it is like to both pound someone into a pulp, as well as be
pounded. In addition, I have been trained in how to use different weapons in
self-defense situations.
In short, I have witnessed and experienced a lot when it comes to the
physical side of the martial arts, but with all my experience, I have found
one subject that seems to always get little or no attention in the world of
martial arts – how to live a life of character. Most martial arts classes are
completely focused on self-defense, fighting, sport applications,
tournaments, and katas. While all of these are important parts of the martial
arts, there is something even more important missing from this list –
character training.
This is what Modern Bushido is all about – how to live the life of the
superior man. While this may sound like an elitist statement, it isn’t. Living
the life of the superior man is simply a way of saying living a life based on
character, honor and integrity. It is living the warrior lifestyle the way it
should be lived, according to universal standards and principles which make
someone a superior human being.
When I say the words “superior human beings,” I am not referring to
someone being better or more important than someone else. The phrase
“superior man” was used frequently by Confucius to indicate someone who
lives according to high moral standards as opposed to someone who gives
little regard to such things. The superior man is not superior because he is
richer, more educated, comes from a better family, or anything along those
lines. He is superior because he lives his life in a superior way. He lives by
higher standards than the average person.
 This has always been the ideal behind the philosophy of Bushido.
Literature from the 13th through the 16th centuries in Japan had many
references to the ideals of Bushido. The actual word “Bushido” was first
used in the 17th century, but the ideals of Bushido have been around as long
as there has been a warrior class, not just in Japan, but throughout the
world. Bushido did not necessarily start out as a specific set of rules that
must be followed, but rather moral principles which were meant to guide
the life of the warrior. More frequently than not, the principles of Bushido
were simply taught to children of the warrior class from an early age as a
way of life that was expected from them.
The philosophy of Bushido evolved over the centuries, but it never lost
it primary focus which was living life according to the high standards
expected from those of the warrior class. It is a philosophy of how to live
your life as a true, complete warrior. The word “Bushido” literally means
the way of the warrior. This philosophy did not limit itself to merely martial
subjects. On the contrary, the philosophy of Bushido covered subjects such
as how to raise children, how one should dress, how to treat your family
and other people, financial issues, as well as how to conduct yourself as an
honorable warrior.
Today the Bushido Code is commonly simplified to seven virtues:
rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty. But
these seven virtues do not cover everything which Bushido entails; there is
much more to Bushido than these seven virtues. The teachings of Bushido
were meant to cover all areas of the warrior’s life, not just a handful.
Limiting Bushido to only these seven virtues is doing a disservice to this
noble philosophy. That is where Modern Bushido comes into play.
In Modern Bushido, I discuss 30 traits which all play an important role
in the warrior lifestyle. Each of these traits helps guide you in living a life
of excellence. Many may question what this has to do with the life of the
warrior or martial arts, but this question assumes that martial arts are merely
about self-defense or fighting – they aren’t. Gichin Funakoshi stated that the
ultimate goal of karate is the perfection of your character, not the perfection
of your martial skills.
Learning character traits, which will guide your actions throughout
your life, is an important part of the martial arts, but unfortunately this is
also a part that has been neglected over the years, especially in today’s
society where it is needed more than ever. Self-defense is merely one part
of the warrior lifestyle.
The warrior lifestyle is multifaceted and entails much more than
martial arts techniques. It is a complete way of life, not simply a term which
encompasses anyone who practices some type of martial art. There is much
more to being a true warrior than knowing how to fight. You can teach a
dog to fight, but that doesn’t make it a warrior.
On the contrary, the warrior lifestyle is a complete way of life. It is a
way of living a life of character, honor, and integrity in every area of your
life. It includes martial arts, but it is not defined by martial arts. One of the
definitions of the term “warrior” is a person engaged in some struggle or
conflict. The word “warrior” is not limited to someone who participates in
an actual, physical battle between two armies. Many people disagree with
this statement, but it is true nonetheless.
To take this definition even further, the word “war” doesn’t always
refer to a conflict between two countries or two groups of people. The term
“war” can be defined as a struggle or competition between opposing force
or for a particular end. True warriors are not limited to those who have been
in the military. Being a true warrior is dependent on how you live your life,
not on what you do for a living. The true warrior is the man or woman who
endeavors to live the warrior lifestyle and who lives his or her life by the
code of the warrior.
And have no doubts about it, they are at war. Their struggle may not be
against some opposing army, but rather it is a struggle between the
opposing forces of living according to their principles of honor or living
without honor. The true warrior, whether in the military or driving a
garbage truck, must decide to live a life of honor and integrity according to
the principles of warriorship. What you do for a living is simply what you
do for a living; it is not who you are. Everyone decides for themselves
whether they will live life as a true warrior or whether they will live their
life in some other way.
Being a true warrior is a lifestyle, not a profession. It is not a fraternity
where you have to be in the military to be considered a member. A person is
a true warrior because of what is in his or her heart, mind and spirit, all the
rest simply consists of the tools which the person uses to develop the
warrior spirit in order to live the warrior lifestyle.
 The purpose of Modern Bushido is to help the true warrior by being a
guidebook to the tools that the warrior needs in order to develop his or her
life on the path of the warrior lifestyle. This is not the final authority of the
subject, but merely a guide to help you on your noble path – the path of the
true warrior.

Bohdi Sanders, PhD

 Chapter 1

Character
The Nature of the Superior Man

Character: a distinctive mark; a distinctive trait, quality, or

attribute; essential quality; nature; the pattern of behavior or
personality found in an individual or group; moral constitution;
moral or ethical strength; self-discipline.

Your character is essentially who you are as a person. It is the person

that you have become through your actions and decisions over your
lifetime, your essence if you will. The character of the warrior is the
intrinsic qualities and principles which make him what he is – a man of
integrity and honor. It is the character of the true warrior which makes him
a superior man.
The true warrior, by nature and training, is indeed a superior man. He
holds himself to a higher standard than most men, especially in today’s
society. The superior man holds his character, his reputation and the
qualities which make him a man of excellence, in high esteem. To the
warrior, it is his character which sets him apart from the average man. Any
man can be trained to fight, but it takes much more than a set of physical
skills to be a true man of honor; it takes character.
Gichin Funakoshi, the father of Shotokan karate, stated that, “The
ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of
the character of the participant.” The same could be said of the ultimate
goal of the warrior. While it is true that the warrior trains his spirit, mind
and body to be victorious when circumstances demand extraordinary action,
the vast majority of the warrior’s training is involved with the perfection of
his character. Perfecting his character and becoming a superior man is the
warrior’s definitive purpose.
Furthermore, over the years, the warrior will find that he will have
many more opportunities to use his character training than he will to use his
physical training. Of course the warrior’s physical training and the
development of his character are both important parts of the warrior
lifestyle, but the latter will be used on a daily basis. Every man’s character
is tested daily through interactions with those who he comes in contact with
during his daily activities.
Therefore, it is imperative that you develop a strong moral character,
and the strength to cultivate and maintain that character, once you have
planted the seeds of excellence in your life. You have to decide what you
stand for and what you will not stand for. Don’t leave your character and
your reputation to chance – take responsibility for your life. It is your duty
to build your character. Nobody else will do it for you, but there are many
who are willing to help you weaken it or totally destroy it.
You have to be strong enough to stand up for what you believe, even if
you are standing alone. Public opinion and outside pressures should not
play a part in swaying the core beliefs which make up your true character,
but they will if you don’t know exactly what you believe and why you
believe it. You have to know why certain character traits are important to
you. If your foundation is not solid, sooner or later you will find problems
which are a direct result of your shaky foundation.
Your character is the foundation of all the other parts of the warrior
lifestyle. Without a solid foundation, it is easy for you to veer off track in
one way or another. For this reason, it is vital that your character adheres to
the highest standards. Don’t compromise where your character is
concerned. This is just one of the traits that sets the warrior apart as a
superior man. Work to build a solid character and maintain a reputation
which is true to your nature as a superior man.
This brings us to the question of how do you compose your character.
How does a person develop a set of qualities or traits in his life that sets him
apart from the common man? Where do you start? This can be an especially
tricky question if one does not have background knowledge concerning
what comprises good character traits, or if one has failed to live a life filled
with these positive qualities over the years.
 The best way to start to compose your character or to change your
character if need be, is to study the traits which you want to incorporate into
your life. Study the traits of the superior men of the past. What made these
men “men of character?” Why do you admire them? What traits set them
apart in your mind? By studying the lives of warriors, sages, and men of
character, you can get a good picture of what it takes to be a man of
character – a superior man.
These men sought to live lives of honor and integrity. They took life
seriously and lived life to the fullest, at the same time, they did so without
compromising their character. These men were not perfect. Nobody is
perfect. They simply worked at being men of character. They made a firm
decision about the way that they were going to live their lives and followed
through with that decision.
When they found that they had fallen short or had faults that needed to
be corrected or removed, they made the effort to make the necessary
changes. Everyone falls short on this quest. The key is to not give up when
you miss the mark. When you are sighting in your rifle and you miss the
bull’s eye, you don’t give up; you simply adjust your sights and refine your
technique until you are able to place your shots where you want them to be.
The same principle applies to the development of your character.
When you miss the mark or find that you have a habit that is not in sync
with the person that you want to be, you should simply make the necessary
changes to bring your actions into harmony with the character that you want
to cultivate. This is an ongoing process. Although you may develop your
character to that of a superior man, you will never reach a point where you
will not have to make adjustments from time to time.
Building and maintaining your character takes time. It doesn’t happen
overnight. Just as it takes weeks for the cherry blossom to actually become
a cherry, it takes months, even years to perfect your character. Be patient
with yourself, especially when you fail to live up to the standards which
you are striving to achieve. Don’t allow frustration over your failures to
cause you to throw in the towel on your goal to become a man of
excellence.
Sophocles, one of the most influential writers of Ancient Greece,
wrote that, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows
his course is wrong, and repairs the evil.” As I stated above, no one is
perfect. Your imperfections do not indicate that you are not a man of
character, but merely that you are a human being. George Washington
pointed out that even the greatest men are not without their faults when he
said, “It is to be lamented that great characters are seldom without a blot.”
It is your duty to work to achieve the perfection of your character, not
to be perfect. Every gardener works hard to maintain his garden and keep it
as weed free as possible. This doesn’t mean that his garden will never have
any weeds. It means that when he becomes aware of those weeds, he takes
steps to remove them. It takes continual work for him to keep his garden
weed free. Maintaining a weed free garden is a constant struggle, but one in
which he is dedicated to in order to cultivate the type of garden that he
wants and can be proud of growing.
Just as the gardener has to continually tend to his garden, you have to
work at maintaining both your character and your reputation, even after
they have been formed. Living up to your high standards is a never-ending
process and there will always be temptations to lower your standards or
temporarily set them aside. You have to have the intestinal fortitude to
maintain your standards no matter what others around you say or do. Your
character has to be able to withstand the tide of public opinion, the actions
of others, and your own weaknesses.
Don’t let others influence your decisions, at least not in a negative
way. Don’t compromise your principles to please someone else or to avoid
displeasing those around you. Stand firm. Live according to your nature –
the nature of the superior man. It can be very tempting to allow the actions
of others to influence your own actions in a negative way. When someone
treats you with disrespect or in a rude manner, it is tempting to respond in
kind, but this is not the character of the superior man.
Emerson pointed out that, “Whoso would be a man must be a
nonconformist.” The man of character cannot afford to allow others to
dictate his actions. The 17th century Spanish writer and one of my favorite
authors of old, Baltasar Gracian, stated this perfectly when he wrote, “The
man of principle never forgets what he is, because of what others are.”
Don’t choose your actions according to the actions of others, but rather
to your own standards and principles. Let your own conscience be your
guide. You know which actions are in accord with your standards, and
which are not. After you have developed quality character traits in your life,
you can depend on your conscience to be a reliable guide concerning what
you should and should not do.
 Lao Tzu, the author of the classic book, Tao Te Ching, another one of
my favorite books, made this point stating, “Highly evolved people have
their own conscience as pure law.” He went on to teach that, “A person
experiences the events of life, and the experiences of life in turn reveal
something about that person.” How you respond to the events in your life,
both the good ones and the challenges, reveal your true character.
Sages throughout the ages have taught this same platitude. Plutarch,
the famous Greek historian simply stated that, “The measure of a man is the
way he bears up under misfortune.” Thoreau wrote, “Our true character
silently underlies all our words and actions, as the granite underlies the
other strata.” If you want to truly know how well you have developed your
character, pay attention to how you respond to both the challenges and the
triumphs of your life.
This not only applies to those times when you are with other people,
but also for the quiet times when you are alone. The truest test of character
is what you do when you are alone. Do you still live up to your standards
when nobody is watching? Do you live up to your reputation when you are
at home with your family or only when you are in public? Your character
should be sincere and genuine, not for show.
You should not act one way in public and another way in private. Your
character is revealed through your words and your actions. You must be
consistent and sincere in order to be a superior man. Strive to make sure
that your words and your actions are in line with the character that you are
building. This is the nature of the superior man – the nature of the warrior.
Aristotle put it this way, “A good man…whatever may befall him, will
behave gracefully; approving his conduct exact, square, and blameless.
Slight misfortunes are unable to shake his well-balanced happiness…Of the
circumstances in which he is placed, he will always make the best and most
honorable use.”
This is a good description of the man of upstanding character and can
only be lived up to by making a conscious decision to be a man of
character. You have to remain conscious of your every thought and your
every word. Many people basically live their lives on autopilot, going
through life without any true direction, responding in whatever manner their
emotions dictate to them in any given moment. The warrior can’t afford to
live his life in this way; he has to be ever vigilant of his thoughts, words and
actions.
 He must maintain his character in all of the situations of life. No
matter what circumstances he finds himself in, the man of character will act
appropriately, maintaining the principles which he has firmly decided to
incorporate into his life. This takes practice and determination. Hemingway
called this “Grace under pressure.”
This is a tall order. It is not easy, if it were easy, then men of character
would not be as rare as they appear to be in today’s society. You have to
constantly work at building and maintaining your character. You have to
develop confidence in the principles that you have made a commitment to
live by during your lifetime. Having this kind of confidence in your
principles takes time and effort to develop; it takes persistent, unrelenting
work.
William Ellery Channing described the man of character as, “The
greatest man is he who chooses the right with invincible resolution; who
resists the sorest temptations from within and without; who bears the
heaviest burdens cheerfully; who is calmest in storms and most fearless
under menace and frowns; and whose reliance of truth, on virtue, and on
God, is most unfaltering.”
Choose what is right with invincible resolution. It should not matter to
the man of character what others think, say, or do. His focus is always on
what is right according to the principles he has decided to make his own. It
is these inner principles which determine the true character of a man, and
the dedication to these principles will be exhibited through his thoughts,
words and actions.
Professing to live by a set of principles, no matter how lofty those
principles may be, is worthless if they do not manifest themselves through
your thoughts, words and actions. It is not enough to be a man of character
in your own mind; you have to be a man of character in every aspect of
your life, starting with your underlying principles. Even if your actions
appear upstanding to those around you, if the underlying motivations and
principles are skewed, your actions are questionable at best.
Building your character on strong personal principles is the most
important part of the warrior lifestyle. It is the foundation of all the other
traits which make up this lifestyle of excellence. Each of the other traits that
I will be discussing, actually form a part of your overall character, and
together they construct the actual principles and code of life by which the
true warrior strives to live. It is not good enough to appear to be a man of
character; you must truly be a man of character. Thomas Paine stated,
“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and
angels know of us.”
While your reputation is important, at least to a degree, it is your
authentic character that truly matters. Each of the underlying principles or
traits which form your true character must be built on a solid foundation.
This foundation is your sincere desire to be a man of character and to live
according to those time-tested principles which make someone a superior
man. Understanding the importance of developing an unquestionable
character is the first step towards living a life of excellence.
 Meditations on Character
 

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard

than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself.
Henry Ward Beecher

If an urn lacks the characteristics of an urn,

how can we call it an urn?
Confucius

To compose our character is our duty.

Montaigne

It is no easy thing for a principle to become a man’s own

unless each day he maintains it and works it out in his life.
Epictetus

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps

of the men of old, seek what they sought.
Matsuo Basho

Every man who is truly a man must learn to be alone

in the mist of all others, and if need be against all others.
Romain Rolland

Perfection is attained by slow degrees;

she requires the hand of time.
Voltaire

For when moral value is considered,

the concern is not the actions, which are seen,
but rather with their inner principles, which are not seen.
Kant

Lay down for yourself, at the outset,

a certain stamp and type of character for yourself,
 which you are to maintain whether you are
by yourself or are meeting with people.
Epictetus

Let them know a real man,

who lives as he was meant to live.
Marcus Aurelius

The man of principle never forgets what he is,

because of what others are.
Baltasar Gracian

What I must do is all that concerns me,

not what the people think.
Emerson

The superior man is watchful over

himself even when alone.
Chung Yung

Our true character silently underlies

all our words and actions,
as the granite underlies the other strata.
Thoreau

A good character is more valuable than gold.

Philippine Proverb

The superior man does not give up good conduct

because the inferior man rails against him.
Hsun-Tzu
 Chapter 2

Integrity
The Essence of the Warrior

Integrity: Possession of firm principles; the quality of possessing

and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or standards.

Where character is the pattern of behavior found in an individual,

integrity is the quality of steadfastly adhering to the principles or standards
which form your character. Without integrity there can be no warrior
lifestyle because it requires integrity to live up to one’s principles through
good times and bad. One would simply live by his principles only when
they are convenient if it weren’t for his integrity.
The word integrity comes from the Latin word integer, which means
whole or unbroken completeness. It can also be defined as a state of being
complete and undivided, or incorruptibility. Thus, if you have integrity,
your commitment to your own personal principles will be incorruptible. If
we look at integrity from this point of view, it would mean being true to
your beliefs and principles, or as the definition above states, steadfastly
adhering to the high moral principles or standards that you have set for
yourself to follow.
This is what integrity means to the true warrior who seeks to live the
warrior lifestyle. Without integrity, it is impossible to truly live the warrior
lifestyle because the principles of the warrior lifestyle are not mere
suggestions which one follows when he is in the mood, and sets aside when
they become inconvenient or problematic. The true warrior must first
decide that he is going to live according to the principles, which he has
committed himself to, as his code by which he will live his life.
 To successfully do this, he must have unwavering integrity where his
important principles are concerned. It is this integrity which sets the true
warrior apart from the average individual that you meet on the street. Most
people live their lives according to the principle of “what’s best for them
personally,” or more accurately, what they believe is best for them
personally. The true warrior looks at his life a bit differently.
To the man who seeks to live the warrior lifestyle, there are more
important things to consider than his own comfort, profit or desires. He is
more concerned about doing what is right instead of what may be
financially or personally profitable. Confucius taught this when he said,
“The superior man seeks what is right; the inferior man, what is profitable.”
This is not to say that the man who lives his life according to the
standards of the warrior lifestyle should not consider what is best for
himself or his family. It is definitely his responsibility to provide for his
family and to consider his family’s needs and desires. Everyone should
reflect on how to best provide for his family.
The point here is that in considering what is best for his family or
himself, the man of integrity will first consider what is right. This may
sound like a small distinction, but in reality, this one trait sets the true
warrior apart from the vast majority of people in this world. There is a big
difference between doing what is right and doing what is simply right for
your bottom line.
The superior man, as Confucius referred to him, puts what is morally
right before what is right for his bank account. For example, he would not
murder someone, no matter how much money he was offered. This would
go against his code of honor and the principles by which he lives his life.
Doing so would be a clear indication that he is lacking in integrity, as well
as personal ethics.
This is an extreme example. I’m sure that you can come up with many
more examples of someone who is willing to put personal profit ahead of
what is right. The appeal of easy money is a very strong temptation,
especially for someone who lacks personal integrity. A man of integrity will
not lower his standards for money, or for any other sort of personal gain. He
realizes that there are more important things in life than personal comfort,
financial gain or any of the other things for which the common man is
willing to trade his integrity.
 The book of Proverbs states that, “The integrity of the upright guides
them.” This is true for those who live their lives according to the principles
of the warrior lifestyle. They are guided by their integrity in the principles
by which they live their lives. Here you may argue that everyone is guided
by the principles that they have decided to live by in life, and to a point, this
may be true.
The difference between the superior man and the average person or the
actual criminal, is that he lives by a much higher set of principles than other
people. To quote Confucius again, “The superior man enacts equity, and
justice is the foundation of all his deeds.” Basically, the superior man does
what is right, at least to the best of his abilities. This cannot be said of
everyone.
Demophilus stated, “Do what you know to be good without expecting
from it any glory. Forget not that the vulgar are a bad judge of good
actions.” You must have the integrity to do what you know is right, and is in
harmony with your own standards, without expecting a reward for doing
right. This is the essence of true integrity. If there were some kind of
compensation for personal integrity, many more people would make an
effort to incorporate integrity into their lives. As is, most people either
neglect integrity or merely assume that they are people of integrity, even
though their actions may indicate otherwise.
Many people falsely believe that they can separate their integrity from
certain parts of their life. For example, someone may think that he has
personal integrity, but may believe that “business is business” and that
cheating someone on a business deal is simply doing business. He might
rationalize that this is simply business and that it is up to each person to
watch his own back and do his homework. This is a buyer beware type of
attitude and is commonly seen throughout the world.
Robbing someone’s house would probably never cross this person’s
mind because that would be totally unethical according to this person’s so-
called integrity. At the same time, he may consider certain questionable
business practices to be totally acceptable, even though purposely cheating
someone in a business deal is simply another way of robbing someone. This
connection never enters this man’s mind. He simply sees one as business
and the other as unethical.
True warriors do not see personal integrity in this way. They view
integrity in terms of their pursuit of living a moral life, which is in line with
the character traits of the warrior lifestyle. In short, they view actions in
terms of right and wrong. This is not to say that the man of integrity sees
everything as black and white. There is a big difference between looking at
life’s choices in terms of black and white, and viewing them in terms of
right and wrong.
Most people do not realize this. The warrior’s principles are both set in
stone and yet flexible at the same time. This in no way means that his
personal integrity is situational. He maintains his integrity without
compromise. What this means is that what is right guides his integrity, not a
rigid set of rules. Many people have a hard time understanding this
philosophy. Hopefully the following example will help make this clear to
you.
Let’s say that one of the principles that a warrior lives by is to be
truthful or honest. Part of living up to this principle would be that the
warrior does not lie. This is a pretty straightforward tenet. Now, someone
who lives his life in rigid, legalistic terms would say that it is never okay to
lie, that doing so would undermine his integrity. This is a good example of
someone who looks at his principles in terms of black and white.
The problem with this is that a rigid view of one’s principles can
sometimes run crossways with doing what is right. Let’s continue to
examine this concept by looking closer at the principle of being honest and
truthful. I think that we can all agree that being honest is a virtue and one of
the traits that someone living the warrior lifestyle should adhere to as one of
his core principles.
Here’s the difference between the rigid adherence to this principle and
the man who views his principles from the standpoint of right and wrong.
The man who views his principles from the perspective of right and wrong
has the ability to be flexible in his principles. No, this doesn’t mean that he
has the option to lie when it is convenient for him, but he does have the
option to bend the truth when it is the right thing to do.
An example of this would be lying to save your life or the life of your
loved ones. Say for instance that you are the victim of a home invasion and
the predator asks you if you are home alone. You are fully aware that your
wife is asleep upstairs but you think that you can better protect her by
misleading this guy with a lie and saying that you are home alone. The man
who lives life in terms of right and wrong will have no problem lying to this
predator, and in doing so, will in no way have compromised his principles.
 His integrity is still intact. The man of integrity looks at life in terms of
right and wrong, not black and white. Living the warrior lifestyle is not
about a rigid adherence to specific rules. It is about having the personal
integrity to live your life by the principles you have decided to incorporate
into your life, and guiding those principles by the concept of right and
wrong. Again, remember the words of Confucius, “The superior man seeks
what is right.”
Does this mean that the outcome of your decisions will always turn out
right? Nope. No matter how hard you try to make the right decision, there
will be times when things do not go as you would like them to. The point is
that you must have the personal integrity to make those decisions from a
mindset of “what is right.”
To continue with my example, the man of integrity would never lie for
purely financial profit or to take advantage of some innocent victim. He
chooses his actions according to what is right, and that would clearly be
wrong. Men of integrity impose certain restrictions on themselves. This is
where their principles come into play. The character traits in this book are
presented as guidance for you to develop your own personal set of
principles by which to live, but each one must be tempered by the dictates
of right and wrong in any given situation.
This takes personal integrity. No one is going to force you to develop
these character traits. No one is going to force you to live up to the
principles by which you have decided to live. If you do not have the
personal integrity to follow through and live up to your own personal code,
then that is your choice. You have the right to live your life as you see fit, as
long as it does not interfere with others doing the same.
It is solely on your shoulders to develop your character and your
personal integrity. This is what the warrior lifestyle is all about –
disciplining yourself and having the integrity to live a life of excellence.
You are the captain of this ship. It is up to you!
Dr. Charles Hackney, in his excellent book, Martial Virtues, states,
“Integrity may be considered a form of justice-turned-inward in which,
rather than an honorable persona demanding to be treated in a certain
manner, the honorable person behaves in a manner that is true to his
ideals…Rather than honor being found in conforming to others’
expectations, honor is found by living up to one’s own beliefs and
internalized stands of right and wrong.”
 Having personal integrity does not mean living up to the expectations
of others. It means having the self-discipline to live your life according to
your own standards of right and wrong. The catch here is that your
standards of right and wrong must be derived from the correct principles
that guide men of integrity. If everyone on this planet decided for
themselves what is right and wrong, we would have chaos.
The difference in everyone deciding for themselves what is right and
what is wrong, is that the man of principle makes his decision from a place
of honor and integrity. His conscience is highly developed to the point of
internally understanding what is right and what is wrong. He holds himself
to a much higher standard than other people. As Emerson said, “What I
must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.”
Lao Tzu said the same thing but in a slightly different way stating,
“Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.” For the
man of integrity, living life according to what you think to be right and
wrong is not a license to do whatever you may want to do. Rather it means
that you put what is right over all other considerations. But, to do so, you
must first develop yourself to a point of internally knowing what is right
and what is wrong.
In addition, personal integrity means that you will also have to be
willing to accept the consequences of your decisions. Doing what you know
is right will not exempt you from the consequences of governmental laws,
but the man of integrity will do what is right nonetheless because he
answers to his own conscience first and foremost. Moliere, the famous
French playwright, put it this way, “It is not only what we do, but what we
do not do, for which we are accountable.”
The person of integrity can be trusted to do what is right because he
answers first and foremost to his conscience. He does not look to others to
justify his actions. He makes his decisions according to the firm, but not
rigid, principles by which he lives. It is this dedication to his principles that
enables him to live a life of excellence and which sets him above the
common man.
Without personal integrity, it would be impossible to truly live the
warrior lifestyle. You will find as you continue to read Modern Bushido,
that the warrior lifestyle is not a passive lifestyle. It takes dedication and
hard work. It takes self-discipline and perseverance. There will be many
times when it would be easier for you to relax your standards and let some
of your principles slide, times when no one would know but yourself.
The only thing that will keep you on track during times like that is
your personal integrity and dedication to the principles that you have made
a firm decision to live by on your journey to live the warrior lifestyle.
Thomas Jefferson explained how he dealt with such situations stating,
“Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to
yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you,
and act accordingly.”
Living with integrity has to be a 24/7 process, even when you are
alone. To do right only when others are watching or listening, and live
another way when you are alone, is merely being hypocritical.
 Meditations on Integrity
 

Integrity has no need of rules.

Albert Camus

Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow

in the wind or change with the weather It is your inner
image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man
who won’t cheat, then you know he never will.
John D. MacDonald

A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity.

Baltasar Gracian

It is not what we eat but what we digest that

makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save
that makes us rich; not what we read but what we
remember that makes us learned; and not what we
profess but what we practice that gives us integrity.
Francis Bacon

All know the way, few actually walk it.

Bodhidharma

Never do anything against conscience

even if the state demands it.
Einstein

Calamity is the test of integrity.

Samuel Richardson

Follow the good and learn their ways.

Chinese Proverb

It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives.

Samuel Johnson
 A precious stone will not lose its shine just
because someone drops it in a cesspool.
Malay Proverb

Whatever the world may say or do, my part is to

remain an emerald and to keep my color true.
Marcus Aurelius

The superior man must always remain

himself in all situations of life.
Chung Yung

No one will honestly question your integrity

if your integrity is truly unquestionable.
Bohdi Sanders

Have the courage to say no.

Have the courage to face the truth.
Do the right thing because it is right.
These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.
W. Clement Stone

One of the truest tests of integrity

is its blunt refusal to be compromised.
Chinua Achebe

A clear conscience is the greatest armor.

Chinese Proverb

Quality is not an act. It is a habit.

Aristotle
 Chapter 3

Virtue
The Moral Excellence of the Warrior

Virtue: General moral excellence; right action and thinking;

goodness or morality; a specific moral quality regarded as good or
meritorious; excellence in general.

After you have determined that you want to build your character and
that you have the integrity to live by your principles, the next step is to start
cultivating the virtues of the warrior lifestyle. Virtues are considered to be
traits which lead you to moral excellence or excellence in general, as stated
in the definition above. Most of the traits that I discuss in Modern Bushido
are considered virtues or traits that will lead you to a life of excellence. This
is why they are actually included in Modern Bushido.
Sai Baba, the popular spiritual teacher and guru, stated that, “You must
start with the first step: the cleansing of the mind and the cultivation of
virtue.” It is interesting that this teacher taught that the first step has to be
“the cleansing of the mind,” but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
If your goal is to cultivate moral excellence, you must first get rid of the
things in your mind that will interfere with your goal; thus you must first
cleanse the mind.
If you had a small patch of land and you wanted to cultivate a garden
on that land, the first thing that you would need to do is to rid the land of
grass and weeds. You do this so you can properly prepare the soil in order
to plant the seeds that you want to grow. It would be ridiculous to simply go
out and throw some garden seeds on the unprepared ground and expect
them to thrive or to even grow. You have to prepare the soil first.
 In the same way, you have to prepare your mind in order to plant the
seeds of virtue that you want to grow. Hopefully you are working with
some pretty good soil to begin with, but if not, don’t be discouraged.
Anyone with the desire to change their life can do so, as long as he is
willing to work at it.
Although the garden analogy was used to make a point, cleansing the
mind is a bit different than preparing soil to plant a garden. Cleansing the
mind involves changing what you allow your thoughts to dwell on and
replacing unwanted thoughts with virtuous thoughts. I will discuss the
importance of your thoughts and the workings of the mind in the next
chapter. For now, what you need to know is that you have to work at
developing virtue.
Becoming virtuous is not something that will happen overnight. The
expansion of virtues depends solely on you. You have to work at it, and it is
work, not in the physical sense, but it’s work nonetheless. The Indian
philosopher, Nagarjuna, put it this way, “Virtues are acquired through
endeavor, which rests wholly upon yourself.”
So how do you do this work and develop the virtues that you want to
be a part of your life? The same way that you get good at anything else –
you practice. Euripides taught, “The more you practice virtue the easier to
practice it becomes.” It is just like your martial arts, the more you practice a
specific kick, the easier it will become to use that kick. Basically, the more
you focus on developing and using your virtues, the more ingrained they
become in your character.
You have to continuously practice using your virtues and focus on their
value in your life. Meditate on virtuous quotes. Read and study the writings
from virtuous people. As with other valuable traits or skills, the
development of virtues does not come automatically. You have to constantly
work, not only at developing those skills, but also at keeping your virtues
intact.
If you neglect your martial arts skills and do not use them or continue
to practice to improve them, you will start to notice that they aren’t as
sharp. Virtues are the same way. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the 18th century
philosopher, stated, “Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have
always to combat with ourselves.”
This may sound a little weird at first until you think about it, but many
of the sages, teachers, and philosophers of the past have likened building
and maintaining your character to a personal war in which you constantly
have to battle temptations to maintain or develop your virtuous character. It
is not easy, but very little that is worthwhile is achieved without work.
Which brings me to my next point – make sure that you are truly
developing your virtuous traits and not merely appearing to be virtuous to
impress those around you.
The well-known American author, Henry David Thoreau, wrote,
“There are nine hundred and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous
man.” This means that there are a lot of pretenders out there who want to
appear like virtuous men, but underneath their carefully constructed façade,
they are not truly virtuous. While they support being virtuous and will talk
about how one should have this virtue or that virtue, it is all for show.
Essentially, they talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.
Why do these people do this? Why don’t they simply develop virtue
for themselves? The answer is simple – it takes work and most people are
not willing to work for something that they cannot truly see how it will
profit them. They will talk about how everyone should have this virtue or
that virtue, and will berate those who they consider lacking in certain
virtues, but they aren’t willing to work to become virtuous people.
The true warrior will not put on a show for the benefit of others. He
strives to be sincere about the lifestyle that he professes to live. Don’t
pretend to live a virtuous life simply to impress other people; this doesn’t
truly improve your life in any way. While it may be true that it can open
certain doors for you or afford you a specific reputation, it does nothing to
truly change your life.
Even those who pretend to be virtuous would like to truly have the
virtues that they pretend to have, but they are simply too weak to do what
has to be done to make those virtues a real part of their lives. The bottom
line is that they just can’t see how living a life of virtue will benefit them,
so they continue to live as they always have, and give in to their weak
natures.
One of my favorite writers from the 17th century, Francois de La
Rochefoucauld, wrote that, “Weakness, even more than vice, is the enemy
of virtue.” George Washington echoed this sentiment stating, “Few men
have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” It takes a special person to
truly appreciate what it means to live a virtuous life. Most people prefer to
focus on their own comforts or financial gains, as opposed to developing
virtues.
This does not mean that you can’t be virtuous, live a good life
financially, and have the nice things that we all enjoy. It simply means that
you have to have your priorities straight. You shouldn’t trade your virtue for
profits, short-lived amusements, or for material things. But, as George
Washington stated, most people are more concerned with those things than
they are with their own character.
The true warrior, on the other hand, seeks to be a man of excellence.
He is not concerned about what other people do as far as how it affects his
own personal goals to become a superior man. Whether or not others decide
to practice virtuous living doesn’t concern him; he knows that he is not
responsible for the actions of others. Lao Tzu taught this same attitude
saying, “One should practice steadfast and indiscriminative virtue without
demanding others to do the same in return.” Marcus Aurelius echoed this
same thought professing, “I do what is mine to do, the rest doesn’t disturb
me.”
Focus on planting the seeds of virtue in your life, cultivating and
nourishing those seeds, and then making sure nothing destroys your virtue
once it has matured. Don’t concern yourself with what other people think
about how you live your life or how they are actually living theirs. Your job
is to improve your own life and to live your life to the fullest, while doing
so with integrity and virtue. If you are really working at improving your
own life, you will not have time to be concerned about what others do or
think.
Pliny the Younger, the ancient Roman lawyer, put it this way, “A noble
spirit will seek the reward of virtue in the consciousness of it, rather than in
popular opinion.” If you are truly interested in living the warrior lifestyle,
you will be concerned with improving yourself personally, not making
yourself look good to those who do not even understand the lifestyle that
you are trying to live.
Popular opinion doesn’t matter. Oh, of course it does to some extent.
Most of us have to have a job or run our own business, which in turn will
have to cater to other people. What I am talking about here is popular
opinion in the sense of what other people think is right or how other people
think you should live. This is especially true of those who are not men of
character and integrity. Why would you care about the opinions of those
who clearly cannot live their own lives in a decent manner?
This brings us to the question, how do you know whether or not
someone is virtuous? The answer is fairly simple, you observe their life.
You watch what they do and listen to what they say, not just in public where
they are most likely to be careful in both their actions and their speech, but
also pay attention to their normal, everyday speech and behavior.
The philosopher, Blaise Pascal, wrote, “The power of man’s virtue
should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing.”
Watch how people live their everyday lives if you want to truly know who
they are. This same line of thought goes for your own life as well. How do
you live your day to day life when no one else is around? You should not
live one way in public and another way in your private life. This doesn’t
mean that you have to allow others to know everything about you or
publicize everything that you do. I am only referring to your core actions –
your inner virtue.
Aristotle looked at the prospect of judging someone’s virtue slightly
differently stating, “Virtue is more clearly shown in the performance of fine
actions than in the nonperformance of base ones.” Aristotle brings up a very
interesting point. You can’t really say someone has virtue because of what
he doesn’t do. For example, most people don’t rob banks, but that doesn’t
mean that most people are truly virtuous.
In this example, to know if someone is truly virtuous, you have to
know their inner motivations. If a man refrains from robbing a bank, his
lack of robbing the bank doesn’t mean that his inaction comes from a place
of virtue. It could be that this man doesn’t rob the bank simply because he is
afraid of being caught and spending a large portion of his life in prison.
Refraining from robbing the bank makes this person a law-abiding
citizen, but it doesn’t say anything about his virtue, not really. You can’t
really judge someone’s virtue by watching what he doesn’t do; you have to
watch what he does do. It is his actual actions and words that reveal his true
character, and thus his virtues or lack thereof.
Aristotle goes on to point out that, “Virtue itself is not enough; there
must also be the power to translate it into action.” This is a very important
point for the man on the path of the warrior lifestyle. It is not good enough
to develop all the virtues that I discuss in Modern Bushido; you have to
actually put them into action.
 I started this chapter off with an analogy about planting a garden, so I
will continue with the garden analogy. Even if you removed all the weeds,
prepared the soil perfectly, planted the seeds, and took care of the plants
until you had lots of vegetables, it would all be for nothing if you didn’t
harvest and use the vegetables. The same principle applies to the
development of virtue in your life.
If you cleanse your mind, study hard, meditate, and develop many
wonderful virtues, what good does all of that do you if you don’t use those
virtues in your life? Warriors have a duty to help other people. Once you
have developed virtue in your life, use your virtue and your knowledge to
help those around you. Translate your virtue into action, as Aristotle said.
Making the virtues of the warrior lifestyle a part of your life is not
merely for your own benefit. The true warrior will work to make his life a
life of excellence, and will also strive to be able to use the traits of the
warrior lifestyle to help other people. The same goes for your martial arts
skills. Are you learning your self-defense skills only as a means to keep
yourself safe or do you feel a duty to use those skills to defend those who
are weaker than you and who need someone to defend them? The true
warrior will feel a duty to help and protect those around him. As Robert L.
Humphrey stated in The Warrior Creed:

Wherever I go,
everyone is a little safer because I am there.
Wherever I am,
anyone in need has a friend.
Whenever I return home,
everyone is happy I am there.

Mr. Humphrey’s sentiments in his poem are a great example of his virtue
being put into action to help others.
Epictetus said that the product of virtue is tranquility. When you live
your life with integrity and virtue, and with the kind of attitude that is
expressed in The Warrior’s Creed, you will find that you will indeed live a
tranquil life. The tranquility that comes from leading a virtuous life comes
from knowing that you are living life as it should be lived. You have a clear
conscience because you constantly strive to make your decisions based on
what is right and what is wrong.
 I will end this chapter with a great summary of virtue from Baltasar
Gracian who described virtue as follows:

For virtue is the bond of all the perfections, and the

heart of all life’s satisfactions. It makes a man sensible,
alert, far-seeing, understanding, wise, courageous,
considerate, upright, joyous, welcomed, truthful, and a
universal idol…Virtue is the sun of our lesser world, the
sky over which is a good conscience. It is so beautiful,
that it finds favor of God, and of man. There is nothing
lovely without virtue…for virtue is the essence of
wisdom, and all else is folly: capacity and greatness
must be measured in terms of virtue…Virtue alone is
sufficient unto itself, and it, only, makes a man worth
loving in life and in death, worth remembering.
 Meditations on Virtue
 

Follow the path of virtue.

The virtuous rest in bliss in this world and in the next.
The Dhammapada

If you follow virtue for your mean, and strive to do virtuous

deeds, you need not envy those that are born of Princes and
great men, for blood is inherited, but virtue is achieved.
Cervantes

The superior man thinks of virtue;

the small man thinks of comfort.
Confucius

A noble spirit will seek the reward of virtue in

the consciousness of it, rather than in popular opinion.
Pliny the Younger

It’s quite possible to be a good man

without anyone realizing it.
Marcus Aurelius

Because of the diverse conditions of humans,

it happens that some acts are virtuous to some people,
as appropriate and suitable to them, while the same acts
are immoral for others, as inappropriate to them.
Saint Thomas Aquinas

He who wants to keep his garden tidy

doesn’t reserve a plot for weeds.
Dag Hammerskjold

Although the Tao holds no favoritism or partiality,

it always supports those who are naturally virtuous.
 Lao Tzu

Virtue alone is sufficient unto itself, and it, only, makes a

man worth loving in life, and in death, worth remembering.
Baltasar Gracian

Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it

we have always to combat with ourselves.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Virtue is more clearly shown in the performance of fine

actions than in the nonperformance of base ones.
Aristotle

Virtue shows itself in the lowest

as well as in the sublimest things.
Confucius

A truly virtuous person cannot be indifferent

to the troubled world in which he lives…
Lao Tzu

Nature does not bestow virtue; to be good is an art.

Seneca

A virtuous man concentrates on his own work,

not that of others.
Zengzi
 Chapter 4

Correct Thought
The Mind of the Warrior

Thought: The act or process of thinking; reflection; meditation; the

power of reasoning; intellect; imagination; attention;
consideration; mental engrossment.

Correct thought is vital to the warrior lifestyle. Basically all religious

teachings, teachings from the sages, and wisdom literature from throughout
the world, emphasize the importance of controlling your mind and the
thoughts which you entertain or dwell upon. Learning to think rationally
and control your mind is of utmost importance to the warrior. Without
mastering the art of thought control (your own, not someone else’s), it is
virtually impossible to successfully live the warrior lifestyle to the fullest.
Yes, it is that important.
Blaise Pascal stated that, “The whole dignity of man is in thought.”
When you really stop and think about it, that is true. It is not your actions
which make you honorable or dignified. While it is true that your actions
are very important, your actions can be deceptive. Actions, which appear
honorable to those around you, can have alternative motives which are only
known to you.
It is your thoughts and intentions which actually make your actions
honorable or dishonorable. Your thoughts ultimately determine your
actions. Inappropriate or dishonorable actions are the result of inappropriate
or dishonorable thoughts. Thoreau stated, “Thought is the sculptor who can
create the person you want to be.” Self-help guru, Wayne Dyer, echoes this
thought saying, “Your thoughts are the source of virtually everything in
your life.”
Unless you learn to control your thoughts, you will never be able to
control your actions; and if you can’t control your actions, you are walking
on thin ice. It is vital that you learn to control your mind and think
rationally. In order to understand how your thoughts work, it is useful to
understand a little about what your thoughts actually are.
The philosopher, Ralph Waldo Trine, taught what physicists are now
proving, “Thoughts are forces.” Your thoughts actually have energy and
power; they are not merely innocent, meaningless gibberish in your mind.
Emerson stated, “There is no thought in any mind, but it quickly tends to
convert itself into a power.” He went on to say, “Every thought you
entertain is a force that goes out; and every thought comes back laden with
its kind.”
Your thoughts affect many things in your life from your emotions to
your actions, and in order for you to act correctly, you have to think
correctly. This is not some New Age mumbo-jumbo. A major part of the
Buddhist religion is the Eightfold Path. Each part of the Eightfold Path can
ultimately be traced back to controlling your thoughts. Buddha understood,
over 2,500 years ago, that to live a successful life, you have to learn to
control your mind. This is one reason that meditation is such a major part of
the Buddhist religion. Buddha taught, “The mind is everything. What you
think, you become.”
As I mentioned, modern science is now proving that your thoughts are
actual forces and they have energy. This can now be measured. The
bestselling book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, explores this in detail. I
recommend that you read this book, if you haven’t already. In this book, it
is explained that your thoughts have a frequency, and different types of
thoughts have different frequencies that can have different effects on your
life.
I have used the garden analogy to make my points many times in
Modern Bushido, and it is also a helpful analogy to use in order to help you
understand how your thoughts work and why what you think is very
important. Teachings from throughout the ages have taught that your
thoughts affect your life. Sometimes your thoughts have an immediate
effect on your life, but the majority of the time, thoughts take time to
manifest and to become tangible.
 Imagine that your mind is your garden and your thoughts are seeds
which you plant. If you prepare the soil (your mind), plant the seeds that
you want to grow (correct thoughts), water those seeds (focus on your
correct thoughts, keep your garden weeded (rid your mind of negative,
dishonorable thoughts), and continue to faithfully tend to your garden (be
consistent with this process), those seeds will mature and you will harvest
the fruits of your labor (your thoughts will materialize).
Just like growing vegetables in your garden, this process takes time; it
doesn’t happen overnight. No one plants a garden one day, then harvests
vegetables the next day. It simply doesn’t work that way. It takes time and
work for a seed to mature into a plant, and for the plant to produce fruit.
Your mind works the same way. First you have to prepare the soil (cleanse
your mind and get your attitude right), then you have to plant the seeds (the
thoughts that you want to manifest).
Many people read about this process, get excited about the prospects
of putting this technique into action, and then forget about it after a couple
of days or weeks. This is like planting a garden, taking care of it for a few
days and then forgetting about it or even worse, deciding that gardening
doesn’t really work and digging the seeds up and throwing them away.
Once you plant your seeds, you have to water your seeds and work to keep
the weeds out of the garden so those seeds can grow.
If you don’t follow through by giving your garden water and fertilizer,
and keeping the weeds from choking your plants, your garden will not
produce the results that you want. This is not to say that your garden will
not grow anything. If you leave it up to chance, you will find that your
garden will have plants growing in it, but those plants will be undesirable
plants such as noxious weeds, instead of the plants which produce useful,
nutritious food that strengthen your mind and body.
This is how your mind works also. If you decide to mindfully take
control of your thoughts in order to start manifesting the virtues and
character traits that you desire, but you give up on the process after a couple
of weeks or months, you will find that the mental weeds will overrun the
garden of your mind. Any garden, no matter how beautiful, will regress to
nothing more than a patch of weeds if it is not continually taken care of. It
doesn’t matter how well established it may be or how long it has been
growing, if the gardener quits tending to it, it will soon be overrun with
weeds.
 Controlling your thoughts and being mindful is a daily process. It is
not an objective in which you achieve your goal and then move on to
another project. It is an ongoing, never-ending part of the warrior lifestyle.
The day you decide that you no longer have to be aware of your thoughts, is
the day you start to regress. Hopefully by now you are starting to see why it
is so important for the true warrior to pay attention to his thoughts.
Your thoughts control your emotions and ultimately, your actions. The
warrior cannot afford to allow his thought processes to be controlled by his
emotions; he must control his emotions, not the other way around. Rational
thought has to be the way of the warrior. Sai Baba taught that you must,
“Control your mind and remain undisturbed. That is the secret of perfect
peace.” This is also the secret of maintaining your control as a warrior.
Marcus Aurelius wrote in his wonderful book, Meditations, “The
things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes
on the color of your thoughts.” If you allow your emotions to control your
thoughts, then there will be times when you are allowing anger, fear,
passion, and frustrations to affect your actions. This can get you into some
major trouble. The warrior must not allow himself to be controlled by
emotions such as these. He has to make sure that his actions are guided by
rational thought – not emotions.
Takuan Soho, the 17th century Zen master, pointed out that, “The mind
deludes itself. In matter of the mind, you must stay on your guard.” This is
very true. It is very easy for your mind to justify things in order to see
things as you want them to be, instead of the way things truly are. You have
to guard against this and always think rationally, seeing things as they are,
instead of the way that you wish they were. As the Roman poet, Horace,
explained, “Rule your mind, or it will rule you.”
When you allow your emotions to control your thoughts, you are
essentially allowing your mind to rule you instead of you ruling your mind.
Emotions can cause strong feelings and thoughts, and they have to be
controlled. W. Clement Stone wrote, “When we direct our thoughts
properly, we can control our emotions.” This is essential for the warrior.
Acting on emotional impulse is seldom a wise choice. If you dwell on
certain emotions, your thoughts will sooner or later turn into actions. Lao
Tzu warned against this saying, “Be careful of your thoughts; they are the
beginning of your acts.”
 As you can see, taking control of your thoughts and your mind is not
as simple as it may sound. It is easy for self-help gurus to tell people to
control their thoughts and manifest what they want in their lives, but it is
much harder to do this than these experts make it sound. It takes a lot of
effort, concentration, and diligence to cultivate your mind and control your
thoughts, but it is worth the effort.
I already mentioned the fact that science is proving that your thoughts
are forces and have frequencies and energy that can be measured.
Essentially, what you focus on will eventually manifest in your life. This is
another reason that the warrior must continually monitor his thoughts,
especially thoughts which he allows his mind to continually dwell on day in
and day out. If you do not want something to manifest in your life, don’t
allow your mind to dwell on it.
Wayne Dyer teaches that, “Every thought you have can be assessed in
terms of whether it strengthens or weakens you.” This is something else that
science is proving. Your thoughts can directly affect your body. Martial
artists know that their thoughts play a big part in what they can accomplish
in the arts. If you think that you can’t do a kick or that you can’t defeat a
certain opponent, your mind and body will respond to that thought. If you
doubt this, test it out in the weight room. See if you can feel a difference in
your weight training between days when your mind is focused and days
when it is preoccupied with outside thoughts.
Bodybuilders know how important a focused mind is to their overall
training results. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote in his comprehensive
bodybuilding book, The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, “The body
will never fully respond to your workouts until you understand how to train
the mind as well. The mind is a dynamo, a source of vital energy. That
energy can be negative and work against you, or you can harness it to give
yourself unbelievable workouts and build a physique that lives up to your
wildest expectations.” Schwarzenegger went on to say, “When the going
gets tough, it is always the mind that fails first, not the body.”
It is important for the warrior to keep his mind focused on the things
which strengthen him rather than weaken him. Maintain your mental
balance and don’t let the daily aggravations and stresses unbalance your
mind. Negative, stressful thoughts weaken you, while positive thoughts
strengthen you. You can look at your thoughts as your inner pep talk. This
inner conversation with yourself can make you powerful or weak, happy or
unhappy, confident or unconfident. Never forget that your thoughts are
powerful forces.
As with all powerful forces, they can be used either to help you or used
against you. The good news is that when it comes to your thoughts, you are
the only person who is in control. Thus it is you who makes the decision
concerning whether your thoughts will strengthen you and move you
towards your goals, or whether they will work against you and weaken you.
Thoughts of anger, hate, resentment, revenge, and unforgiveness,
which most likely include all of the other four emotions, are all thoughts
which will weaken you and work against you. Although I do not have room
to go into the subject of unforgiveness in this chapter, it is a subject that
would serve you well to do some reading on if you find that this is an area
that you have a problem with in your life. Unforgiveness can be like a
hidden pool of quicksand on the path of the warrior lifestyle; once you step
into it, you are basically stuck in that spot until you get out of it and leave it
behind you.
I mentioned earlier that ultimately it is your thoughts that make you
honorable or dishonorable. It is the intention behind your actions which
determine if your actions are honorable or dishonorable, and your intention
comes from your thoughts. An action which seems right to outside
observers, but which originates from dishonorable intentions, is not an
honorable action, even if there is nothing inherently wrong with the action
itself. This can be a little hard for most people to grasp, but it is very
important to true warriors who take their honor seriously.
In order for an action to truly be good or right, the thought behind it
must be right. In essence, things have to be right on the inside for them to
truly be right on the outside. You can’t do wrong right, but you can do right
wrong. The intention behind your action makes all the difference in the
world. People may judge you on the outcome, but your honor does not
depend on the outcome, but rather on the intention behind your action.
If your mind is right and your intentions are honorable, you can rest
easy knowing that you have acted honorably, no matter what happens. A
conscience free from guilt leads to tranquility of the mind, and only a
tranquil mind can see things as they truly are. This is one of the benefits of
meditation. By quieting the mind through meditation, you are better able to
think rationally and clear the fog that can sometimes cloud the mind. Not
only should the warrior learn to meditate as part of his quest to learn to
control his mind, but he should also meditate on what he wants to manifest
in his life through his thought processes.
The important thing to understand from this chapter is that your
thoughts are extremely important. They play a major part in either the
success or the failure of everything that you do. You can literally change
your world by changing your thoughts. Napoleon Hill wrote, “We are the
master of our fate, the captains of our souls, because we have the power to
control our thoughts.” There are many things outside of the realm of your
control, but your thoughts are one thing that you have total control over.
You dictate your path by controlling your thoughts.
 Meditations on Correct Thought
 

Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their

minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
William James

We are what we think. All that we are arises with

our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
Buddha

Understand that what you think about expands.

Wayne Dyer

The superior man is committed to focus.

Hsun Tzu

When we direct our thoughts properly,

we can control our emotions.
W. Clement Stone

Only in quiet waters things mirror

themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet
mind is adequate perception of the world.
Margolis

Your thoughts create your reality because your thoughts

determine how you respond to situations in your daily life.
Wayne Dyer

What the mind of man can conceive and believe,

the mind of a man can achieve.
Napoleon Hill

Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.

Thomas Mann
The things you think about determine the quality of your
mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.
Marcus Aurelius

Whatever you think, be sure it is what you think.

T. S. Eliot

Be careful of your thoughts;

they are the beginning of your acts.
Lao Tzu

To return, time after time,

to the same annoyance,
is a sort of insanity.
Baltasar Gracian

Deliberate often – decide once.

Latin proverb

The whole dignity of man is in thought.

Labor then to think right.
Pascal

Change your thoughts, and you change your world.

Norman Vincent Peale
 Chapter 5

Right Actions
The Warrior’s Building Blocks

Action: The doing of something; behavior; habitual conduct;

habitual activity characterized by energy and boldness

Emerson stated that, “A man’s action is only a picture book of his

creed.” Your actions do indeed show to the world who you truly are as a
person, and what your inner beliefs and philosophy are. Your behavior is
constantly revealing something about you to those whom you interact with
throughout your life. As F. D. Huntington said, “What a man does, tells us
what he is.” For this reason, it is vitally important to think before you act
and carefully consider all of your actions.
The philosophy, that your actions reveal the true you, has been taught
throughout the ages, from some of the earliest wisdom teachings right up to
the present day. Ptah-Hotep taught this, as did Jesus and Lao Tzu. The fact
that men of honor should carefully consider their actions and act
appropriately, according to their own code of honor, is universally accepted,
but seems to be taken less than seriously, especially in today’s society.
Although most people don’t seem to take their actions seriously anymore,
the warrior doesn’t live like most people. He knows how important it is to
carefully consider his every action.
As I discussed in the last chapter, your actions begin with your
thoughts, so it is vital that you control your mind and your emotions or you
will never be able to control your actions. If you allow your mind to run
wild, entertaining any and every thought that pops into your head, then your
actions will follow along, and you will find that you are randomly doing
whatever, without giving your actions much thought at all.
The same goes for allowing your emotions to control your actions. The
man who acts according to his emotions, instead of giving his actions
rational thought, will find that he is constantly behaving in ways which are
contrary to who he truly wants to be. Allowing emotions such as fear, anger,
frustration, hate, envy, or jealousy to control your actions is only asking for
trouble, and will damage your reputation and disrupt your goals on your
quest to become a true warrior. You must take steps to control both your
thoughts and your emotions in order to ensure that your actions are right.
This is the first step toward acting correctly in every circumstance.
You must get your mind right before you can possibly make your actions
right. As Ashley Montagu pointed out, “The only measure of what you
believe is what you do. If you want to know what people believe, don’t read
what they write, don’t ask what they believe, just observe what they do.”
Actions originate from your thoughts, so learning to control your thoughts
and thinking rationally, instead of emotionally, is the foundation of right
actions.
Others can see what you truly believe by how you act. Jesus taught,
“You will know them by their fruits.” John Locke echoed this thought
saying, “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” It is
easy for someone to profess to believe in a certain philosophy, but it is their
actions which serve as proof of either what they truly believe, or how
seriously they believe what they espouse.
The true warrior should walk the walk, not merely talk the talk. It is
easy to say you believe in the virtues and traits of the warrior lifestyle, but it
takes more than a verbal pronouncement of these virtues to actually live the
lifestyle; you have to make these virtues and traits an active part of your
life. In short, your actions have to coincide with your professed beliefs.
There is an old Chinese proverb which states, “To talk good is not to be
good; to do good, that is being good.” This is very true.
The warrior’s words will correspond with his actions, and his actions
will correspond with his words. Lao Tzu taught, “The Universal Way is not
just a matter of speaking wisdom, but one of continual practice.” This could
also be said of living the warrior lifestyle. It is not a matter of talking about
all the things which make the warrior lifestyle a great way to live, you
actually have to live it – practice it.
 You don’t live the warrior lifestyle to impress others; you live the
warrior lifestyle because of a personal decision to live a life of excellence.
You don’t do the right thing for any kind of personal reward or to impress
those around you; you do the right thing simply because it is right. The
warrior does what he knows is right according to his own code of honor,
without worrying about what others think about it. He knows that he alone
is responsible for his actions, no one else.
The Hadith states, “Do what you should do when you should do it;
don’t do what you shouldn’t do; and when it is unclear, wait until you are
more sure.” This is good advice for the warrior. Although this is pretty
simple and straightforward advice, it is not always so simple to figure out
what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. Again, this requires
thought, and to make the right decisions, you have to spend time making
sure your mind is right. Remember, for things to be right on the outside,
they first have to be right on the inside. If you aren’t thinking rationally,
there is a very good chance that your decisions will be off kilter.
Thinking before you act is not enough, you must think rationally and
correctly before you act. Misguided, emotional thoughts will lead to bad
decisions and bad actions. Marcus Aurelius taught that you should, “Say
and do everything according to the soundest reason.” This is another maxim
which is universally taught throughout the world.
So, what should you do if you really do not know what to do in a
certain situation? Wait and meditate until you do know what you should do.
Bodhidharma, the 6th century Buddhist monk and Zen patriarch, stated, “If
you’re not sure, don’t act.” This is good advice for the warrior. You don’t
have to make a snap decision. Wait until you know what the right action is
in your spirit, then act. Pythagoras stated you should, “Consult and
deliberate before you act, that you may not commit foolish actions.”
Of course there will be times when you do not have the luxury of
meditating on what you should do before you make a decision. It is because
of this that you should be doing daily meditation and studying in order to be
able to make the right decision when you find yourself in a situation which
requires you to act immediately. You have to be prepared ahead of time to
make the right decision in these instances.
How do you do this? How do you ensure that you will be prepared to
make the right decision when you do not have time to spend hours or days
determining the right move? You make the virtues and traits of the warrior
lifestyle a part of you through constant study and integration of them in
your life. By understanding what you stand for and what you know is right,
you are much better prepared to deal with life’s curve balls when they are
thrown at you.
You wouldn’t wait until some mugger attacks you, before you start
preparing to defend yourself. That would be silly. Martial artists spend
years training and learning the art of self-defense in order to be prepared,
should they ever need to use their skills. The same goes for your decision
making skills. You have to study and prepare your mind to make the right
decision before you are face to face with an important choice. Study the
teachings of the wise men from throughout history. My book, Wisdom of the
Elders, is an excellent aid to help you prepare your mind to make the right
decisions throughout life.
Another factor that determines whether your actions are right or wrong
is the intention behind your actions. Your intentions should be sincere and
pure. Sheikh Muzaffer stated, “The first duty is to behave with purity of
intention. It should never be forgotten that every deed and every action is
judged according to the intention behind it.”
This doesn’t mean that you need to disclose your intentions or your
motives to everyone else; that is not always a wise decision. What it does
mean is that you should be making your decisions based on what is right
and what is wrong. La Rochefoucauld, in his great book, Maxims, wrote,
“We should often blush at our noblest deeds if the world were to see all
their underlying motives.” This should never be said of the true warrior.
The warrior’s motives should be based on honor and doing what is
right. Although you don’t always want to disclose the motives behind your
actions, ideally, you should never be ashamed of those motives because
they will come from a place of honor and integrity. Many times, people will
not understand your actions, but this is not your problem. La Rochefoucauld
went on to write, “A countless number of acts that appear foolish have
secret motives that are very wise and weighty.”
Your objective is not for everyone to understand your actions, or the
intentions behind your actions, only that your actions are honorable and
right. People will read what they will into your actions. To quote La
Rochefoucauld again, “Our actions are like rhymes: anyone can fit them in
to mean what he likes.” People will believe what they want to believe. What
someone else thinks or believes about your actions shouldn’t concern you.
Remember what Marcus Aurelius wrote, “It is quite possible to be a good
man without anyone realizing it…I do what is mine to do; the rest doesn’t
disturb me.”
Concern yourself more with what is right, have the courage to act on
what you know is right, and leave others to believe what they will. Focus on
your own actions, not the actions of others. Yes, there will be times when
you have to respond to what others do, but when you do respond, always do
so from the standpoint of what is right. As Takuan Soho taught, “Each
action of the warrior is performed from a place of fundamental wisdom…it
is completely different from the ordinary behavior of a fool. Even if it looks
the same, it is different on the inside.”
How can an action look the same as what some unthinking, moron
does and yet not be the same? The answer is because it is different on the
inside. This means that it comes from a place of honor and integrity. It
doesn’t matter what it looks like to others, it matters what the intention is
behind the action. Remember this and make sure your intentions are always
honorable and originate from a place of integrity.
To do this, you must first understand your objectives and your
motivations. Marshall Ferdinand Foch stated, “In whatever position you
find yourself determine first your objective.” Guan Yin Tzu also taught this
reasoning stating, “The secret of success is before attempting anything, be
very clear about why you are doing it.” If you don’t know your objective or
the purpose behind your action, how can you possibly know if your actions
are right? You must know why you are doing what you are doing, and what
you want to accomplish with your actions. Your objective determines your
actions.
Why are you learning martial arts? Why do you spend hours each
week practicing self-defense? Why do you want to live the warrior
lifestyle? Why is meditating important to you? These are all important
questions for you to ask yourself. It is vitally important for you to be clear
on why you do what you do. If you don’t have a clear picture of what you
want, and you don’t really understand why it is important for you to
continue to work to achieve your goals, you will find that it will be much
harder to keep yourself motivated.
Having a deep understanding, concerning why you are doing what you
do, is vital to keeping you on track. This is like having a roadmap that
guides you to where you want to go, and this roadmap also helps guide you
concerning what you should and should not do. There are certain actions
which will bring you closer to your goals and other actions which will take
you further away from your goals. Keeping your mind focused on what is
important to you helps you determine which actions are which.
In addition to knowing what you should and should not do, you also
want to pay attention to how you perform your deeds. Swami Sivananda
taught that you should, “Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even to
your smallest acts. This is the secret to success.” Multitasking may be a part
of life today, but it is not the best way to get things done, especially if you
are interested in excellence. There is a Zen maxim that states, “When
walking, walk. When eating, eat.” This means that you should focus on the
task at hand. Whatever you are doing, do it to the best of your ability – do it
well.
The warrior puts his whole heart into his actions whether he is working
out or planting a garden. He is a man of excellence and this should be
evident in his every action. Do one thing at a time, do it well, then focus on
something else. I like what John W. Gardner wrote, “Do ordinary things
extraordinarily well.” This quote is one that every warrior should meditate
on and keep in mind.
Confucius taught, “By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they
get to be wide apart.” It is your actions which set you apart from ordinary
men and make you a superior man. Anne Byrhhe wrote, “Every action we
take, everything we do, is either a victory or defeat in the struggle to
become what we want to be.” Your actions matter. You have to start from
where you are and begin to transform your actions (if your actions haven’t
been what they should be). Lao Tzu wrote, “A journey of a thousand miles
begins with one step.”
It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past; you can always start
anew where your actions are concerned. Start to act like the man of honor
that you want to be, today. Always remember, everything you do,
everything you think, and everything you say, has some consequence in
your life, or the lives of others. You can do wrong, not only by your actions,
but by your inactions, and you are responsible for both. Moliere wrote, “It
is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are
accountable.”
Doing nothing is also an action; not making a decision is making a
decision. Everything you do is an action, even if it is the action of inaction.
By deciding not to workout, but instead to take the afternoon off and sit in
front of the television, you are still acting. Watching television is an action.
Taking a nap is an action. Everything that you do is some type of action.
Whenever you decide not to do one thing, you are deciding to do something
else. This is true even if what you decide to do is nothing. Doing nothing is
in fact doing something.
What the warrior should always be concerned with is whether his
actions are right or wrong. Always use your sense of honor to determine the
correct course of action, and remember, as Plutarch pointed out, “Not even
the gods can undo what has been done.” You can’t go back and change the
past; all you can do is start to do right, right now, this very moment.
Starting now, strive to make your every action right, according to your own
code of honor.
 Meditations on Right Actions
 

First say to yourself what you would be;

and then do what you have to do.
Epictetus

Every man is the sum of his own works.

Cervantes

If the heart is right the deeds will be right.

Japanese Proverb

Let your words correspond with your

actions and your actions with your words.
Confucius

A man’s action is only a picture book of his creed.

Emerson

Every action we take, everything we do, is either a victory

or defeat in the struggle to become what we want to be.
Anne Byrhhe

When walking, walk. When eating, eat.

Zen Maxim

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lao Tzu

Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at

a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
Thomas Carlyle

The success of very important matters often depends on

doing or not doing something that seems trivial. Even in
little things, therefore, you must be cautious and thoughtful.
Francesco Guicciardini

Never refuse or hesitate to take steps against

impending dangers…because you think they are too late.
Since things often take much longer than expected,
because of their very nature and because of the various
obstacles they encounter, it very often happens that the
steps you have omitted to take, thinking they would have
been too late, would have been in time.
Francesco Guicciardini

We should often blush at our noblest deeds if

the world were to see all their underlying motives.
La Rochefoucauld

Consult and deliberate before you act,

that you may not commit foolish actions.
Pythagoras

It is not only what we do, but also what we

do not do, for which we are accountable.
Moliere
 Chapter 6

Correct Speech
The Words of the Warrior

Speech: the act of speaking; expression or communication of

thoughts and feelings by spoken words; the manner of speaking;
that which is spoken; utterance, remark, statement, talk,
conversation.

Your speech is how you communicate with others. It is how you allow
others to know your feelings and thoughts. In essence, your speech, along
with your actions, is the only way that other people can judge you and your
character. For this reason, among others, it is very important that you keep a
close watch over what you say and how you say it. Yes, how you express
yourself can be just as important as what you say. Your attitude and tone
can tell someone as much about what you are communicating as your actual
words. As the Viking book of wisdom, The Havamal, states, “Man by his
speech is known to men.”
After your actions, your speech is the most important factor in how
people see you as a person. This is why it is important for the warrior to
take some time to think about the way he wants his speech to portray him as
a man of character, the pitfalls to be aware of, and the factors which can
help ensure that his speech is an asset instead of a liability in his quest to
perfect himself on his journey to become a superior man. The key part of
that last sentence is the word “think.”
Always think before you speak. The Buddhist philosopher, Nagarjuna,
stated, “Those who speak with discretion are respected by mankind.” So
according to Nagarjuna, discretion in your speech is the key to being
respected by others. This means that you have to give some thought to your
words before you allow them to come out of your mouth. Think about what
you are going to say, how it will be received by those who are listening to
you, even those that you may not be aware are listening, and your purpose
in speaking, all before you start talking.
It is not necessary or advantageous to give your opinion about
everything to everyone. It is not your job to be a form of cheap
entertainment for those around you. This is a trap that is very easy to fall
into and is the downfall of many people. While it is certainly okay to chat
with your buddies or other people about meaningless things in order to be
affable, you should be careful of your conversation even on such relaxed
occasions. It is all too easy to get carried away with your conversation and
express opinions which can be offensive and used against you at a later
time. Be genial and social, but at the same time be aware and thoughtful
concerning your private beliefs.
Even if you are talking to people who you consider harmless and well-
intentioned, you never know how your words will be taken or to whom they
will be repeated. It is always good policy to carefully monitor your speech,
even when chatting with friends. Francesco Guicciardini stated, “Unless
you are forced by necessity, be careful in your conversations never to say
anything which, if repeated, might displease others. For often, at times and
in ways you could never foresee, those words may do you great harm. In
this matter, I warn you, be very careful. Even prudent men go wrong here,
and it is difficult not to.”
Confucius also taught the importance of watching what you say. He
pointed out, “For one word a man is often deemed to be wise, and for one
word he is often deemed to be foolish. We should be careful indeed of what
we say.” You will notice that neither Confucius nor Guicciardini made an
exception concerning when you are talking to friends or enemies, or when
you are talking in private or in public. They simply warned us to be very
careful when it comes to your speech.
If you will remember, I wrote that it is not only your words which are
important, but also your tone and how you speak, that should be taken into
account. Speech is simply how you communicate with others, and there is
much more that goes into this communication than simple words. Meanings
can be communicated through other means as well, such as gestures, tone,
and the overall way that you say what you are saying.
 Someone can say something to you such as, “How nice for you,” and it
can mean something other than he is happy for you, depending on how he
says it. A sarcastic tone could indicate that he is jealous of you or is upset
with you, whereas, if it is stated in a sincere manner, it probably means
exactly what the words state. How you say something is just as important as
what you say, or at least fairly close. John Wayne gave some good advice
concerning this when he said, “Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too
much.”
Ben Johnson stated that, “Talking and eloquence are not the same: to
speak, and to speak well, are two different things. A fool may talk, but a
wise man speaks.” You do not have to be loud and obnoxious to get your
point across. In fact, speaking in a loud, angry tone, while sometimes
necessary, is not the way to win over most people or to leave someone with
a favorable impression of yourself. Learn to use soft words, backed up with
rational, hard arguments. Nagarjuna taught, “The steadfast who speak in
few words and politely are very much respected by mankind.”
There is a time and a place for different kinds of speech, but there is
never a time or a place for thoughtless speech. Always think before you
speak, no matter what the situation may be. The trick is to watch and listen
to your audience before you start speaking. Judge the nature, character, and
beliefs of those around you before you speak, then you are better able to
speak without stepping on their toes or making any comments which they
may find offensive and which may come back to cause you some grief at a
later time.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Would you persuade, speak of interest, not of
reason.” Don’t expect everyone to understand things as well as you or to
think rationally. Not everyone is rational or has the capability to understand
the warrior lifestyle and how you live your life, but you can still carry on a
nice, social conversation with them by speaking in terms of things that they
are interested in and allowing them to do most of the talking. You don’t
have to try to show everyone the error of their ways. Not only is this
unwanted by the vast majority of people, but it hardly ever works, and most
people simply find that offensive. You have to be smart and realize that not
everyone thinks like you.
It is best to not speak about yourself. Get others to talk about
themselves instead. People love to talk about themselves and their lives.
Nobody likes to talk to someone who is obsessed with his own life and goes
on and on about every detail of his “all-important” life, with little or no
interest in anybody or anything else. The key to being a good
conversationalist is to know how to get people talking about things which
interest them.
There are several advantages to doing this. First, the other person will
like talking to you and will consider you a great conversationalist, even
without you saying much. Also, you are able to learn much more about
someone when they are talking and sharing things, as opposed to you doing
so. It is always to your advantage to listen and learn instead of talking, but
this takes discipline and practice. It is human nature to want to add your two
cents to the conversation. Resist this urge unless there is some purpose in
your adding to the discourse.
Taisou taught, “One offensive word is enough to leave a permanent
scar that may become a seed for revenge.” It is so easy to allow your
emotions to get involved during a conversation and to permit yourself to
vent your anger or frustrations through your words. While this feels really
good at the time, later it can come back to cause you many problems. It is
just not worth the risk or the stress of wondering if what you said will be
used against you in some way. When you resist the urge to spout off and
express your opinion, you are guaranteed not to have to deal with any
adverse consequences of your speech at a later time. As the Talmud teaches,
“Your friend has a friend, and your friend’s friend has a friend; be discreet.”
Even if you are speaking to someone who you consider close, it is wise
to watch what you say because it may be repeated or used against you
somewhere down the road, when your relationship may not be as close.
Samuel Johnson explained the reason behind this well when he wrote, “A
man should be careful never to tell tales of himself to his own disadvantage;
people may be amused, and laugh at the time, but they will be remembered,
and brought up against him upon some subsequent occasion.”
Relationships change, just like everything else in this world. Someone
you may be on friendly terms with today may change his feelings towards
you in the future and use things you have disclosed to him against you. It is
the safest policy not to disclose personal information which can be used
against you and to carefully watch what you say. Don’t allow yourself to get
carried away during any conversation.
This is especially important when you are highly emotional or angry.
Always be extremely careful and mindful of your words when you are
angry. During periods of anger, your mind will scream at you that, “It
doesn’t care about the consequences; you should put this person in his
place.” It is during times like this that you have to take control of your
emotions, and your urge to let someone know exactly how you feel, and
think rationally before you speak. Never allow your negative emotions to
control your tongue. Harsh words, combined with poor reasoning, never
settle anything; they only make things worse.
By being a man of few words and controlling your speech, you will be
better assured of not being thoughtless in your speech. La Rochefoucauld
wrote, “As the stamp of great minds is to suggest much in few words, so,
contrariwise, little minds have the gift of talking a great deal and saying
nothing.” You want to conduct yourself as someone with a great mind,
whose words have meaning, not be seen as someone who continually
chatters and says nothing, or whose words are meaningless and should be
taken with a grain of salt.
The warrior will carefully consider his speech, not simply to keep
himself out of trouble, but because his speech is a part of his character. It is
best for the warrior to be more introspective. He should communicate more
with himself than with others, focusing on making himself the best he can
be, instead of being interested in the latest gossip. Confucius taught, “A
superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” This
should be the goal of the warrior where speech is concerned. Be modest and
sincere in your speech and make sure your actions coincide with what you
say.
The fundamental nature of the warrior is to say what you mean and
mean what you say. In order to do this, you have to be careful concerning
what you say. Never promise to do something if you don’t plan on doing it
or cannot fulfill your promise. Shakespeare pointed out that, “Things are
often spoke and seldom meant.” This is the way of the average man, but
should not be the way of the warrior. When the warrior says something, he
means it and backs it up with his actions.
It is for this reason that he has to be careful not to say that he will do
something simply to please the person he is talking to. Don’t say you will
do something then put it out of your mind as if you never mentioned it. That
is merely a way to destroy your reputation as a man of character with those
around you. You want to be known as a man of your word, a man whose
word is as good as gold, not someone who simply spouts off and doesn’t
mean what he says. People will take notice of this and will not take you
seriously if you say things and never back them up.
The same principle goes for exaggerating. When you relay a story or
tell someone what you have witnessed, don’t exaggerate. Baltasar Gracian
explained exactly why you should not exaggerate, stating, “Never
exaggerate…avoid offending the truth, in part to avoid the cheapening of
your judgment. Exaggeration wastes distinction, and testifies to the paucity
of your understanding.” Essentially, when you exaggerate you are either
lying to make your words seem more important, or you are giving evidence
that your judgment is not to be trusted. Neither of these should be
characteristics of the true warrior.
To avoid this, it is best to not talk about things which you are not sure
about. Always remember that your ignorance exceeds your knowledge.
Don’t try to seem smarter or better informed than you are by talking about
things which you don’t understand or on which you don’t have complete
information. As Syrus taught, “Keep the golden mean between saying too
much and saying too little.” Trying to impress people by attempting to
appear better informed or better educated than you actually are, will usually
come back to embarrass you, as there is always someone out there who is
better informed or better educated than you on different subjects.
Instead of trying to impress people, simply be sincere and be yourself.
If you do not know something, keep your mouth shut, listen, and learn.
Abraham Lincoln stated this principle perfectly when he said, “It is better to
keep one’s mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and resolve all
doubt.” Speaking about things which you don’t understand, as though you
are an expert on the subject, is a characteristic of a fool, not a characteristic
of the warrior.
C. J. Ducasse said, “To speak of mere words is much like speaking of
mere dynamite.” By now you should be starting to understand how
important your speech and words are, and why you should take pains to
think carefully before you speak. Swami Shivananda stated that, “He who
has control over his tongue is greater than a hero in battle.” What he meant
by this statement is that it is extremely hard to perfect the trait of
controlling your tongue. It is human nature to like to talk, to brag, and to
freely communicate one’s thoughts, but it is not human nature to take
control and carefully monitor your speech.
 When in doubt about what to say, say nothing. Aesop stated, “In
dangerous times wise men say nothing.” This is always the safest policy
when you are unsure what to say – simply remain silent. There are many
times when silence says much more than words can convey. You are not
obligated to respond to everyone simply because they would like you to.
Many times people try to set you up to say something that they can use
against you. By remaining silent, you both spoil their little trap and
maintain your dignity and peace of mind.
Don’t let your tongue be your own worst enemy; learn to control your
emotions and your speech. It is always best to keep your private
information secret. Don’t be too open or too eager to share your personal
thoughts. There is a time for speech and a time for silence, and it is wisdom
to know when it is time to speak and when it is time to remain silent. I will
end this chapter with some wisdom from a Latin proverb, “From a little
spark may burst a mighty flame.”
 Meditations on Correct Speech
 

If the bird hadn’t sung, it wouldn’t have been shot.

Japanese Proverb

Keep the golden mean between saying

too much and saying too little.
Syrus

In times like these men should utter nothing for

which they would not be willingly responsible
through time and in eternity.
Abraham Lincoln

You always win by not saying

the things you don’t need to say.
Chinese Proverb

A superior man is modest in his speech,

but exceeds in his actions.
Confucius

Say but little, and say it well.

Irish Proverb

Eloquence resides no less in a person’s tone of voice,

expression, and general bearing than in his choice of words.
La Rochefoucauld

Of what does not concern you say nothing good or bad.

Italian Proverb

In dangerous times wise men say nothing.

Aesop
 A gentle response allays wrath;
A harsh word provokes anger.
The Book of Proverbs

Think before you speak but do not speak all that you think.
Chinese Proverb

Both speech and silence transgress.

Zen Maxim

Unless you are forced by necessity, be careful in your

conversations never to say anything which, if repeated,
might displease others. For often, at times and in ways you
could never foresee, those words may do you great harm.
Francesco Guicciardini

Judge the nature of your listeners and speak accordingly.

Tiruvalluvar

Outside noisy, inside empty.

Chinese Proverb

You cannot talk to a frog in a well about the vast sea;

he is limited to his area of space.
A summer insect has no knowledge of snow;
it knows nothing beyond its own season.
Chiu Shu
 Chapter 7

Wisdom
The Way of the Sage

Wisdom: the quality of being wise; power of judging rightly and

following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge,
experience, understanding; good judgment; sagacity.

Wisdom is the quality of being wise. That is a pretty simplistic

definition and is not very helpful in understanding why wisdom is important
to the warrior, but if you read the other definitions, you begin to understand
why wisdom is so important to the warrior lifestyle. Wisdom enables the
warrior to judge rightly and to follow the soundest course of action based
on knowledge and understanding. This encompasses exactly what the
warrior needs in order to live the warrior lifestyle in a world where good
judgment is becoming a rarity.
The Roman philosopher, Cicero, agreed with the current definition of
wisdom, stating, “The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good
and evil.” Thoreau wrote that, “It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do
desperate things.” Both of these require understanding and good judgment,
which is exactly what wisdom provides for you. Without wisdom you are
basically shooting in the dark. It is vital for the warrior that he strives to
obtain wisdom and puts that wisdom to use in his life.
Buddha called wisdom the most precious of riches. The book of
Proverbs says, “Get wisdom, get understanding…Do not forsake wisdom,
and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is
supreme; therefore get wisdom.” This is good advice, but exactly how does
one become a wise man with a store of wisdom to guide him throughout his
life?
Like most things, which are valuable and worthwhile, wisdom requires
effort and work. Just as the fruit tree doesn’t produce fruit overnight, you
can’t sit down with a book one day and think that you will have obtained
wisdom the next day. Actually, I guess you could read a book one day and
think that you have obtained wisdom the next day, but thinking that you are
wise and being wise are two different things. None of the traits found in
Modern Bushido are developed overnight; they all take discipline and the
hand of time to develop. The development of wisdom is no different.
So let’s get back to the question about how one obtains wisdom. If you
look back at the definition of wisdom, you will notice that it is based on
knowledge, experience and understanding. Knowledge is learning and can
come from anyone or anything. Always be open to learning from
everything you read, everyone you meet, and everything you do. Lord
Chesterfield wrote, “There is hardly any place or any company where you
may not gain knowledge, if you please; almost everybody knows some one
thing, and is glad to talk about that one thing.”
Baltasar Gracian stated, “A man without knowledge, a world in
darkness.” Knowledge is the beginning of wisdom. Without some
knowledge of how things work in this world, it is impossible to have any
understanding of how the world works, and therefore impossible to develop
wisdom. Sakya Pandit put it plainly when he said, “Of what use is a man
who has acquired little knowledge?”
The first step in developing wisdom is to become knowledgeable.
Study and learn about many different subjects, but especially about the
subjects that can affect your life and the lives of your loved ones. For the
warrior, developing a vast array of knowledge is crucial, especially
knowledge that guides him on his journey through the warrior lifestyle. To
be a superior man, you must acquire as much knowledge as you possibly
can. Never stop learning.
Ramakrishna, the famous Indian mystic, stated, “He alone is truly a
man who is illuminated by the light of the true knowledge.” You must
obtain true knowledge, not simply a bunch of facts which you file away in
your memory bank. Being able to recite hundreds of facts and figures does
you little good, unless you make a living on game shows. You have to be
able to put the knowledge which you acquire to use for it to be valuable in
your life. This is where understanding comes into play.
Understanding is the ability to truly comprehend or grasp the
principles behind the subject which you are learning. In essence, it is being
able to put your knowledge to work. It is this intellectual capacity to truly
understand what you learn that makes it useful. Without a true
understanding of something, it is difficult to really benefit from it.
Of course there are exceptions to this statement. You don’t have to
have a deep understanding of how your refrigerator works in order to put a
bottle of water in it and keep it cold. But if your refrigerator quits working,
you have to have a thorough understanding of how it works in order to fix
it. Only the man, who has acquired that knowledge and knows how to put
that knowledge to work, can successfully use his understanding to fix the
unexpected problem of his refrigerator not working correctly. This applies
to everything in life. You can get by with a little knowledge, but sooner or
later, knowledge without understanding will catch up with you and reveal
your deficiency.
This same principle can be applied to your martial arts training. If you
simply memorize certain kicks or punches, that is basic knowledge. But in
order to successfully use those kicks or punches, you need to thoroughly
understand the underlying principles behind them. You need to know more
than merely how to throw a punch or kick in the air. A true understanding
of the usefulness of the punch or kick would entail knowing where to place
it on your attacker’s body to stop him, how it feels to strike an actual
person, an understanding of the human anatomy, etc.
As you can plainly see, acquiring a deep understanding of a subject
involves much more than a rudimentary knowledge of the subject; it goes
much deeper and gets down to the actual principles behind the knowledge.
To achieve a genuine comprehension of something, you have to completely
understand how and why it works. This applies to everything you do,
whether it is gardening or martial arts. And, to completely understand
something, your knowledge has to come from experience. You can’t
completely understand anything by simply reading about it or hearing about
it from someone else – you have to experience it for yourself.
Experience is the third part of acquiring wisdom. To thoroughly
understand something, you have to experience it for yourself. Don’t
misunderstand; the wise man can learn wisdom from other wise men. You
don’t have to go out and experience everything in life in order to understand
that some things are good for you and some things are bad for you. Only a
fool doesn’t learn from others and believes that he has to experience
everything for himself.
For example, only an idiot would believe that he has to truly
experience an actual rattlesnake bite to truly understand that rattlesnake
bites are dangerous. While it may be true that the man who has lived
through an actual rattlesnake bite, has a more thorough understanding of
what a rattlesnake bite feels like, that fact doesn’t mean that you have to
experience a snake bite to understand that you need to stay clear of
rattlesnakes.
Be wise enough to acquire wisdom from those who know, without
having to experience the same mistakes for yourself. While there are many
truths which you cannot truly understand without experience, there are also
many truths which can, and should, be understood without personal
experience. Learn from the experiences and mistakes of others. Leonardo
da Vinci taught, “Wisdom is the daughter of experience…Shun the
teachings of those speculators whose arguments are not confirmed by
experience.”
He did not say you should never learn wisdom from others, or that you
can’t acquire wisdom from others, only that you should not listen to those
whose arguments are not backed up by experience. It is perfectly acceptable
to learn wisdom from others as long as that wisdom is based on proven
experience. There are some things which you need to experience in order to
thoroughly understand, and other things which you can understand by
having the wisdom to listen and learn from those who truly know and who
have experienced certain things for themselves.
The key here is listening to those who truly know. There is a Swedish
proverb which states, “Where wisdom doesn’t go in, it doesn’t come out.”
You can’t get water from a dry well. You can acquire wisdom from another
person if that person truly has wisdom to share with you, but only if he
actually has wisdom to share. Just as Leonardo da Vinci taught, he has to
have wisdom backed up by experience, or the experience of others which he
has learned from over the years.
Even then, it is not truly your wisdom until you internalize what you
have learned from someone else, or from your own experiences, and make
it your wisdom. This requires that you understand what you have learned
from your studies and experiences. Montaigne, the 16th century French
writer, wrote, “We can be knowledgeable with other men’s knowledge, but
we cannot be wise with other men’s wisdom.” You only become wise by
developing your own wisdom from what you learn and what you
experience.
Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, wrote, “Learn the words of
wisdom uttered by the wise and apply them in your own life. Live them –
but do not make a show of reciting them, for he who repeats what he does
not understand is no better than an ass that is loaded with books.” Once
again, you can see that you cannot truly be wise until you understand what
you have learned and can apply it in your life.
Wisdom is available for everyone, but like everything else in this
world, you have to work for it. The 13th century Sufi mystic, Rumi, wrote,
“Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon; how much it can
fill your room depends on its windows.” Wisdom is everywhere, but it is up
to you how much you acquire. You have to be open to learning,
understanding, and applying wisdom in your life.
You have to apply your mind, and work to obtain wisdom. Sai Baba
taught, “You must dive deep into the sea to get the pearls. What good does
it do to dabble among the waves near the shore and assert that the sea has
no pearls?” Just like fine pearls obtained from the depths of the ocean,
pearls of wisdom require you to put in the effort to find them and to use
them in your life.
Confucius taught that there are three methods of obtaining wisdom,
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is
noblest; second, by imitation, which is the easiest; and third, by experience,
which is the bitterest.” Actually, as you go through life, you will acquire
wisdom by all three of these methods, if you are wise. If you aren’t wise,
you will have to rely only on your personal experiences for whatever
wisdom you may acquire, and this is a long, hard road.
The important thing is that you make the effort to acquire wisdom and
apply that wisdom in your life. As Epicurus stated, “We must not pretend to
study philosophy, but really study it; for it is not seeming healthy that we
need, but true health.” Once again, it is important not to merely talk the
talk, but to walk the walk. Don’t go out and memorize a bunch of quotes
and then pretend to be a wise man. Like I said before, it does you no good
to have a brain full of facts or quotes that you can recite at will. All the wise
sayings in the world are useless to you if you don’t put them to work. You
have to apply them to your daily life.
This is where self-reflection and meditation come into play. You have
to reflect on your life and evaluate the different areas of your life to see
what changes need to be made. Then apply the wisdom that you have
learned in ways that improve your life and bring you closer to the perfection
of your character, which, if you will recall, is the main objective of the
warrior lifestyle. Self-reflection and meditation are how you incorporate
wisdom into your life.
Baltasar Gracian wrote, “Self-reflection is the school of wisdom.” You
have to reflect on how you can put wisdom to work in your life. It does not
happen automatically; you have to make the effort. Syrus went as far as to
say, “Wisdom is acquired by meditation.” It is during meditation and self-
reflection that you quiet your mind and understand how to apply wisdom in
your life. This brings us back to the point that wisdom is not in words, but
rather in understanding and internalizing those words of wisdom.
All of the wise words and quotes in the world will not help you if you
don’t truly understand what the sages were trying to teach you through their
teachings. As The Hitopadesa, a book of Sanskrit wisdom, says, “Many can
speak words of wisdom; few can practice it themselves.” It is pretty useless
to talk about wisdom without practicing it for yourself. The true warrior has
to make wisdom a part of his life. Without wisdom, the warrior cannot
make the right decisions that lead him to a successful life.
It takes wisdom to see the value in living the warrior lifestyle and the
value in making all of the traits of the warrior lifestyle an integral part of
your life. Baltasar Gracian explained that, “With men of understanding,
wisdom counts for everything.” The reason for this is that it takes wisdom
to live as you should. Without wisdom, people do not see the importance of
living a life of excellence. To the foolish man, living the warrior lifestyle
appears to be a lot of work for nothing. Only the wise man can see the
benefit in living the life of the true warrior.
Even after one sees the benefit in living the warrior lifestyle, it still
takes wisdom to do so successfully. Once you have the desire to live a life
of excellence, you still need the wisdom to guide you to the fulfillment of
that desire. Takuan Soho wrote, “Desires are brought to life depending upon
one’s wisdom. Wisdom gives direction to desires.”
 Living the warrior lifestyle takes discipline and determination. It takes
work and effort. It is not about pretense or simply talking about all the
benefits or character traits; it’s about action. Seneca stated, “Wisdom does
not show itself so much in precept as in life – in a firmness of mind and
mastery of appetite. It teaches us to do as well as talk; and to make our
actions and words all of a color.” This is ultimately what wisdom does for
the warrior. It guides him through life and shows him how to live.
But before you can count on wisdom guiding you correctly, you must
spend the time to acquire wisdom. Spend time studying the wisdom of the
elders and meditate on the meanings behind their teachings. It will be time
well spent.
 Meditations on Wisdom
 

Desires are brought to life depending upon one’s wisdom.

Wisdom gives direction to desires.
Takuan Soho

The plainest sign of wisdom is continual cheerfulness;

her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon,
always clear and serene.
Montaigne

Boasting begins where wisdom stops.

Japanese Proverb

Learn the words of wisdom uttered by the wise

and apply them in your own life. Live them –
but do not make a show of reciting them,
for he who repeats what he does not understand
is no better than an ass that is loaded with books.
Kahlil Gibran

A man may learn wisdom even from a foe.

Aristophanes

The height of human wisdom is to bring our tempers down

to our circumstances – and to make a calm within,
under the weight of the greatest storm without.
Daniel Defoe

True knowledge does not grow old,

so have declared the sages of all times.
The Pali Canon

Great doubts deep wisdom.

Small doubts little wisdom.
 Chinese Proverb

You must dive deep into the sea to get the pearls.
What good does it do to dabble among the waves near
the shore and assert that the sea has no pearls?
Sai Baba

We learn wisdom from failure

much more than from success.
Samuel Smiles

All of the far-reaching, unfaded teachings of the

ancient sages come from the same source:
the subtle truth of great oneness.
Different expressions are merely the
result of different times and places.
Lao Tzu

Besides the noble art of getting things done,

there is the noble art of leaving things undone.
The wisdom of life consists in the
elimination of non-essentials.
Lin Yutang

Wisdom is not in words;

it is in understanding.
Rumi
 Chapter 8

Honor
The Warrior’s Mark of Distinction

Honor: a keen sense of right and wrong; adherence to actions or

principles considered right; distinction; dignity; personal integrity;
strong moral character or strength, and adherence to ethical
principles.

Honor is definitely the warrior’s mark of distinction. As you can see

by the above definition of honor, it overlaps many of the traits which I have
already covered in Modern Bushido, but at the same time, it is a different
trait altogether. I have already discussed personal integrity, moral character,
and adherence to ethical principles, so the definitions of honor that I will
focus on is the keen sense of right and wrong and the adherence to actions
or principles considered right.
In the past, the warrior’s honor was considered something that had to
be defended, even to the death. Warriors fought duels to the death to defend
what they declared to be an insult to their honor or to put it in today’s terms,
being disrespected. Noblemen and warriors, both in the East and in the
West, considered it part of their duty to defend their honor if they felt that
someone had disrespected them or challenged their honor in some way.
These men took drastic measures to defend their honor.
In many cases these duels were not about honor at all, but more about
someone’s wounded pride. To fight to the death over some
misunderstanding, small disagreement, or perceived insult is not truly
defending your honor, but rather defending your pride. The vast majority of
these duels of honor were more about defending the man’s reputation, not
his honor. Nonetheless, honor is essential to living the warrior lifestyle.
It is honor and character that set the trained warrior apart from the
common street thug. Both the warrior and the thug have the capability of
being dangerous. The difference is that the true warrior’s honor dictates his
actions, whereas the thug’s actions are dictated only by his own selfish
desires. Without honor, the warrior would be nothing more than another
dangerous thug walking the streets, but with better training in the ways of
the martial arts.
As the definition above states, honor is the warrior’s sense of right and
wrong, and his dedication to living by the principles which he considers
right and just. These principles are his code of honor which he lives by and
incorporates into his life. There is no specific “honor code” for the warrior.
Each man must decide for himself what his personal code of honor entails,
but the warrior’s code of honor must be based on the character traits of the
warrior lifestyle which are discussed in Modern Bushido.
Among these traits are courage, integrity, respect, and a strong sense of
obligation and justice. I have already discussed the importance of living
your life with integrity, and I will discuss the traits of courage, respect and
justice in further detail later on in this book. So I will start my discussion of
honor with the subject of the warrior’s obligation, both to his code of honor
and to his fellow men.
One of the main parts of a warrior’s honor is his strong sense of
obligation. It is the warrior’s duty to recognize and fulfill his various
obligations in life. The fulfillment of one’s obligations seems to be
forgotten by the majority of people in today’s society, thus this is another
trait which sets the true warrior apart from the average person. Most
upstanding people remember certain obligations in life such as providing
for their family, but for many, that is pretty much where their sense of
obligation ends.
It is different for the warrior. Honor requires the warrior to take his
sense of obligation more seriously than the average man on the street. Not
only does the warrior feel a strong sense of responsibility for providing for
his family, but he is also honor bound to fulfill his various other obligations
in life. At this point, you may be wondering what other obligations the
warrior has other than to be a good person and to provide for his family.
Actually, those are the obligations that everyone in a civilized society
should adhere to; the warrior’s obligations go much deeper because of his
own personal code of honor.
One of the definitions of the word obligation is: “something that must
be done because of a moral duty.” The word duty is synonymous with the
word obligation. The true warrior, who takes his own personal code of
honor seriously, has a duty to be true to his code. Part of that code of honor
is to fulfill his duty to his fellow men. A quick and easy way to look at this
duty to your fellow man is: whenever someone does something for you, no
matter how large or how small, you have a duty to repay the favor.
Repaying the favor is your obligation – it is as simple as that.
For example, if your neighbor spends the afternoon helping you hang
cabinets in your garage, then you owe him. By accepting his help on your
garage project, you have assumed a debt that you owe until you pay him
back in a manner equal to the service he freely provided for you. If
someone lets you borrow his truck to haul something, you owe him a debt
and you should return his truck clean and fill the gas tank for him as a way
of repaying that debt.
It is pretty straightforward. When someone does something for you,
you are in his debt until you repay that debt by doing something of equal
value for him. As I said, this is something that the vast majority of people
today pay very little attention to in their daily lives. For most, they consider
their obligation paid in full with a simple “thank you” and then they quickly
forget the matter altogether.
Saying “thank you” is not fulfilling your debt, it is merely being
courteous. The true warrior understands this and understands that he owes
this person an obligation until he is able to fulfill it in a manner equal to, or
above and beyond, what this person did for him. To the warrior, this is only
right, and his sense of right and wrong is what his code of honor is all
about. This is where the warrior’s sense of justice comes into play.
Justice is simply the warrior’s dedication to doing what is right. As I
discussed in the last chapter, the warrior must have the wisdom to be able to
make the distinction between right and wrong, and then, he must have the
courage to act on what is right. This is the basis for the warrior’s code of
honor. He must be utterly dedicated to what is right. Sometimes, doing what
is right will not be the same as doing what is easy or what is profitable, but
the warrior’s code of honor requires him to put what is right ahead of what
is easy or personally profitable.
 Walter Lippmann wrote, “He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal
of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.”
This statement is a great description of the warrior. It is for this reason that
Mark Twain wrote, “Honor is a harder master than the law.” There are
many things, which the law of the land permits, which the warrior’s
personal code of honor does not permit.
The discussion about fulfilling your obligation to your neighbor would
be a great example of this statement. The law does not require the warrior to
repay his neighbor for lending him his truck or for helping him work in his
garage; it is the warrior’s code of honor that requires him to repay his debt.
When you begin to reflect and meditate on your own code of honor, you
will find that there are many examples which prove this statement to be
true.
Ultimately, you determine whether or not you are honorable. Honor is
not something which is set in stone or something which I can lay out for
you in black and white terms. I can give you the cornerstones of honor and
the guidance as to what traits makes up honor, but it is up to you to
determine your own personal code of honor. The key is that your code of
honor has to be based on the character traits discussed in this book, a strong
sense of justice and obligation, and you must have the courage to live up to
your code of honor once you have developed it.
Nobody is going to force you to live your life by a code of honor; it is
solely up to you. This is part of your duty as a true warrior. You have to
base your actions on a strong sense of right and wrong. That is what honor
is all about. It is not about a list of rules that you rigidly adhere to no matter
what the situation or circumstances may be.
By adhering to a rigid set of rules, you are placing a higher value on
those rules than you are on what is right. This is a warped sense of justice
which many times leads to injustice. As the Roman playwright, Terence,
wrote, “The strictest justice is sometimes the greatest injustice.” This
applies to a strict adherence to a specific set of rules, with no room for
flexibility. This is not the way of the warrior.
The way of the warrior is the way of true justice, where what is right is
the ultimate law and trumps the law of the land. There is an inscription in
the Catacombs which reads, “The just man is himself his own law.” The
Greek dramatist, Menander, echoed this sentiment stating, “When you are
just you use your character as law.” This is the way of the warrior.
 Many people see this as a license to do as they please, but that is a
misconception. The key to those statements is the word just, which means
morally correct, valid and reasonable. If someone is not just then he cannot
count on his character or conscience to guide him as to what is right and
what is wrong. Therefore, he cannot be his own guide. In order for the
warrior to use his character or conscience as his guide, he must be dedicated
to what is right, have developed the wisdom to discern right from wrong,
and he must be totally devoted to living a life based on honor.
Robert Wood wrote, “An honorable man esteems his moral health too
much to lower himself willingly by any act that may seem base. He is true
to himself and values honor for its highest meaning…There can be no real
success in life unless it is accompanied by this high sense of honor.” It is
this sense of honor which sets the true warrior apart from other men. This is
what makes him a superior man, as Confucius described him.
You have to make your own mind up to live a life of honor. It is this
decision which guides you on the path to warriorship. Samuel Coleridge
wrote, “Our own heart, and not other men’s opinion, form our true honor.”
Only you know for sure if your actions are truly honorable. Of course there
are actions which anyone can tell are dishonorable such as robbing someone
in a dark alley. I am not talking about those types of actions. I am referring
to actions which only you know your true intentions.
It is your intentions behind your actions which determine whether or
not your actions are honorable. Sometimes this is not easily ascertained by
other people. Francesco Guicciardini demonstrated this fact very well in the
following example from his book Maxims and Reflections. He wrote,
“There is a difference between a brave man and one who faces danger out
of regard for honor. Both recognize danger; but the former believes he can
defend himself against it, and if he did not, he would not face it. The latter
may even fear the danger more than he should, but he stands firm – not
because he is unafraid but because he has decided he would rather suffer
harm than shame.”
In this example, an onlooker would not be able to visibly see the
difference in the actions of these two men. It is only the men themselves
who would truly know whether or not their actions were honorable. And it
is not just the rare, dangerous conflicts which test your honor.
How you handle the smaller, more common challenges, also reveals
your sense of honor, maybe even more so than the more dangerous
situations. Compromising your honor in the small, daily conflicts is
sometimes more tempting than in the larger, more serious conflicts. It is
during these times, when it is easier to lie or to cower down, that you learn
much about your sense of honor.
These situations require as much resolve and courage as the more
serious ones. I’m talking about times when doing the right thing could cost
you money or your job. At these times, your life may not be on the line, but
your honor is nonetheless. Your job, your money, your car, and your home
can all be taken away from you, but whether or not you keep your honor is
completely under your control. It takes a lot of courage to choose your
honor over your financial security. During these times you learn how
serious you are about your honor.
As a true warrior, you not only have obligations to other people, but
you also have a duty to yourself to maintain your honor, even in the face of
adversity. This is where the virtue of courage enters into the equation. You
have to have the courage to stand up for what you know is right. This is part
of the warrior’s code of honor. A strong sense of right and wrong
encompasses every part of the warrior’s life. This sense of justice dictates
the warrior’s code of honor.
It is this sense of justice which enables the warrior to make decisions
concerning his obligations and which helps him make the right decisions
during questions of honor. As I said before, honor is not black and white.
The warrior does not live by a strict set of rules. This is not what having an
honor code is all about. For example, the warrior’s code of honor may
include being honest, but at the same time, there are times when being
completely honest is not honorable, or the right thing to do.
There are many people who will argue that you should never lie. They
will tell you that all lies are an act of cowardice, but this is simply not true.
Obligations of honor are not rigid rules which the warrior must strictly
abide by or else lose his honor. The honorable warrior will always act
according to what is right in the situation he finds himself in – according to
his highest obligation of honor.
Socrates taught that, “The shortest and surest way to live with honor in
the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues
increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.”
Don’t merely appear to be honorable, but actually be honorable. Take your
code of honor seriously. You will be presented with many temptations to
compromise your honor. Don’t allow emotions such as fear, greed, or anger
to rob you of your honor. Nobody can take your honor from you, but you
can lose your honor by giving in to these various temptations. You have to
be completely dedicated to maintaining your honor or you will find that it
has quietly slipped away, without you even realizing it.
Just remember, as with all of the traits of the warrior lifestyle, you will
make mistakes at times. It does no good to beat yourself up when you fall
short. If you find that you have fallen prey to some temptation and
compromised your honor in some way, the best thing you can do is get right
back on track and re-dedicate yourself to living a life of honor. You are
never defeated unless you quit trying.
 Meditations on Honor
 

Our own heart, and not other men’s opinion,

form our true honor.
Samuel Coleridge

The glory of great men must always be measured

against the means they have used to acquire it.
La Rochefoucauld

He who lives without discipline

dies without honor.
Icelandic Proverb

Deal solely with men of honor…they who

do not cherish honor do not cherish virtue,
and honor is the throne of virtue.
Baltasar Gracian

He who wants to sell his honor

will always find a buyer.
Arabian Proverb

Shun any actions that will diminish honor.

Tiruvalluvar

Honor is simply the morality of superior men.

Henry Louis Mencken

He has honor if he holds himself

to an ideal of conduct though it is
inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.
Walter Lippmann

There is a difference between a brave man and one who

faces danger out of regard for honor. Both recognize danger;
but the former believes he can defend himself against it, and
if he did not, he would not face it. The latter may even fear
the danger more than he should, but he stands firm – not
because he is unafraid but because he has decided
he would rather suffer harm than shame.
Francesco Guicciardini

The post of honor is a private station.

Joseph Addison

The greatest way to live with honor in this world

is to be what we pretend to be.
Socrates

Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.

Seneca

One stumble is enough to deface

the character of an honorable life.
L. Estrange

Honor is a harder master than the law.

Mark Twain

Honor is that which no man can give you and no

man can take away. It’s a gift a man gives to himself.
Rob Roy
 Chapter 9

Respect
The Consideration of Thoughtfulness

Respect: Consideration or thoughtfulness; the feeling or

admiration and deference towards somebody or something.

Respect is an important part of martial arts. Stop by any martial arts

dojo and you will see the students bowing, saying ‘yes sir’ and going
through various rituals designed to show respect to the dojo, their instructor,
and their art. But what you will also notice, in the vast majority of these
dojos, is students basically performing these motions hurriedly, giving little
thought to why they are bowing or going through these customs. Is this
truly a sign of respect or just jumping through the hoops which they have
been taught are part of their expectations?
If you define respect as consideration or thoughtfulness, then these
quick, thoughtless bows are really not a sign of respect, but rather mere
habitual customs. For these students to actually be showing respect, their
minds have to be engaged in thoughtfulness concerning why they are
bowing and why they are addressing their instructor in a respectful manner,
not just going through the motions.
True respect comes from the heart and mind, not from mere outward
displays, although if you truly have respect for something or someone, your
respect will manifest itself through your outward actions as well. Showing
real, heartfelt respect for those who deserve your respect is another sign of
a true warrior.
When the true warrior is in the dojo, his bows will be slow and
deliberate. You can sense the respect in his action. It is not some quick,
head-bob motion which you see with so many martial arts students. These
mechanical bows look more like someone just smacked the student in the
back of the head instead of a true bow, and these actions contain no real
respect for their instructor, their dojo, or what they are learning. It is
obvious when you see someone who is bowing out of true respect as
opposed to these habitual, meaningless actions.
Respect is one of the areas that the warrior takes more seriously than
the ordinary person. To the warrior, just going through the motions of
bowing, without giving his action any thought, would basically be a sign of
disrespect. It would be hypocritical, kind of like saying something that you
truly do not mean.
As I discussed in the previous chapter, the warrior’s actions are based
on his code of honor and what is right. He bows in the dojo to show his true
respect because that is what is in his heart, not out of habit or routine.
Showing respect to his teacher and what he is learning is part of his
obligation or duty to his instructor. If for any reason he decides that his
instructor is not worthy of his true respect, he should simply move on and
find someone else to teach him. But while he is learning from his instructor,
he should show him true respect, from the heart.
Emerson stated that, “Men are respectable only as they respect.” This
is true. It would be a disrespectful action for the warrior to not show respect
to those who deserve his respect. Being disrespectful, whether to your
martial arts instructor, teacher, or whoever it may be, without just cause,
speaks to your character, not their character. It is your duty to show respect
to those who deserve your respect.
This brings us to the question of who deserves your respect.
Obviously, not everyone on the planet deserves the true respect of the
warrior. I personally have no authentic respect for criminals, thugs, or
people of low character. In my opinion, these people do not deserve my
respect. Oh, I may have a healthy respect for what they could do, just as I
have a certain amount of respect for a dangerous animal. But this is not the
kind of respect that I am talking about. The respect that you may have for a
dangerous criminal could be defined more as a healthy fear of what they are
capable of doing, not respect in the sense of admiration.
What I am referring to, for this discussion is respect in the terms of
having sincere admiration for someone who deserves your high regard.
Clearly not everyone deserves your highest admiration. Whether or not
someone deserves respect depends on who he is, his character, and his
actions. True respect that comes from the heart and soul of the warrior, and
is not freely given to just anyone and everyone, but only to those who he
feels deserves his respect because of the kind of person they are.
This leads to another question, “If everyone is not deserving of respect,
is it hypocritical to treat everyone with respect?” The answer to this
question is absolutely not. It is not being hypocritical to treat people with
respect, even if they do not deserve true respect or admiration. I know this
sounds like a contradiction of what I said earlier, but it’s not. Think about it.
Treating someone with respect is not the same as going through habitual
motions without being thoughtful, and it is not the same as giving someone
your true respect. It is simply treating people in a respectful manner – that’s
all.
William Lyon Phelps stated, “This is the final test of a gentleman: his
respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.” He is not
talking about having a deep admiration of people who do not deserve
admiration. What he is talking about is how you treat people who may not
be deserving of true respect, people like the wino on the street corner. Most
likely you don’t have a lot of admiration for the wino who is drinking his
life away, but that doesn’t mean that you have to treat him with contempt.
There is a vast difference between treating someone with respect and
having true respect for someone. This is where many people go wrong.
When the majority of people do not respect someone, they treat that person
with contempt or outright ignore him altogether. Since they have no respect
for this person, they consider him worthless and not worth their time. In
fact, they take the opposite approach of treating this person in a respectful
manner, and treat him with outright disrespect, as if he is garbage.
This is not the way of the warrior. While there are obviously people
who you will not have any true admiration for, it doesn’t mean that you
should outwardly show that fact. Remember, one of the definitions of
respect is thoughtfulness. Respect is not only what you give to people that
you admire, but it is also something that you have to earn by your own
actions. The true warrior will treat everyone in a respectful manner
regardless of whether or not he truly respects them.
How you treat others speaks to your character, not their character. It
speaks to the kind of man that you are and the code that you live by. Being
rude and inconsiderate to others, simply because you do not have true
respect for them, is unacceptable. Of course there will be times when your
outward disrespect is called for, but I am talking about generally as you go
through life. Treat everyone in a respectful manner until you have a good
reason not to do so, and that reason will concern personal issues and have
specific purposes.
If someone treats you with total disrespect, is rude to you, etc., you
have no further obligation to continue to treat him in a respectful manner. In
fact, it is best to just keep your distance from him, if at all possible. It is not
your duty to continue to allow someone to disrupt your life or rob you of
your peace of mind. People who do these things are not worthy of your true
respect or of your respectful treatment. In short, just ignore them as if they
were a ghost, if at all possible.
Those people are the exception to the rule. What I am referring to here,
is the people you encounter in your daily life. You will not have true respect
for everyone you come in contact with in your life, but that doesn’t absolve
you from your duty to treat everyone in a respectful manner. You don’t have
to truly respect everyone, but you do owe everyone a measure of respect,
which is simply being thoughtful and kind.
John Gay explained it this way, “We must respect the other fellow’s
religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory
that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.” This is not true, authentic
respect for the other guy, but rather a respect in the sense that he has the
right to his own beliefs and to live his life in his own way, as long as he is
not hurting anyone else. It is not your duty to judge anyone else or their
choices, but rather to treat them in the right way.
You treat people in a respectful way because that is who you are as a
warrior. How they react or behave is their business; how you behave is your
business. As Baltasar Gracian wrote, “The man of principle never forgets
what he is, because of what others are.” The warrior doesn’t lower his
standards of behavior because of the way other men act. He doesn’t act in a
disrespectful manner merely because he has had a bad day or is in a bad
mood. He adheres to the standards that he has decided to live by regardless
of the actions of others.
It is not the opinion of the common man that matters, but the opinion
of men for whom you admire and truly respect. These are the men whose
respect the warrior seeks. This only makes sense. Think about it. Do you
care what the wino on the street corner thinks about you or what someone
who you have great respect for thinks of you?
Don’t seek to be respected by everyone, rather seek to be worthy of
being respected by everyone. Conduct yourself in a manner that is worthy
of respect and don’t worry about what others think. You determine whether
or not you are worthy of true respect. Earn respect by living by your
principles and standards. Don’t lower your standards.
 Meditations on Respect
 

Never take a person’s dignity:

it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you.
Frank Barron

Men are respectable only as they respect.

Emerson

He who wants a rose must respect the thorn.

Persian Proverb

He who does not have the courage to speak up

for his rights cannot earn the respect of others.
Rene G. Torres

Respect is what we owe; love, what we give.

Philip James Bailey

This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect

for those who can be of no possible service to him.
William Lyon Phelps

Seek not the favor of the mulititude;

it is seldom got by honest and lawful means.
But seek the testimony of few;
and number not voices, but weigh them.
Immanuel Kant

Without feelings of respect,

what is there to distinguish men from beast?
Confucius

Respect your efforts, respect yourself.

Self-respect leads to self-discipline.
When you have both firmly under your belt,
 that’s real power.
Clint Eastwood

Conduct yourself in a manner that is worthy of

respect and don’t worry about what others think.
Bohdi Sanders

We must respect the other fellow’s religion,

but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect
his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.
John Gay

Think, feel, and act like a warrior. Set yourself apart

from the rest of society by your personal excellence.
Forrest E. Morgan

The man of principle never forgets what he is,

because of what others are.
Baltasar Gracian

Knowledge will give you power,

but character respect.
Bruce Lee
 Chapter 10

Discipline
The Art of Self-Control

Discipline: training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental

faculties or moral character; control gained by enforcing
obedience or order; orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of
behavior; self-control.

Discipline is vital to living the warrior lifestyle. None of the other

virtues or traits of warriorhood will ever be developed to their full potential
without discipline. It takes discipline to control your spirit, mind and body
and bring them all in line with the standards by which the warrior has
decided to live his life. Without discipline, there can be no warrior lifestyle.
This might seem like an extreme statement, but it is true nonetheless.
So, why is discipline so important to the warrior lifestyle? The answer
lies in knowing what it takes to actually live the warrior lifestyle. The traits
of the warrior lifestyle do not magically appear in your life simply because
you think they sound like the way to live. It takes a lot of time and constant
effort to develop these traits, just as it takes a lot of time and work to
develop your martial arts skills to a point where you are proficient with
them. The warrior lifestyle takes work and dedication – it’s not easy.
Without self-discipline, you will barely get out of the starting gate
before you find yourself starting to make excuses for skipping workouts, for
not spending time in meditation, or for not studying to improve yourself. As
John Rohn wrote, “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of
discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.”
 If you really want to live the warrior lifestyle, these are truly your only
two choices. You will take control of your mind and body, and discipline
them to meet your goals, or you will find that somewhere down the line,
you will experience the pain of regret and disappointment for not following
through with your goals. It’s that simple.
This is a form of delayed gratification. Either you discipline yourself
now for future rewards, which you will be proud of and which will mold
you into the person you want to be, or you live foolishly, only doing
whatever your mind and body dictate to you, and pay in the future when
you find your goals have never come to fruition. It is up to you to decide
what the future holds for you. Will you discipline yourself and live a life of
excellence or will you allow laziness and malaise to rob you of the
completion of your objectives?
Discipline is important to virtually every part of the warrior lifestyle.
The Dhammapada states, “Whoever gives oneself to distractions and does
not give oneself to meditation, forgetting true purpose and grasping at
pleasure, will eventually envy the one who practices meditation.” This is
true for every undertaking. If you continually put off honing your skills, you
will find that your skills will not develop, and not only will they not
develop, but they will regress.
It doesn’t matter what the skill is that you want to perfect, if you don’t
work at it, it will fade away. This not only goes for meditation, but for
everything from your martial arts skills to golf. Whatever skills you want to
perfect in your life, you have to discipline yourself to work at them, and if
you don’t, you will eventually find yourself envious of those who had the
discipline to continue to work and perfect their skills. As William Arthur
Ward said, “The price of excellence is discipline.”
If the price of excellence is discipline, then you must have discipline to
live a life of excellence, and living a life of excellence is what the warrior
lifestyle is all about. Therefore, discipline is vital to living the warrior
lifestyle. The famous poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote, “What we do upon
some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and
what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.”
You must discipline yourself to prepare to successfully meet future
challenges. If you do not discipline yourself to practice and perfect your
martial arts skills, when you actually need them to save your life or
someone else’s life, they will not be there for you. Don’t think that you can
rest on your laurels and still be prepared to defend yourself when you need
to. It doesn’t work that way. And you sure can’t wait until you find yourself
face to face with some thug, who is determined to rip you to threads, and
ask for a couple of minutes to stretch and loosen up before you engage him.
That is ridiculous!
Jim Rohn pointed out, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and
accomplishments.” Yet, so many people let discipline slide and still feel that
they are prepared to meet life’s challenges, that is, until they get to the river
and find that the “bridge” that discipline was supposed to build between
their goals and their objectives, never got built because they neglected to
discipline themselves. Then it is too late and all that they have are their
regrets.
You have to train yourself to do what it takes to compose your
character, to control your mind and emotions, and to build your physical
skills. It takes dedication and hard work, and many times your mind and
your body will be screaming at you to do something besides work on your
training. You have to have the discipline to overrule your mind, take
control, and follow through to achieve your goals. This is what self-
discipline is all about.
Elihu Root put it this way, “The worst, the hardest, the most
disagreeable thing that you may have to do may be the thing that counts
most, because it is the hard discipline, and it alone, that makes possible the
highest efficiency.” It does no good to only concentrate on the training that
you enjoy or that you are good at and find easy; you have to work on the
areas that need improvement. You have to push yourself to train and
improve your weak points, even if you find that training disagreeable and
unpleasant.
David Campbell wrote, “Discipline is remembering what you want.”
Whenever you find yourself tempted to be a couch potato instead of
training, remind yourself what you really want. What is it that you want to
achieve? What kind of person do you really want to be? Ask yourself these
questions, and then ask yourself what you need to do to achieve those
objectives.
You can look at your goals in the warrior lifestyle like a garden. In
essence, you are cultivating all of the qualities that you want in your life by
giving them continual attention. Just like a garden, you have to give your
goals daily attention to see them come to fruition. If you start a garden and
don’t continue to tend to it, your goal of a good harvest will not be fulfilled.
You have to discipline yourself to do the garden work, even when you had
rather be doing other things, in order to have a beautiful, striving garden.
The parts of your garden that are growing well and weed free will
require less work; the parts that have weeds growing and are not thriving,
will require more of your time. This same principle can be applied to the
development of your character traits and martial arts skills. You have to
maintain the areas that you have developed well, and you have to work
harder on the areas that seem to be problem areas for you.
By now, you should be starting to comprehend that self-discipline
begins with your mind. You have to learn to control your mind in order to
train your body to do what is needed to achieve your goals. If you can’t
control your mind, you will find that your self-discipline is weak. The great
self-help author, Napoleon Hill, wrote, “Self-discipline begins with the
mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t
control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and
act afterward.” Discipline your mind, and your body will follow. It is your
mind that controls your body.
Abraham J. Heschel wrote, “Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the
sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” The more you
bring your mind under control, and force both your mind and your body to
do what is needed to grow in the warrior lifestyle, the more confident you
will become in your ability to continue to develop self-discipline. It is like a
continuous cycle where the more you discipline yourself, the easier it
becomes to discipline yourself. And, as you continue to take control of your
mind, and develop more self-discipline in your life, the more your self-
confidence, self-respect, and self-esteem grow.
Self-discipline is just like everything else. The more you practice it
and the more you work at it, the easier it becomes, and eventually it
becomes almost automatic. This is the point that you want to get to in your
training. Make self-discipline a habit in your life. Do not let your mind,
emotions, or body dictate to you how you will live your life. You decide
what kind of person you want to be, and then you tell your mind and body
what they will do and force them to do what is needed to become the person
that you want to become.
It is your dedication to becoming a superior man that will motivate you
to develop this kind of self-discipline. Nobody can do this for you; it is
totally in your hands. If you consistently discipline yourself, you will reap
great rewards. I will end this chapter with a quote by Grenville Kleiser, “By
constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of
character.” Start to cultivate self-discipline in your life today and take
control of your world. The rewards are well worth it!
 Meditations on Discipline
 

What lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.
Aristotle

What we do upon some great occasion will

probably depend on what we already are;
and what we are will be the result of
previous years of self-discipline.
Percy Bysshe Shelley

He who conquers others is strong;

he who conquers himself is mighty.
Lao Tzu

No man is free who is not master of himself.

Epictetus

By constant self-discipline and self-control

you can develop greatness of character.
Grenville Kleiser

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline;

the sense of dignity grows with
the ability to say no to oneself.
Abraham J. Heschel

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.

Jim Rohn

A stern discipline pervades all nature,

which is a little cruel that it may be very kind.
Herbert Spencer

The price of excellence is discipline.

William Arthur Ward
 The worst, the hardest, the most disagreeable thing
that you may have to do may be the thing that counts most,
because it is the hard discipline, and it alone,
that makes possible the highest efficiency.
Elihu Root

Discipline is remembering what you want.

David Campbell

Self-Discipline is an act of cultivation.

It requires you to connect today’s actions
to tomorrow’s results.
Gary Ryan

We must all suffer one of two things:

the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.
Jim Rohn

Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts.

If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control
what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you
to think first and act afterward.
Napoleon Hill
 Chapter 11

Honesty
The Elusive Facts of Life

Honesty: Moral uprightness; the quality, condition or

characteristic of being fair, truthful, and morally upright;
truthfulness or sincerity.

When most people think of the word “honesty” the definition of moral
uprightness is not the first thing that comes to mind. Most people connect
honesty with simply being truthful, but honesty encompasses much more
than simply telling the truth, and sometimes moral uprightness involves
being untruthful.
Moral uprightness simply means behaving in a moral or honorable
manner, and as you will see in this chapter, sometimes honor requires a
higher duty than your obligation to be completely honest with someone, as I
have already discussed in previous chapters. Yes, I know, this sounds
confusing, especially in a chapter discussing the importance of honesty, but
by the end of this chapter you will see the big picture and will understand
what I mean.
So let’s get back to what honesty actually is. If someone says that you
are honest, it means that you are truthful, sincere, and morally upright. To
boil it down to the simplest terms, being honest means that you are truthful
– you tell the truth. Inevitably, whenever this discussion comes up, there are
those who love to debate this issue and argue that truth is relative and that
everyone has their own truth. While it may be true that everyone sees the
truth from their own point of view, that is not proof that all truth is relative.
 There is a Danish proverb which states, “The sky is not less blue
because the blind man does not see it.” What this proverb means is that the
truth doesn’t change simply because someone sees it a certain way from his
or her own point of view. Carl Frederick wrote, “The truth simply is that’s
all. It doesn’t need reasons: it doesn’t have to be right: it’s just the truth.
Period.”
The truth simply is what is. It is reality. Whether anyone chooses to see
it, to disagree with it, to like it, or to dislike it, makes no difference; it
remains reality no matter what anyone thinks or says about it. People can
view it in any way they like, but their views of the truth never have any
bearing on the truth itself, only on their own personal perception of reality.
Where people go wrong is when they believe that their personal beliefs
concerning what is the truth, is actually the truth. Their views are nothing
more than just that – their views.
As Giordano Bruno stated, “Truth doesn’t change because it is, or is
not, believed by a majority of the people.” Someone may believe that
rattlesnake venom is not life-threatening, but his personal belief on that
subject does not change the chemical makeup of rattlesnake venom or its
effects on the human body. His belief is misguided, but as long as he never
comes into contact with a rattlesnake, it will most likely never cause him
any harm and doesn’t really affect anything, other than the possibility of
other people thinking that he is a little off his rocker.
The point that I am trying to make here is that, while it is true that
everyone is entitled to their own personal beliefs, those beliefs never affect
reality, only how they choose to view reality. People choose to believe many
things which are not necessarily true. It is for this reason that Bertrand
Russell wrote, “The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no
evidence that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the
majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more often likely to be foolish
than sensible.”
So, even though people seem to love to argue the point about who
really knows what the “real truth” is, what it all boils down to is that truth is
simply reality. Whether or not anyone can clearly see reality is another
discussion, but it has no bearing on the actual truth. The truth is the truth,
period. Problems appear when people try to spin the truth for their own
benefits. This is called being dishonest and is the opposite of honesty, and,
in most cases, is dishonorable.
 I have already discussed the fact that the true warrior has certain
obligations to his fellowman. Being honest and truthful to other people is
one of those obligations. No one has any respect for a liar or a conman who
continually twists the truth for his own gain. Be sincere and forthcoming
with your fellowman where the truth is concerned. In short, the true warrior
is an honest man.
It is important to note that being honest with your fellowman does not
mean that you have to be completely open and share everything in your life
or everything that you think. While this would definitely be classified as
being upfront and honest, it would also be classified as unwise and foolish.
Being honest does not mean that you have an obligation to share your
personal thoughts, feelings, or private information. In fact, you should keep
these things to yourself the vast majority of the time.
There is a big difference between being honest and being foolish.
Withholding personal information, which is nobody else’s business, is not
being dishonest at all. Not everything is meant to be shared, and doing so
only sets you up to have your openness used against you. Be discreet! Don’t
share personal information. Don’t feel the need to share your opinions with
everyone. Keep private information private. Francesco Guicciardini wrote,
“You have everything to gain from managing your affairs secretly. And you
will gain even more if you can do it without appearing secretive to your
friends.”
While you want to keep your personal information private, you don’t
want to make a spectacle out of doing so. Don’t brag about how you never
share this or that, or how you don’t trust anyone, not even your friends.
While this may be true, sharing this information keeps your friends at arm’s
length and can cause hard feelings. Keep private information to yourself,
but do it discreetly. Be honest with everyone, but be smart about it at the
same time. Keeping private thoughts and personal information to yourself is
not being dishonest.
It is important for the warrior not to be dishonest with other people
because honesty is one of the character traits which makes him a man of
honor. Being honest with others is pretty much common sense when it
comes to living the warrior lifestyle. But honesty involves more than
merely being honest with others, it also involves being honest with yourself.
This is a side of honesty that many people forget about; it is much easier to
deceive yourself than it is to deceive other people.
 How does someone deceive himself? The answer lies in what I have
already discussed – seeing things from a personal point of view or as you
want them to be, instead of seeing things as they truly are. Samuel Johnson
gives good advice when he stated, “Instead of thinking how things may be,
see them as they are.” People see the truth through their own perception of
it. If they aren’t very careful, their perception will be influenced by a
variety of personal factors including their own personal beliefs, their
desires, their emotions, and their needs.
All of these things can twist the truth, at least in their mind, and they
begin to see the truth through colored glasses. This doesn’t change what is,
it only changes how they personally see reality. Therefore, they aren’t
actually seeing things as they are, but as they want them to be, or as they
wish they were. Always strive to see things as they truly are, looking at
what is with an impartial, rational mind, and carefully discerning reality
from falsehood. It is only when you see things as they really are that you
can make good choices concerning how to respond to them.
Bodhidharma stated that, “There is no advantage in deceiving
yourself.” This is true. Although, at the time, there may seem like some
advantage for deceiving yourself, in the long-run there never is. While it is
true that putting the truth out of your mind, or putting a spin on the truth for
your own mental or emotional benefit, may have some temporary,
comforting qualities, at some point you will have to come to grips with
reality and quit deceiving yourself. In the end, seeing reality as it truly is, is
a must for the warrior.
I am sure that you already know how rare it is to find a truly honest
person in our society. Bending the truth has become fairly acceptable, and it
seems that the vast majority of people have no problem lying when it is
convenient for them. This is yet another trait that sets the true warrior apart
from the average person. The warrior strives to be as honest as possible,
even in small, unimportant areas.
For example, most people do not think of exaggerating as being
dishonest, but isn’t it? The Talmud states, “If you add to the truth, you
subtract from it.” Exaggerating is being dishonest, period. If you see
someone punch another guy and knock him down, and he gets up and
shakes it off, but when you tell the story, you state that the guy was knocked
out cold – that’s a lie. The world sees it as simply exaggerating, but in
reality, it is simply lying. Don’t exaggerate; tell the truth exactly as it is
without adding or subtracting from it. Anything more or less is being
dishonest.
The true warrior should be known for his honesty. His word should be
as good as gold. If he says something happened a certain way, then that
should be exactly how it happened. If you will live your life in this way,
people will learn to respect your word, and when you say something, they
will know that it is the truth. This is exactly the kind of reputation that the
true warrior wants to have among his peers. Strive to be a man of your
word.
At the same time, consider how to be honest. There are many people
who delight in being brutally honest, which means that they think that as
long as they are being honest, that is all that matters. They don’t concern
themselves with other people’s feelings or the consequences of their words;
all that concerns them is that they have been blatantly honest, and in their
mind, that is all that matters.
This is a selfish, inconsiderate attitude to say the least. Many times,
these people are using their honesty for an excuse to disrespect someone
else or to covertly hurt someone’s feelings. The bottom line is this is simply
being rude and tactless. Arthur Dobrin stated, “There is always a way to be
honest without being brutal.” Being brutally honest is showing a lack of tact
and a lack of thoughtfulness towards your fellowmen. Be honest, but do so
in the right way. Like Emerson wrote, “There is always a best way of doing
everything.”
Another factor to consider on the subject of honesty is that, as I
already discussed, honesty is a rare trait, especially complete honesty. Oh
sure, most people are fairly honest about trivial things, but at the same time,
they are not beyond lying when it is to their advantage. Therefore, the
warrior has to become proficient at distinguishing between what is true and
what is falsehood. It doesn’t matter who the source of the statement is, you
always have to question the validity of the statement before you accept it as
the truth.
Hans Reichenback drove this point home when he said, “No statement
should be believed because it is made by an authority.” I will take Hans’
point a bit further and state that if a statement is made by an authority, you
had better give it a good examination before you accept it as truth. Those in
authority are notorious when it comes to spinning the truth. It is their
perceived job to control both people and the information which they allow
people to know, not to be completely honest with the population. Keep this
in mind.
Politicians and those in authority seem to take to heart what Baltasar
Gracian wrote, “The truth is for the few, the false is for the populace,
because popular.” Gracian was not saying that only a very few people
should know the truth, but rather that only a very few people bother to take
the time to discover the truth. Politicians and leaders, on the other hand,
firmly believe that it is only the few who deserve to know the truth or who
can handle the truth. There is a big difference.
Gracian goes on to say, “Look beneath. For ordinary things are far
other than they seem…The false is forever the lead in everything,
continually dragging along the fools: the truth bring up the rear, is late, and
limps along in time.” The warrior has to read between the lines. He has to
be intelligent enough to distinguish between the reality of things and the
spin that is fed to people by the media or our leaders.
The last point that I want to make on the subject of honesty, is that,
like all of the other ideals in the warrior’s code of honor, honesty should
always be moderated by what is right. As with all of the warrior’s actions,
what is right should dictate his actions, not a rigid set of rules. This brings
me to the question, “Is it always wrong to lie?” Absolutely not!
There are many preachers and legalistic people who will state that it is
indeed always wrong to lie. They will tell you that lying is always an act of
cowardice. But they are wrong. The true warrior lives his life by his code of
honor, and like I discussed in the chapter on honor, honor is based on the
warrior’s obligations. It is not based on any black and white, rigid set of
rules, like so many people wrongly assume.
There are times when the warrior has a higher duty than to be honest
with someone. For example, let’s say that you were living in Nazi Germany
and that you were valiantly hiding a young Jewish girl. If a group of Nazi
soldiers came to your door and asked you if you were hiding any Jews, do
you think that you would have a higher duty to be honest with the soldiers
or a higher duty to protect the young girl? Would lying to the soldiers mean
that you are being dishonest? Yes, of course you are being dishonest. Would
it mean that you are being dishonorable? No!
I have heard preachers argue this point and say, “Yes, that would be
dishonorable because lying is dishonest and a sin. You should just tell the
truth and trust that God will protect the girl, you and your family.” That
argument is ridiculous. Living your life by rigid, inflexible rules is not a
sign of honor; it is a sign of a lack of understanding concerning what honor
truly is.
The intelligent man understands that there will be exceptions to almost
everything, based on what the situation calls for and what is right in each
circumstance. He strives to be honest at all times, but at the same time, he
understands that doing what is right and honorable comes first and foremost
in every situation of his life. Use righteousness as your guide in every
decision and you will not go wrong. Righteousness trumps adherence to any
one trait, rule, or law.
Always consider your highest duty and take steps to make sure that
duty is fulfilled to the best of your ability. This is not being dishonest; it is
being righteous. I will end this chapter with a profound thought from the
ancient Greek philosopher, Isocrates, “Throughout your life choose truth
and your words will be more believable that other people’s oaths.”
 Meditations on Honesty
 

No statement should be believed

because it is made by an authority.
Hans Reichenbach

The truth simply is that’s all. It doesn’t need reasons:

it doesn’t have to be right: it’s just the truth. Period.
Carl Frederick

Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest

to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.
Lao Tzu

There is always a way to be honest without being brutal.

Arthur Dobrin

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence

that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of
the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more often
likely to be foolish than sensible.
Bertrand Russell

If you add to the truth, you subtract from it.

The Talmud

Instead of thinking how things may be, see them as they are.
Samuel Johnson.

Throughout your life choose truth and your words

will be more believable than other people’s oaths.
Isocrates

The sky is not less blue because

the blind man does not see it.
Danish Proverb
 Look beneath.
For ordinary things are far other than they seem...
The false is forever the lead in everything,
continually dragging along the fools:
the truth brings up the rear, is late,
and limps along in time.
Baltasar Gracian

Truth doesn’t change because it is, or is not,

believed by a majority of the people.
Giordano Bruno

I have seldom known anyone who deserted truth in trifles

that could be trusted in matters of importance.
William Paley

Should one say that something does not exist,

merely because we have never seen or heard of it?
Ge Hung

There is no advantage in deceiving yourself.

Bodhidharma
 Chapter 12

Courage
The Spirit of Valor

Courage: quality of being brave; the ability to face danger,

difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or
being deflected from a chosen course of action.

G. K. Chesterton stated that, “Courage is almost a contradiction in

terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.”
Courage is one of those traits that many people seem to misunderstand.
People also have a hard time distinguishing between courage and
cowardice, the opposite of courage. At first, it sounds ridiculous that
anyone would not be able to tell the difference between courage and
cowardice, but you will understand this statement by the end of this chapter.
To begin with let’s discuss what courage is. Many men have defined
courage in different ways throughout the ages, and we will look at several
of those definitions in this chapter. But first, let’s examine the standard
Webster’s definition, courage is the quality of being brave and having the
ability to face danger or difficult situations without being overcome by fear.
The first part of this definition is pretty straightforward – courage is
the quality of being brave. But, as you will see there is much more to
courage than simply being brave. The majority of people think that being
brave means that one doesn’t have any fear. This is not necessarily so. The
man with no fear at all, in any situation, is not necessarily brave, but rather
a bit unbalanced. Fear is a natural emotion, and brave men, as well as
everyone else, feel the emotion of fear.
 If you will notice, the definition of courage doesn’t state that courage
is being brave without fear. It states that courage is the quality of being
brave without being overcome by fear. There is a big difference between
having no fear and not being overcome by fear. Having no fear indicates a
total absence of the emotion of fear, which is a scary prospect in itself. If
someone has a total absence of fear, his judgment will be faulty in many
situations. A total absence of fear is not a virtue, but rather a mental
deficiency. Fear is a necessary emotion, designed to warn us and protect us.
It is only when fear becomes obsessive, and we allow fear to control us, that
fear becomes a problem.
Mark Twain wrote that, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear
– not absence of fear.” If a man has absolutely no capability to feel fear,
then he really has no capability to be courageous. Courage is overcoming
your fears to do what is right in the face of some danger, uncertainty, pain,
or embarrassment. A man who has no fear or anxiety where danger,
uncertainty, or pain is concerned, has some other mental issues going on
which make him seem brave, when in actuality, what his actions are
revealing are simply his mental deficiencies.
To call a man who is incapable of feeling fear brave could be
compared to giving a two year old boy a hand grenade to play with as a toy.
Of course the young boy would have no fear of the hand grenade because
he doesn’t have the intelligence to understand what it is or that it could hurt
him. He doesn’t have the knowledge or wisdom to understand what the
dangers of this “toy” truly are, so he has no fear of it. It would be wrong to
classify this boy as courageous or brave for playing with the hand grenade,
when in fact he is not displaying courage, but merely his ignorance.
The same principle applies to the man who is incapable of feeling fear.
If a man does not have the wisdom to know what should be feared and what
shouldn’t be feared, his actions cannot be classified as courageous. He is
not acting out of courage, but out of his ignorance or lack of understanding.
Thucydides, the Greek historian who documented the courageous story of
the Peloponnesian War, wrote, “The bravest are surely those who have the
clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and,
notwithstanding, go out to face it.”
If a man does not understand what he is facing, he cannot be brave in
that situation, only ignorant. The difference in a courageous man and a
foolhardy man is that the courageous man understands what he is up
against. He understands the possible consequences of standing up for his
principles, or of engaging in some physical battle, but he still acts according
to his principles despite his knowledge that his actions could cost him. The
foolhardy man simply acts. He is rash and compulsive, and either doesn’t
take the time to reflect on what the dangers are, or doesn’t have the
intelligence to understand the dangers.
Cervantes wrote that, “The man of true valor lies between the extremes
of cowardice and rashness.” Cowardice and rashness are indeed the two
extremes of courage. Cowardice is a lack of courage. It is allowing fear to
overcome you and cause you to falter at the time of action. Rashness, on the
other hand, is being reckless, impulsive, and moving forward without
giving any thought to the situation.
The one thing that both cowardice and rashness have in common is
that when someone acts from either of these extremes, he is letting his
emotions control his actions, not rational thought, and definitely not
courage. To be courageous, a man has to be thoughtful. Francesco
Guicciardini wrote, “Only the wise are brave. Others are either temerarious
or foolhardy. Thus, we can say that every brave man is wise, but not that
every wise man is brave.”
From this point of view, we can compare courage to honor in that, it is
not that easy for an outsider to judge whether or not a man is being
courageous, just as it is not obvious whether or not a man is acting out of a
sense of honor. If you will recall, some actions may seem dishonorable
from an outside point of view, which, if we were privy to the man’s
thoughts and intentions, would prove to be very honorable. The same
principle can apply to courage.
There are some actions which, when initially seen, may seem like acts
of cowardice, but when examined closer, were truly courageous acts. At the
same time, there are some actions which seem like very courageous acts,
but if we were able to see beyond the obvious, we would understand that
the action was not truly an act of courage at all. Let’s look at a couple of
examples.
First, let’s look at the man with his buddies, who are about to enter into
some type of physical encounter, whether it is a brawl or maybe on the
battlefield. The fact that this man follows through and fights alongside his
buddies, is not necessarily a sign that he is courageous. There have been
many men who truly wanted to retreat, but didn’t have the courage to do
what their mind was telling them to do. Instead, peer pressure or the fear of
what their friends would think of them, influenced their decision. Thus the
decision was not made from a place of courage, but from a mindset of fear.
On the other hand, let’s say you are watching an altercation at a
nightclub. Two men are having a disagreement. One guy seems pushy and
obnoxious, and obviously wants to fight. The other seems reluctant to fight,
no matter how much the other guy pushes him. Ultimately, the man who is
reluctant to fight, turns and walks away, amidst jeers from the other man
and many onlookers.
To those watching this scene, this man may seem like a coward, and
indeed he may be, but the fact that he turned and walked away does not
necessarily indicate that this man was a coward. He may have been a true
warrior with the ability to take the other man’s life at will, but instead chose
to end this encounter peacefully instead of hurting the other guy. An action
like that takes a lot of courage and self-confidence. This is a demonstration
of self-control and courage, not of cowardice, but to the untrained eye, it
probably would appear like the man was a coward.
Do you understand the point that I am trying to get across to you?
Courage is demonstrated in many different ways. It is not always expressed
by simply rushing in and fighting in every instance, and many times the
man who rushes in and fights is not demonstrating courage. Walking away,
being patient, waiting for the correct time and place, and enacting self-
control are all courageous actions. There is a Philippine proverb which
states, “To evade danger is not cowardice.” John F. Kennedy stated a similar
sentiment when he said, “Compromise does not mean cowardice.”
Aristotle stated that, “The man, then, who faces and who fears the right
things and from the right motive, in the right way and at the right time, and
who feels confidence under the corresponding conditions, is brave.” If we
go by Aristotle’s definition of bravery, you will observe that much of what
constitutes courage has to do with what is going on inside of the man, and
you are not privy to these factors. It is the internal struggle that decides
whether or not a man is courageous, not merely his external actions.
You will find such ideas on courage repeated by wise men from
throughout the world. E. B. Benson put it this way, “The essence of courage
is not that your heart should not quake, but that nobody knows that it does.”
Herodotus echoed this sentiment stating, “He is the best man who, when
making his plans, fears and reflects on everything that can happen to him,
but in the moment of action is bold.” To be courageous a man has to be
thoughtful; he cannot act on mere emotion or rage. The courageous man has
to be in control of himself.
Ohiyesa, when speaking of courage from a Native American point of
view, stated, “The brave man, we contend, yields neither to fear nor anger,
desire nor agony. He is at all times master of himself; his courage rises to
the heights of chivalry.” You have to think rationally and be in control of
your mind to be courageous. If you aren’t, your actions, while they may
seem brave and courageous, are actually coming from another place, and
many times this place is fear.
Courage is another of the traits of the true warrior which is intertwined
with all the other virtues and character traits, for without courage a man will
falter when the time comes to stand for his principles. It takes a lot of
courage to do what is right when everyone around you is urging you to do
the opposite. Emerson pointed out, “The test of courage comes when we are
in the minority.”
It doesn’t take a lot of backbone to stand for your principles if you
have a whole crowd of people cheering you on and patting you on the back,
but it is a different story when those people are jeering at you and in your
face. C. S. Lewis stated that, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but
the form of every virtue at the testing point.” The reason for this is what I
just stated, when your back is against the wall, it takes courage to follow
through and live up to your standards.
Confucius didn’t sugar coat it when he taught, “To see what is right
and not to do it is cowardice.” The true warrior knows what is right
according to his code of honor that he has meditated on and decided to
make his guide for his life. The test of his dedication comes when he is
confronted with a choice to compromise his standards or to live up to his
standards and deal with whatever consequences that doing the right thing
may have on his life. This is when he has to call on his courage to be strong.
Most martial artists think of courage in terms of physical
confrontations. Will he have the courage to stand up and fight when the
time comes and the situation requires this of him? Will he allow his fear to
get the best of him and cause him to back down? These are the questions
that I hear many martial artists discussing, and they are definitely valid
questions. But you should also consider the question of whether or not you
are dedicated enough, to your standards and your code of honor, to stand up
for what you believe in when you are faced with a moral decision.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that, “The world has no room for
cowards. We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die. And yours
is not the less noble because no drum beats before you when you go out into
your daily battlefields, and no crowds shout about your coming when you
return from your daily victory or defeat.” Courage is not just about being
brave in battle or physical confrontations. In fact, you will find many more
chances to prove your courage in daily life than in the rare physical
confrontation, unless you work in a warrior profession.
There is a famous quote by Shakespeare which we hear quoted very
often, “Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste
of death but once.” When you allow fear to overcome you, whether it is fear
of pain or fear of some other consequence of standing up for what is right,
you have to live with the pain of your decision for months, years, or maybe
even the rest of your life. You will replay your decision over and over again
in your mind, and each time you will find that the regret that you feel is a
very painful experience. This is the death that Shakespeare was referring to
in his famous quote.
Saint Theresa once said, “Whenever conscience commands anything,
there is only one thing to fear, and that is fear.” If you allow fear to control
your life or your decisions, you will end up with a life full of regret. You
must learn to master your fear and take control of your mind. You cultivate
courage in your life just like you cultivate any of the other virtues – by
working at it.
The way that you learn to conquer your fears is by confronting them.
This goes back to what I discussed in the chapter on controlling your
thoughts and your mind. Fear is an emotion and originates in your mind.
The mind is where you must battle and conquer your fears. Each time you
notice fear starting to dominate your thoughts, you have to stop and address
it; if you fail to do this, your fear will gain momentum and will expand.
Face your fears and you will be able to conquer them. If you evaluate
your fearful thoughts, you will notice that they all have to do with
something in the future, not the immediate present. Let’s go back to the
example of the man walking away from a fight. The thoughts of fear that
this man, if he is a confident man with the ability to end the fight at will,
will have center on the questions, “What will everyone think of me if I walk
away?” “Will they think I am a coward?” “Will I look weak? “Will I ever
be able to hold my head up in this bar again?”
Notice that all of these questions have one thing in common – they
center around what might happen in the future, not on what is happening at
the present moment. Focus on what is right in the present moment, not on
what may happen down the line. Of course you should consider all possible
consequences and alternatives when making important decisions, but do not
let fear be your deciding factor. Think rationally and always let what is right
be the ultimate decision maker in your life. I will end this chapter with a
thought from The Havamal, “The brave and generous have the best lives.
They’re seldom sorry.” Live your life with courage and you will have few
regrets.
 Meditations on Courage
 

Be brave and courageous, for adversity

is the proving ground of virtue.
Battista Alberti

Courage is the most important of all virtues,

because without it we can’t practice any
other virtue with consistency.
Maya Angelou

The world has no room for cowards.

We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die.
And yours is not the less noble because no drum beats
before you when you go out into your daily battlefields,
and no crowds shout about your coming when you
return from your daily victory or defeat.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Cowards die many times before their deaths,

the valiant never taste of death but once.
Shakespeare

To evade danger is not cowardice.

Philippine Proverb

To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice.

Confucius

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority.

Emerson

Courage is grace under pressure.

Ernest Hemingway
 The man of true valor lies between the extremes
of cowardice and rashness.
Cervantes

He is the best man who, when making his plans,

fears and reflects on everything that can happen to him,
but in the moment of action is bold.
Herodotus

Only the wise are brave.

Others are either temerarious or foolhardy.
Thus, we can say that every brave man is wise
but not that every wise man is brave.
Francesco Guicciardini

Courage is a special kind of knowledge:

the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared
and how not to fear what ought not to be feared.
David Ben-Gurion

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear –

not absence of fear.
Mark Twain
 Chapter 13

Endurance
The Warrior’s Fortitude

Endurance: The ability to bear prolonged hardship, exertion, or

pain; the survival or persistence of something over time.

As you can see from the definition above, there are basically two
different definitions for endurance, and both are important for the warrior.
The warrior must be able to withstand prolonged hardship and pain, just as
everyone must at one time or another in life. In addition, it should go
without saying, that the warrior must be persistent in his quest for the
warrior lifestyle in order to be successful. Without a doubt, the ability to
bear prolonged exertion is part of the warrior’s physical training. Together
these traits form the warrior’s fortitude.
Henry Tuckerman stated that, “There is a strength of a quiet endurance
as significant of courage as the most daring feats of prowess.” Endurance
does take courage. It is extremely tempting to just give up and throw in the
towel when hardship and pain becomes almost overwhelming, but it is
precisely at that time that the warrior’s endurance is most needed. During
times of persistent hardship is when the warrior learns the most about his
fortitude.
You have to train yourself to endure the tough times in order to be
successful, no matter what your goal may be. If you give up when the going
gets tough, you will never accomplish much in life. Everyone has tough
times. Everyone has periods where everything seems to go wrong and
where they hear the very tempting voice of defeat whispering, “It is not
worth it – just throw in the towel and walk away.” The temptation to give in
to defeat is felt by everybody at one time or another, but a determined
fortitude and a never-say-die attitude are distinctive characteristics of the
warrior. It is a vital part of the warrior lifestyle.
To put fortitude in layman’s terms, it literally means, “guts, grit,
determination, resilience, and staying power.” Obviously, these are traits
that the warrior must have, not only to be successful in the warrior lifestyle,
but to successfully perfect any one of the single traits of Modern Bushido.
Ralph Bunche stated, “To make our way, we must have firm resolve,
persistence, and tenacity. We gear ourselves to work hard all the way. We
can never let up.” That is a perfect picture of what it takes to live the
warrior lifestyle.
One of the most famous self-help authors of our times, Napoleon Hill,
wrote, “The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of
persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail.” A
vital part of the warrior’s fortitude is the tenacity to not give up when he
fails in one endeavor or another. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone falls
short at one time or another. The warrior lifestyle is a never-ending,
ongoing process, not a goal that you achieve and then check off of your
completion list.
You will fall short in one area or another as you work to perfect your
character, your mental processes, and your physical skills. You will
encounter sore muscles, injuries, and setbacks as you go through the
process of training. The trick is to not give up. This is what it means to
endure, to follow through with determination, to endure exertion and pain.
If you find that your plan to achieve your objectives is not working, don’t
give up, simply create a new plan. To quote Napoleon Hill again, “Patience,
persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”
You will find that many times a little more persistence will turn a seemingly
hopeless situation into a success.
The second definition of endurance is the survival or persistence of
something over time. Napoleon Hill stated that, “Persistence is to the
character of man as carbon is to steel.” When you add carbon to steel, you
make the steel harder and stronger. Carbon makes it better. This is what
persistence does with your character. Giving up weakens your character,
whereas persistently enduring life’s hardships builds your character.
William Barclay wrote, “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard
thing, but to turn it into glory.” For the warrior, endurance means more than
simply putting up with a bad situation; it means conquering that situation
and turning it into a victory. It is one thing to simply survive a prolonged
hardship, but it is another thing entirely to take that hardship and turn it into
something positive. That is the warrior’s objective. Survival is the
foundation of endurance; complete triumph is the endgame.
When speaking of survival, there are two schools of thought which go
to opposite extremes. The first school of thought is when it comes to
survival, anything goes. Imelda Marcos stated, “Doesn’t the fight for
survival also justify swindle and theft? In self-defense, anything goes.”
Imelda Marcos was a crook. Her statement was basically meant to justify
her unethical actions. While it is true that in a real life-or-death, physical
encounter, anything goes, this philosophy should not apply to enduring
life’s hardships. This is especially true for the warrior.
The warrior has to learn to endure life’s hardships and pain, but having
to endure hardships is not an excuse to lower your standards or to lose your
honor. There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. Turning to
dishonest acts and justifying them by blaming them on your circumstances
is merely a cop out. This is not the way of the warrior, but rather the
mindset of the criminal.
On the other extreme, you have the ultra passive school of thought
which basically states that it is better to die than to ever harm another
person, no matter what the circumstances. Khalil Gibran stated, “If my
survival caused another to perish, then death would be sweeter and more
beloved.” Again, this is not the way of the warrior. There are times when
your survival may require that you do harm to another person. While the
true warrior never wants to hurt or injure anyone else, he is certainly willing
to do so if his hand is forced.
If his survival depends on his using martial arts skills to defend
himself, then he is certainly justified. The philosophy that there is never any
reason to harm or kill another human being is for monks or priests – not for
warriors. Someone has to be willing to stand against evil in a proactive way,
and that someone is the warrior.
The warrior lives somewhere in between these two extreme
philosophies. His philosophy, concerning enduring hardships and surviving
what life throws at him, has to be balanced with the code by which he lives.
Surviving life’s hardships does not mean lowering your standards or
temporarily shelving your principles. It means using your principles to
overcome the hardships you are facing and turning those hardships into a
victory in the end.
Hunker down when you need to. The middle of a blizzard is not the
time to take action and shovel your driveway; it is the time to patiently wait
in the safety of your warm house. After the storm clears is the time to pull
out the snow shovels and persistently work to clear the snow and declare
victory over the storm. Going out and working to remove the snow in the
middle of the blizzard is only an exercise in futility; this is not smart.
Endure the storm’s fury, and then take action to achieve victory and
overcome what the storm has thrown at you.
Timing is important. There is a time and a place for everything. There
is a time to sit patiently and a time to take action. Both of these are
important aspects of endurance. Waiting patiently is not the same thing as
doing nothing. Many times, patiently waiting for the right time to take
action is the hardest part of enduring life’s hardships. A good example of
this has to do with your physical training.
Suppose that during your training, you pull a muscle in your leg while
sparring. Of course you aren’t going to just give up and decide to throw in
the towel on your martial arts training. Persistence is a vital part of
perfecting your martial arts skills, so you have to endure this painful injury
and continue to train, but you have to be disciplined in doing so. You have
to be patient and wait for your injury to heal before you continue your
training. This is an important part of the process of endurance and
persistence.
If you were to skip this phase and just continue to train, thinking that
you are showing your fortitude by enduring the pain and working through it
no matter what, you would simply be making things worse. Don’t confuse
endurance and perseverance with foolishness. Like I said before, there is a
time and a place for everything, including waiting patiently for the right
time to act.
Being persistent doesn’t mean that you work nonstop and try to force
things to happen; it means not quitting, not giving up. Neither does being
persistent mean that you continue to pound away at your challenge using
the exact same means. You may have to change your plans and your
approach to the problem in order to ultimately be successful. Remember
that often repeated definition of insanity – doing the same thing and
expecting different results.
 Be persistent in continuing to endure and to work at achieving your
objective, not at doing the same exact thing. There is a big difference in the
two. W. Edwards Deming stated that, “It is not necessary to change.
Survival is not mandatory.” Everything changes. Nothing remains the same
for very long. You have to be willing to change in order to survive. While
your core principles should not change, your actions must be flexible. You
must adapt your actions to the circumstances in order to survive, and you
must do so without compromising your principles. Endure the storms of life
and rise above them in order to reach your ultimate goal.
 Meditations on Endurance
 

Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines,

but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.
Buddha

Endurance is nobler than strength.

John Ruskin

Sorrow and silence are strong,

and patient endurance is godlike.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We too must endure and persevere in the inquiry, and then

courage will not laugh at our faintheartedness in searching
for courage; which after all may, very likely, be endurance.
Socrates

Endurance is patience concentrated.

Thomas Carlyle

There is a strength of a quiet endurance as significant

of courage as the most daring feats of prowess.
Henry Tuckerman

Heroism is endurance for one moment more.

George F. Kennan

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing,

but to turn it into glory.
William Barclay

Prolonged endurance tames the bold.

Lord Byron
 The men who learn endurance,
are they who call the whole world, brother.
Charles Dickens

Come what may, all bad fortune

is to be conquered by endurance.
Virgil

Endurance and to be able to endure is the

first lesson a child should learn because
it’s the one they will most need to know.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Endurance is the crowning quality.

James Russell Lowell

The majority of men meet with failure because of

their lack of persistence in creating new plans
to take the place of those which fail.
Napoleon Hill

Continuous, unflagging effort,

persistence and determination will win.
James Whitcomb Riley
 Chapter 14

Justice
The Warrior’s Conviction

Justice: the quality of being righteous; rectitude; impartiality;

fairness; the quality of being right or correct; sound reason;
rightfulness; validity.

Justice is the quality of being righteous, or in more straightforward

terms, the quality of being right or correct. This isn’t referring to being right
as far as trivial knowledge, but rather being right where your actions are
concerned. As I have already discussed, the true warrior does his best to
ensure that his actions are right and that all of his decisions are based on
what is right according to his own standards, not necessarily the legal
standards of the day. This is the warrior’s conviction and his dedication to
integrating justice into his every action.
It is your commitment to justice that makes your actions righteous, not
the outcome of your actions. You do not have complete control over the end
results of your actions, and consequently, it is not the outcome which
should ultimately concern you – it is doing what is right that is your main
responsibility as a warrior. Of course you want to try your best to achieve a
satisfactory outcome, but you aren’t God, and you can’t control everything.
Your job is to be committed to justice in your actions. Make sure that your
actions are right and just, and then let the chips fall where they may.
Socrates was so committed to being just that he carried out a death
sentence on his own life for trumped up charges. Even when he had the
opportunity to escape, he refused because he considered breaking the law of
the day unjust. This is total dedication to justice, although in my opinion, a
misguided view of justice. Simply because a group of men decide to declare
something a “law” doesn’t automatically make their declaration just. In fact,
given the character of the majority of our lawmakers, just laws are
becoming a rarity.
It is for this reason that the warrior should meditate on what is truly
right and wrong, and develop his own code of honor with justice as his
guide. Of course that doesn’t exempt him from being held accountable to
the laws of the country in which he lives, but it does assure him that his
actions will be just instead of simply lawful. Lao Tzu taught, “Highly
evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.” This train of
thought is also found in the Catacombs where it is inscribed, “The just man
is himself his own law.”
This doesn’t mean that the highly evolved, just man doesn’t have to
obey the laws of the land, but rather that the law of the land is not his
ultimate guide or final word as far as what is just and what is unjust. The
final determination comes from the warrior’s internal sense of right and
wrong, thus his conscience is his ultimate law. The catch here is that the
warrior’s conscience has to be pure, sincere, and as Lao Tzu stated, highly
evolved.
Many people are not highly evolved and have very low morals. For
them to depend on their conscience to guide them would be ludicrous. It is
for this reason that we have to have laws at all. If everyone was highly
evolved and dedicated to justice and always doing the right thing, laws
would be unnecessary. But, as I am sure you are aware, this is not the case,
so we elect politicians, many with no clue what true justice is, to make laws
to control those who do not have the character to control themselves.
This is yet another trait which sets the true warrior apart from the
average person. The general population falsely believes that justice simply
means following the letter of the law. Even the wise Socrates believed this,
but this is not true justice. As I stated above, the letter of the law is
manmade, it is not sacred. The vast majority of our laws are enacted, not
because they are dedicated to justice, but rather out of hidden agendas and
backroom deals. They have little to do with justice.
Adhering strictly to some of these laws is actually injustice run amuck.
It has always been this way. Aristotle taught, “The virtue of justice consists
in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.” Notice Aristotle said, “regulated
by wisdom” not regulated by the letter of the law. The ancient Roman
playwright, Terence, stated, “Extreme law is often injustice.” Antoine the
Healer commented, “Often man is preoccupied with human rules and
forgets the inner law.”
It is this inner law that the true warrior has to listen to in order to
discern what is just and what is unjust, not rules signed into law by crooked,
dishonest politicians. The warrior knows that true justice goes much deeper
than these official laws. Simply because something is voted on and passed
into law doesn’t make it just. As Friedrich von Schiller said, “The voice of
the majority is no proof of justice.”
Again, I want to emphasize that I am not saying that you should not
obey the law, merely that the law is not the ultimate authority concerning
right and wrong to the enlightened warrior. Deliberately ignoring the law
can cause you many headaches and major problems. Doing so would
simply be foolish, unless you are required to disregard the law for reasons
of higher justice or honor.
Baltasar Gracian wrote, “A just man. He stands on the side of the right
with such conviction, that neither the passion of a mob, nor the violence of
a despot can make him overstep the bounds of reason.” This is the
commitment that the warrior should have to justice, and it is also where
Socrates was wrong in his decision to take his own life at the command of
the Greek politicians. He overstepped the bounds of reason.
There is a big difference between being lawful and being just.
Although the two can overlap, this is not always the case. Socrates was
following the letter of the law, not necessarily being just. If justice was
actually done in that case, Socrates would have never been sentenced to
death in the first place. This is a great example of the law and true justice
being at odds with each other. If you try, I am sure that you can come up
with many other clear cut, modern day examples as well.
It is important for the warrior to keep this distinction in mind when
considering his actions. It is also important that he keep in mind the
consequences of his actions. Sometimes being just can put you at odds with
the law, and that most likely will have less than desirable consequences.
Although it may seem to be easy and straightforward at first glance, living
the warrior lifestyle is not easy or uncomplicated. Sometimes being just
requires you to make some hard decisions, but the truly just man will put
what is right before what is easy.
 Socrates, although I believe he made the wrong decision in the end,
was an extremely wise teacher and had much to say about justice. He
taught, “You are mistaken my friend, if you think that a man who is worth
anything ought to spend his time weighing up the prospects of life and
death. He has only one thing to consider in performing any action, that is,
whether he is acting justly or unjustly, like a good man or a bad man.”
Although I personally would not have made the decision to drink
poison instead of escaping from prison, there can be no doubt that Socrates
made his final decision based on what he thought was right. That is the best
that any man can do. Others can second guess his decisions, debate his
decisions, etc., but in the end, what truly matters is that the warrior bases
his decisions on what is right according to his own principles. If he does
this, he has done the best that he can do and should be honored for having
the integrity to do what he thought was right.
Being just is not a matter for debate. Every decision has to be either
right or wrong, just or unjust. Zeno the Stoic stated, “Just as a stick must be
either straight or crooked, so a man must be either just or unjust. Nor again
are there degrees between just and unjust.” A door is either open or shut; it
has to be one or the other. It can be almost shut, but almost shut is still
open. The same principle applies to your actions. They are either just or
unjust. If a certain action is close to being just, but not quite there, it is still
unjust.
There are many reasons that people choose not to do what is right,
which in effect is choosing to be unjust. For most people, acting unjustly is
merely a matter of selfishness; they are purely concerned with what is best
for them personally, not in being just. This shouldn’t be the case for the
warrior. The warrior has to hold himself to a higher standard. His every
decision is based on his perception of right and wrong. This is part of living
the warrior lifestyle.
Living the warrior lifestyle requires much more than living like the
average citizen. The warrior is focused on justice in all his actions, as well
as his inaction. Yes, you can be unjust by doing nothing. Marcus Aurelius
pointed this out clearly, stating, “You can also commit injustice by doing
nothing.” Gichin Funakoshi echoed this thought when he said that, “To
avoid action when justice is at stake demonstrates a lack of courage.”
The true warrior is accountable for both his actions and his inactions.
Acting according to what is just, also includes doing nothing. “Doing
nothing” is actually an action, and can be as unjust as doing something that
is blatantly wrong. Pontius Pilate actually did nothing during the trial of
Jesus, but his actions of “washing his hands of the whole matter” was unjust
act.
Justice is basically doing what is right without allowing your personal
biases or personal desires to cause you to veer off course. This takes
discipline and practice, and many times it can be a hard thing to master, but
the true warrior will make it one of his priorities. As with all of the traits of
the warrior lifestyle, it is important to truly make dedication to justice an
integral part of your life. As Aeschylus said, “Don’t appear just; be just.”
 Meditations on Justice
 

You are mistaken my friend, if you think that a man

who is worth anything ought to spend his time
weighing up the prospects of life and death.
He has only one thing to consider in performing any action,
that is, whether he is acting justly or unjustly,
like a good man or a bad man.
Socrates

The voice of the majority is no proof of justice.

Friedrich von Schiller

There is a point at which even justice does injury.

Sophocles

A just man. He stands on the side of the right

with such conviction, that neither the passion
of a mob, nor the violence of a despot can
make him overstep the bounds of reason.
Baltasar Gracian

He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

The Gospel of Luke

To avoid action when justice is at stake

demonstrates a lack of courage.
Gichin Funakoshi

Often man is preoccupied with human rules

and forgets the inner law.
Antoine the Healer

Just as a stick must be either straight or crooked,

so a man must be either just or unjust.
 Nor again are there degrees between just and unjust.
Zeno the Stoic

You can also commit injustice by doing nothing.

Marcus Aurelius

The just man is himself his own law.

Catacombs Inscription

The superior man enacts equity;

justice is the foundation of his deeds.
Confucius

Don’t appear just; be just.

Aeschylus

Extreme law is often injustice.

Terence

The just man is not one who does hurt to none,

but one who having the power to hurt represses the will.
Pythagoras
 Chapter 15

Sincerity
The Genuine Article

Sincerity: the quality or state of being sincere, honesty of mind;

freedom from hypocrisy.

I have said many times that you should be a man of honor, not merely
appear to be a man of honor. This means you must be sincere. You must be
free from hypocrisy and develop honesty of mind, which means that you
have to monitor your thoughts as I discussed earlier. No one respects a
hypocrite. A hypocrite is someone who pretends to have admirable
principles or beliefs, but doesn’t back them up with his actions. He is a
fraud. This is not the way of the warrior, but rather the way of the charlatan.
The Chinese book, The Doctrine of the Mean, states that, “Sincerity is
the Way of Heaven…He who is sincere is one who hits upon what is right
without effort…He is naturally and easily in harmony with the Way. Such a
man is a sage. He who tries to be sincere is one who chooses the good and
holds fast to it.” Sincerity is a very important part of the warrior lifestyle
and it is vital when it comes to being comfortable in your own skin.
Be who you are. This doesn’t mean that you don’t take pains to
improve yourself and make yourself a better person, rather it means that
you should be relaxed and comfortable letting people know who you truly
are and what you stand for – be sincerely you. Don’t worry what everyone
thinks about you or if they approve or disapprove of who you are; just be
yourself, and be a man of honor. Let them see what a true man of honor is
like.
 The key here is being a true man of honor, not simply appearing to be
a man of honor. Be honorable to your very core. When you truly are the
person you want to be, you do not have to be shy about being yourself. It is
only when you are pretending to be someone other than who you really are,
that you become unsure about allowing others to find out who you truly are.
For many people, depending on your personality, this can be a difficult
thing to do. Most people desire the approval of their friends and family, and
they can worry that if they allow others to see who they truly are, that they
will not approve of what they see. This is one of the main reasons that
people hide who they are and more or less play the part of an actor in public
or around their friends and family. This usually boils down to one of two
things.
First, either the person is lacking in overall self-confidence concerning
who he is or how he lives his life, and fears that his peers, friends, and
family will not be accepting of who he truly is or how he lives. The second
factor is that he wants so much to be liked or admired, that he is hesitant to
take the risk that showing his real face will cost him the respect and
admiration of his friends and family.
Both of these come down to a lack of self-confidence in who he truly
is as a person. While he may feel, deep down in his spirit, that he is living
as he should, he has a deep-seated fear that others will not understand or
approve of who he is or how he lives his life. It takes courage to live life
your way, without worrying about what other people think of your choices.
It also takes sincerity and making up your mind that, in the end, you are
going to live your life in your own way, no matter what anyone else may
think about your choices.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh points out, “The most exhausting thing in
life, I have discovered, is being insincere.” It is exhausting to put on an act,
always being someone else when you are around other people, like an actor
on a stage. It is draining because you are trying to be someone you are not.
On the other hand, being sincere and being yourself means being in a
relaxed confident state of mind. Thus it does not drain your energy and you
feel more comfortable.
The bottom line, where this is concerned, is that your life is your life.
It really is nobody else’s business how you choose to live your life, as long
as you are not harming anyone else. If you are doing your best to live a life
of honor and integrity, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Even though
most people may not understand the way of the warrior, it doesn’t mean you
have to keep your beliefs and principles hidden or be shy about sharing
your philosophy.
Living the warrior lifestyle is not something that everyone will
understand, but it is also nothing to be ashamed of or to keep hidden, unless
of course, you are merely pretending to live the way of the warrior and
don’t want anyone to know that you are a pretender. If this is the case, you
have bigger issues than what others think of you, and you need to address
those underlying issues and quit being a hypocrite. Be sincere in your quest
to perfect your character. As Tzu-ssu taught, “Just act sincerely, in
accordance with your true nature.”
It is also important to note that, while it is important to allow others,
especially those close to you, to know who you truly are as a person, this
doesn’t mean that you have to share everything about yourself. Being
sincere doesn’t mean you have to be completely open and share every piece
of private information about your life. You can be sincere without being an
open book. Use discretion about how much of your life you share with
other people.
It takes strength and courage to be yourself. La Rochefoucauld stated
that, “The weak cannot be sincere,” and this is true. Weak people have a
very hard time being sincere because they doubt themselves; and it is not
only the weak that have a hard time being sincere with others. In fact, the
vast majority of people are insincere to a point.
La Rochefoucauld went on to teach that, “Sincerity is an openness of
heart that is found in very few people. What we usually see is only an artful
disguise people put on to win the confidence of others.” People have
agendas, and to achieve those agendas, they play the parts that they believe
will make them successful, instead of sincerely being themselves. It is for
this reason that you have to be very careful and try to look behind the veil
to find out who the real person truly is.
The warrior, on the other hand, acts with sincerity. This doesn’t mean
that he always lets everyone know exactly who he is or what he is thinking
– he doesn’t. That would be unwise. Sincerity simply means acting from a
place of truth concerning who you really are. You must be sincere with
yourself as well as with other people. James Russell Lowell stated that, “No
man can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with
himself.” You have to be sincere and honest with yourself first, before you
can be sincere with other people.
Lowell goes on to say, “Sincerity is impossible, unless it pervades the
whole being, and the pretence of it saps the very foundation of character.”
This is an interesting thought. Since the main goal of the warrior lifestyle is
to perfect your character, if you are doing something that is undermining the
very foundation of your character, you are going to have a hard time being
successful. George Henry Lewes echoes this point stating, “Insincerity is
always weakness; sincerity even in error is strength.” Are you starting to
see the importance of sincerity for the true warrior?
Unless you are sincere about living the warrior lifestyle, you are only
playing around, and this will not lead to permanent changes in your life.
You have to be sincerely devoted to your beliefs and the principles in your
life. If you are merely pretending, sooner or later that will come to light. As
Aesop taught in his famous fables, “Those who pretend to be what they are
not, sooner or later, find themselves in deep water.”
Being sincere means having confidence in your decisions and who you
are, or who you are becoming. You develop this confidence by meditating
on who and what you want to be, then sincerely working to become that
person. At this point, I need to make a distinction between pretending to
live the warrior lifestyle and pretending to be who you want to be. These
two actions may sound the same, but they are miles apart.
Pretending to live a life of honor and integrity, while at the same time
really being the opposite, is merely being a hypocrite. Pretending to be who
you want to be, as you work to develop the qualities that you sincerely
desire to develop, is part of the process of becoming the person you want to
become. If you want to be a man of honor, act like a man of honor until you
sincerely have become that person. This is not being a hypocrite, but rather
one of the techniques that one uses to change his character. Do you see the
difference in the two?
Furthermore, being sincere means that you aren’t competing with
others. You are merely doing the best that you can do to improve your own
life. It doesn’t matter where anyone else is in the process of becoming who
he wants to be; it only matters where you are and what you are doing to
improve your own life. It is okay to use others as examples or as role
models, but not as someone that you have to compete with in order to
achieve your objectives.
 Lao Tzu taught, “When you are content to be simply yourself and
don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.” Well, maybe
saying that everybody will respect you is going a bit too far, but you will
definitely gain much more respect by being yourself, and being sincere,
than you will by putting on an act that sooner or later most people will be
able to see through. There is an old Shinto teaching that sums this thought
up, it says, “With sincerity, there is virtue.”
While it is important to be sincere with other people, it is even more
important to be sincere with yourself. You have to be honest with yourself
about what you want and who you want to be. Then you have to sincerely
follow your roadmap to become the person that you want to be – a man of
character, honor, and integrity.
 Meditations on Sincerity
 

Just act sincerely, in accordance with your true nature.

Tzu-ssu

The most exhausting thing in life,

I have discovered, is being insincere.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Sincerity is an openness of heart that is found

in very few people. What we usually see is only an
artful disguise people put on to win the confidence of others.
La Rochefoucauld

With sincerity, there is virtue.

Shinto teaching

Everything is based on mind, is led by mind,

is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act
with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you,
as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox.
Everything is based on mind, is led by mind,
is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act
with a pure mind, happiness will follow you,
as a shadow clings to a form.
Buddha

When you are content to be simply yourself

and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
Lao Tzu

The mature person values sincerity above all things.

Tzu-ssu
 Insincerity is always weakness;
sincerity even in error is strength.
George Henry Lewes

Sincerity is impossible, unless it pervades the whole being,

and the pretence of it saps the very foundation of character.
James Russell Lowell

The weak cannot be sincere.

La Rochefoucauld

Those who pretend to be what they are not,

sooner or later, find themselves in deep water.
Aesop

Sincerity is the single virtue that binds

the divine and man in one.
Shinto teaching

Sincerity is moral truth.

George Henry Lewes

No man can produce great things who is not

thoroughly sincere in dealing with himself.
James Russell Lowell
 Chapter 16

Self-Knowledge
The Warrior’s Introspection

Self-Knowledge: knowledge or understanding of one’s own

capabilities, character, feelings, or motivations.

Self-knowledge is very important. Without the knowledge of your own

capabilities, you will not be able to understand what your strengths and
weaknesses are, thus you will not know what you need to focus on in your
training, or what you can and cannot do. This same principle applies to
understanding your character. You have to know what areas need improving
in your quest to perfect your character. If you don’t understand your
feelings or motivations, you will have problems controlling your emotions
and making sure that your actions are just. So, as you can clearly see, the
warrior’s introspection is vitally important.
Baltasar Gracian stated, “No man can be master of himself, who does
not first understand himself.” The true warrior must spend time alone,
searching his soul, in order to know exactly who and what he is. Examine
every area of your life. It is the warrior’s ultimate objective to live a life of
excellence – in every way. For the warrior to be able to complete this goal,
he has to have an intimate knowledge of himself. While this may seem
obvious, it is not as common or as easy as you may think.
Most people assume that they know themselves. After all, who knows
you better than you, right? Well, this is not necessarily true. Let me put this
in the form of an analogy of a football game where the coaches sit high
above, in the press box, in order to observe the players. Those coaches can
see more about what the players are doing than the players themselves, thus
they tend to know the players’ weaknesses better than the players do. Other
people can often see things that you can’t see in yourself; so a true friend
can be a valuable resource in the process of obtaining self-knowledge.
Nelson Boswell stated, “We must find out what we really are and what
we really want.” Both of these are part of the process of self-discovery.
Achieving real self-knowledge involves knowing who and what you are,
and what you truly want in life. Without this knowledge, you are like a boat
drifting on the waves, being carried wherever the winds of life blow you.
Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement and vital to the
development of your principles. Gracian wrote, “It is a first principle that in
order to improve yourself, you must first know yourself.”
This is an important principle since self-improvement is what the
warrior lifestyle is all about. You can’t improve anything if you don’t first
know what needs to be improved. Once you know what needs to be
improved or fixed, you can then begin the process of finding out how to
make the needed improvements. Making improvements in your life is like a
mechanic working on a car. He first has to figure out what is wrong with
your car before he can work on it and make it run better.
No mechanic would simply start replacing parts, rewiring the electrical
system, etc. without first doing some investigating and finding out what is
working and what is not working. The same principle goes for you in your
quest to live the warrior lifestyle. You have to find out what strengths you
already have and what areas need some work. Then you can work to make
your strengths even stronger, and to turn your weaknesses into strengths.
It takes quite a bit of introspection to really understand yourself and
know what you believe in and what you truly stand for – to understand your
principles and to develop your own code of life. Carl Jung taught that, “We
should know what our convictions are, and stand for them…Therefore it is
wise to be as clear as possible about one’s subjective principles.” Socrates
stated, “One of the most important precepts of wisdom is to know oneself.”
A thorough understanding of oneself is not optional for the true
warrior. It is absolutely necessary. This should be a top priority for you
throughout your journey. It is self-knowledge that allows you to live a life
of excellence; without it, you cannot possibly develop your life to the
fullest. Socrates even went as far as to say, “The unexamined life is not
worth living.” This is a pretty strong endorsement of self-knowledge!
 Self-knowledge gives you insight, not only into what areas of your life
need to be changed, but also into what truly matters to you. You only live
on this planet once, as far as you know, so it is important that you live the
kind of life that you want to live. That includes being who you really are
and living by your beliefs. If you aren’t clear on what you want out of life
or what you truly believe, then how can you possibly live the life you want
to live? How can you be true to yourself and your principles? You can’t!
Shakespeare wrote, “This above all; to thine own self be true.” You
have to understand yourself thoroughly in order to be true to your own self
– to the beliefs and principles that you hold dear. The warrior’s
introspection is vitally important to his growth. The Hagakure, the famous
Samurai book of wisdom, tells us, “Only those who continually re-examine
themselves and correct their faults will grow.” The key word in this quote is
“continually.”
Self-knowledge is not a process where you can go into meditation for a
few hours, discover your true self, and then mark off it your to-do list. It,
like all of the traits of the warrior lifestyle, is an ongoing process – not a
one-time discovery. Self-knowledge is continuous. Nothing in this world is
static; everything is constantly changing, and that includes you. Therefore,
it is important that you continually monitor yourself and stay on top of the
changes which take place in your life. Dag Hammarskjold stated that, “The
longest journey is the journey inward.” This is because that journey is not
only adventurous, but also never-ending.
You will not be the exact same person this time next year as you are
now. Once you develop your core principles and overall code of honor, they
will stay the same for the most part, but even then, you will need to
continually scrutinize yourself, your attitude, and your adherence to the life
that you have chosen to live. It is up to you to ensure that you live a life of
excellence and work to maintain your strengths and to improve your
weaknesses. Nobody else really cares or will do it for you.
Whether or not you live a life of excellence rests solely on your own
shoulders, and you absolutely cannot live a life of excellence without
knowing yourself intimately. There is an old Indian proverb which states,
“He who has studied himself is his own master.” You must be your own
master and guide your life in the desired direction.
Self-knowledge is the foundation for any improvements in your life -
mental, spiritual, or physical. You have to know where you are, what your
limits may be, what your current knowledge base is, and where you want to
be. No matter what area of your life you focus on, self-knowledge has to be
the starting point for self-improvement. Yes, this even includes your martial
arts.
Think about it, you had certainly better know your initial limits before
you start training, or you will end up pushing yourself too far and end up
with an injury that will set your goals back. In your physical training, just as
with all other areas of your life, you have to know what kind of shape you
are in to start with. You have to know what your weak points are and what
your strengths are. If you are very inflexible and either do not know this, or
ignore this fact, and you try to throw a high kick, chances are you are going
to end up pulling a muscle or worse.
Self-knowledge also plays a part in your self-defense. You must know
your own capabilities and evaluate them honestly. There is a famous quote
by Sun Tzu which illustrates this point. Sun Tzu wrote, “Know the enemy
and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When
you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning
or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are
certain in every battle to be in peril.”
If you don’t truly know what your abilities are and you overestimate
your skills, you are putting yourself in danger if you ever find yourself in a
true life-or-death situation. There is an Italian proverb which states, “He
who is an ass and takes himself to be a stag, finds his mistake when he
comes to leap the ditch.” In the middle of a self-defense situation is not a
good time to find out that you don’t have the skills that you thought you
had.
You have to evaluate yourself honestly when you are being
introspective. It does you no good to be dishonest with yourself and fool
yourself into thinking that you are something more than you actually are.
Appraise yourself honestly. Only then can you see things clearly and start to
improve your life. Sometimes this can be difficult to do, especially for the
warrior whose skills are not where they once were.
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “It is foolish to try to live on past experience.
It is a very dangerous, if not fatal habit, to judge ourselves to be safe
because of something that we felt or did twenty years ago.” Things change
and you must be aware of those changes in your life. Perfecting your
character is an ongoing process. Staying in shape is an ongoing process.
Monitoring these things, understanding who you are and what you believe,
and keeping track of where you stand is simply part of the process of living
life to the fullest. This is true self-knowledge, and is a part of being truly
prepared to live a successful life.
 Meditations on Self-Knowledge
 

If a man does not keep pace with his companions,

perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured or far away.
Thoreau

We must find out what we really are

and what we really want.
Nelson Boswell

Knowing others is wisdom,

knowing yourself is Enlightenment.
Lao Tzu

This above all: to thine own self be true.

William Shakespeare

We should know what our convictions are, and

stand for them… Therefore it is wise to be as
clear as possible about one’s subjective principles.
Carl Jung

It is a first principle that in order to improve yourself,

you must first know yourself.
Baltasar Gracian

One of the most important precepts

of wisdom is to know oneself.
Socrates

Ninety percent of the world’s woe comes

from people not knowing themselves…
Most of us go almost all the way through
 life as complete strangers to ourselves.
Sydney J. Harris

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates

One may conquer in battle a thousand times a thousand men,

yet he is the best of conquerors who conquers himself.
The Dhammapada

Only those who continually re-examine themselves

and correct their faults will grow.
The Hagakure

The longest journey is the journey inward.

Dag Hammarskjold

He who has studied himself is his own master.

Indian Proverb

No man can be master of himself,

who does not first understand himself.
Baltasar Gracian
 Chapter 17

Preparedness
The Spirit of Readiness

Preparedness: The state of full readiness; readiness for action;

attentiveness, watchfulness, awareness, or vigilance.

Readiness for action definitely applies to the true warrior. The warrior
must continually be in a state of full readiness for action, which means that
he must be as prepared as possible for whatever may come his way. He
must be vigilant where his preparedness is concerned, carefully examining
himself daily so that he truly understands how prepared he is to meet
different challenges.
Problems and challenges never come when you would like them to;
they come when they come. Therefore, the warrior has to stay in a state of
readiness to meet whatever may come his way. You hear many martial
artists talk about how important this attitude is, at the same time, few of
them seem to take this seriously. Their actions do not seem to match their
words. As Emerson said, “A man’s action is only a picture book of his
creed.” The warrior’s actions should match his creed or his beliefs.
If you really believe that it is important to be prepared to handle
whatever challenges may come your way, then you should believe that you
must train to be prepared. There is no way that you will be prepared if you
don’t take action to make yourself prepared. The state of full readiness
doesn’t just automatically happen. You have to train to develop this attitude
of mind and spirit, and the preparation of physical skills. Just like all of the
other traits of the warrior lifestyle, you have to work to attain the state of
preparedness.
 The truth is, attaining the state of total preparedness takes more work
than most of the other traits of the true warrior. In fact, it would be
impossible to be prepared for every single thing that could ever happen,
unless maybe your name is MacGyver. What preparedness means to the
warrior is being as prepared as possible to successfully encounter whatever
difficulties may come his way. It doesn’t mean he is totally prepared for
every single possible problem. It would be impractical to walk around daily
with a backpack full of supplies ranging from a snakebite kit to climbing
gear.
Although it is impractical to think that anyone can be completely
prepared for anything at anytime, and will always have all the tools he
needs at his disposal, you can be mentally and physically prepared for a
multitude of problems. You may not walk around daily carrying a snakebite
kit, but you can walk around with the knowledge of how to treat a snake
bite, should this unfortunate incident take place. Part of being prepared is
obtaining knowledge about many different things, and being able to recall
and use that knowledge when needed.
A wide, general base of knowledge, covering many possible topics, is
definitely an important part of being prepared to meet life’s challenges.
Many opportunities are lost from lack of knowledge. Study and learn as
much as you can about many different subjects; you never know when the
knowledge you obtain will come in handy or will get you out of a tight spot.
Having a vast and diverse foundation of knowledge is an important part of
your mental preparedness, but it is not the only piece of being mentally
prepared to meet life’s challenges.
Besides obtaining knowledge on many different subjects, you also
have to train your mind to be prepared to handle emergency situations or
physical conflicts. Being able to think rationally and stay calm in an
emergency situation does not come naturally; you have to train your mind
to handle high stress situations, just like you train any other part of your
body. There are many techniques that you can use to train your mind to be
prepared to handle life’s unexpected challenges.
Meditation and visualization are both excellent tools to prepare your
mind to remain calm and rational in stressful times. Also, many martial arts
instructors are now moving more towards reality based training to train
students to handle the different effects that stress and adrenaline have on the
body during a physical confrontation. In addition, there are many breathing
techniques which aid the warrior in consciously keeping his mind calm
during high stress times.
The point is you have to train your mind just like you train your body.
I would recommend that you use all of the above training techniques in
preparing your mind to successfully handle stressful situations. If you
consistently integrate a combination of these four training techniques into
your daily training, you will begin to see a difference in your mental
preparedness very quickly. Let’s look at each of these in a little more detail.
Although I will cover meditation is a separate chapter, I do want to
give you a brief overview of it here for the purposes of mental
preparedness. Meditation is very important to the warrior who wants to live
the warrior lifestyle, and not just for the purposes of mental preparedness.
There are many benefits to meditation, but I will limit my discussion here to
how meditation helps prepare your mind to meet whatever challenges you
may encounter.
One of the key skills in any physical encounter is to be able to
maintain a calm, rational thought process, even when your adrenalin is
pumping and you are under high stress. Meditation can help with this. The
more you meditate, the more you will find your mind remains in a calm
state, no matter what is happening outside of your mind. Consistent
meditational practices definitely aid in keeping your mind calm and stable.
It is just like any other skill; the more you practice it, the better you get at it
and the more benefits you receive from it.
The key, when it comes to meditation, is consistency. You can’t simply
meditate every now and then and expect to see great results, anymore than
you can expect to practice your martial arts every once and a while and
perfect your techniques. The key to success in any endeavor is consistency.
You have to commit yourself to whatever you are doing, and this includes
meditation.
It is best to set aside a special time each day for your meditation
practice. Also, you will want to have a special place that you go for
meditation, somewhere where you will not be disturbed. By practicing at
the same time, and in the same place each day, you will train your body and
mind to go into meditation at this time and when you are in this place.
Consistently practice meditation and you will begin to see some amazing
results.
 The next technique is fairly close to meditating. In fact, it is a form of
meditation in itself. I’m talking about visualization. Every martial artist
uses visualization, even if he doesn’t realize that he is doing so.
Visualization is simply seeing or visualizing certain things in your mind. If
you are a martial artist, I can almost guarantee you that you have imagined
yourself protecting someone, or fighting off some thug who was trying to
attack you. This is a normal process of your imagination, and this is what I
mean when I talk about visualization.
Visualization is basically the process of making a movie in your mind.
You want to see yourself in many different situations, using your martial
arts skills or your de-escalation skills to walk away from specific conflicts
victoriously. The key to successful visualization is that you always see
yourself being victorious. You don’t want to visualize yourself screwing up
or making mistakes. Visualizing yourself losing or messing up, is like
practicing your martial arts skills incorrectly, over and over again.
In the practice of visualization, see yourself performing each skill
perfectly. When you practice visualization, see all the details. See yourself
saying exactly the right thing, at the right time. See yourself throwing
perfect kicks and punches. See yourself successfully countering anything
which your opponent throws at you. Are you starting to understand? Perfect
practice makes perfect techniques, and that is what you want to develop
through your visualization practice.
This brings me to reality based training. In your visualization practice,
you want to make things as realistic as possible, while making sure you
always win. Reality based training works on the same principle by
preparing your mind to deal with real problems. In reality based training,
instructors will play the role of the predator. They will get in your face,
scream at you, curse at you, and try their best to push your buttons, just as
some thug would do in the streets.
Even though you realize that this is role play, it still has the same effect
as a real assault would on your mind. It gets your adrenalin pumping and
puts stress on your mind. Sometimes it will make you angry. This is all a
part of the process. The purpose of reality training is to allow you to
experience these emotions and the feeling of trying to control your temper
while some jerk is in your face, screaming obscenities at you and shoving
you.
 This is especially good practice for someone who has never
experienced a real fight, but it is helpful for everyone. It gives you vital
practice in de-escalating volatile situations and allows you to practice self-
control while your adrenaline is pushing you to attack. It would serve you
well to find an instructor who integrates this form of practice into his
training.
The last technique I want to go over with you is autogenic breathing.
Many people from cops to martial artists use this technique to remain calm
in stressful situations. It is easy to learn and works like a charm once you
have practiced it for a while. The purpose is to keep your mind and body
calm, no matter what is happening outside of your mind.
Here is how it works. It is simply breathing, but with a catch. You
breathe in through your nose, slowly for a count of four. Then hold your
breath for a count of six, and slowly breathe out of your mouth for a count
of four again. Do several cycles of this breathing pattern and you will find
that both your mind and your body will become more relaxed. You can do
this as often as you need to. There are many other breathing techniques to
explore, but this one is simple and can be used quickly in most any
situation.
While mental preparedness is vital, it is equally important for you to
keep your body in good shape. We have all seen the comedian in the movies
who has been taking martial arts classes, and who is unexpectedly accosted
by some thug. When he is about to be attacked, the comedian says, “Hold
on a minute while I stretch,” and the thug looks at him as if he is crazy. In
the real world, this is crazy!
Thugs attack you in order to overtake you in the fastest, easiest way
possible. They hope you aren’t prepared for their assault, and they certainly
aren’t going to give you some extra time to get prepared out of some sense
of fair play. You have to be prepared before you run into trouble. You have
to be preparing for this moment daily. This is what your physical training is
all about. If you allow your laziness or melancholy attitude to get in the way
of your training today, you will not be prepared for the unexpected
challenge tomorrow.
Musashi put it this way, “Study strategy over the years and achieve the
spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow
is your victory over lesser men.” What you do today determines how
prepared you will be for tomorrow’s challenge. To be prepared, you have to
continue your training and keep your body in good physical condition. This
includes weight training, stretching, weapons training, and your martial arts
training.
Furthermore, if you go back to the definition of preparedness, you will
notice that the third definition is: attentiveness, watchfulness, awareness, or
vigilance. Being aware of your surroundings is an important part of being
prepared to meet, or more importantly, to avoid, possible dangers. The
concept of awareness goes hand in hand with being prepared to meet life’s
challenges. Awareness means noticing or realizing something, or being
well-informed about what is going on in the world around you. It is also
obtaining knowledge about something from having observed it or heard it.
You cannot be prepared in this world without some degree of
awareness of what is happening in the world around you. In short,
awareness is the way of conscious living. Too many people simply walk
through life on auto-pilot, not paying attention to the world around them.
You see them walking with their heads down, oblivious to everything else.
They are lost in their own little world, completely focused on whatever is
tiptoeing through their minds at the moment, with little care about anything
else. This is not a state of preparedness.
In order to be truly prepared, you have to be mindful of what is going
on around you, both in your immediate presence, and in your world in
general. Being truly prepared to defend yourself doesn’t merely mean that
you know how to fight, but rather that you know how to avoid fighting. As
Sun Tzu taught in The Art of War, “He is victorious who knows when and
when not to fight.” The master of self-defense is also a master of awareness.
Like mental preparedness, awareness includes much more than being
aware of your immediate surroundings, although that is definitely very
important. Awareness also refers to being aware of how prepared you
actually are and knowing what your state of preparedness actually is. You
need to be aware of how prepared you are to meet certain situations. Are
you mentally prepared to defend yourself? How far are you willing to go to
protect your life or the life or your loved ones? Are your physical skills at a
point where you can defend yourself or are you merely under the illusion
that you can defend yourself?
These are all questions which you have to know the answer to in order
to be truly prepared to successfully deal with an unexpected physical
conflict. You have to be aware of what you can and cannot do. Know your
current limitations so that you don’t find yourself in a tough spot from
either overconfidence or foolish pride. Barry Long stated, “The state of
awareness is the state in which you see things as they are.” This is very
important for the warrior.
It is so easy to see things as you want them to be instead of as they
truly are, but this is dangerous for the warrior. You have to judge your
spiritual, mental and physical preparedness soberly. It is vital that you
evaluate yourself honestly. It does no good to convince yourself that you are
prepared to defend yourself, when in reality, you don’t have the skills you
really need to be truly prepared. This self-deception is unhelpful at best, and
downright dangerous at worst.
Preparedness is one of the cornerstones of the warrior lifestyle. That is
why we train so hard in what is, for the most part, a peaceful society. You
may never be called on to use your martial arts skills in a real life-or-death
situation, but one thing is for sure, if you don’t have those skills when you
need them, you will be in trouble.
For the warrior, being prepared means that you are ready to handle a
challenge before it slaps you across the face, not afterwards. Living in full
readiness to meet life’s challenges doesn’t mean you are un-relaxed or
always on edge; it means that you have been true to your training and that
you are living in a state of awareness.
 Meditations on Preparedness
 

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the

enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive
him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on
the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
Sun Tzu

Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear,

but around in awareness.
James Thurber

The key to growth is the introduction of higher

dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.
Lao Tzu

By keeping your weapons in order,

your enemy will be subjugated.
Nagarjuna

Do not be tricked into thinking that there are

no crocodiles just because the water is still.
Malaysian Proverb

Survival favors the prepared mind.

Robert Crowley

Avoiding danger is not cowardice.

Philippine Proverb

The state of awareness is the state in

which you see things as they are.
Barry Long

What is necessary to change a person

is to change his awareness of himself.
 Abraham Maslow

For opportunity knocks at your door just once,

and in many cases you have to decide and to act quickly.
Francesco Guicciardini

You must be deadly serious in training.

Gichin Funakoshi

To be prepared for war is one of the

most effective means of preserving peace.
George Washington

He does not guard himself well

who is not always on his guard.
French Proverb

Tomorrow’s battle is won during today’s practice.

Samurai Maxim

Even in the sheath the knife must be sharp.

Finnish Proverb
 Chapter 18

Benevolence
The Warrior’s Heart

Benevolence: Showing kindness or goodwill; being charitable;

performing good or charitable acts without seeking to make a
profit.

Many people falsely assume that the warrior is a cruel, callous

individual who lives to fight and inflict pain on his poor victims. Why else
would he train in martial arts and learn all those violent skills that can do
severe damage on the human body? People tend to see warriors as the big,
dumb brute that is all muscle and no heart for other people. Although this
may be true in the case of some people who call themselves warriors, it is
not the case for the true warrior.
The true warrior is a man of compassion and love for his fellow man.
He never wants to inflict pain on someone else or to be forced into a
situation that will require him to severely injure someone. The idea that he
loves this type of conflict is erroneous. He is a man of peace, right down to
his core, but he understands what George Washington stated, “To be
prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.”
He doesn’t go out hoping to find some poor sap in which to prove his
prowess in the martial arts. He is not a sadistically violent man who enjoys
dominating people who are less skilled or less trained than he is. He is not
just itching for a fight and hoping some thug crosses his path and says or
does the wrong thing so he can justify giving him a good, well deserved
beating. The true warrior is none of these things.
 The truth is that the true warrior is a man of peace, love and charity.
The father of Shotokan karate, Gichin Funakoshi, taught, “Make
benevolence your lifelong duty.” Master Funakoshi didn’t say try to be nice
to people every once and a while. He didn’t say be kind to people when you
are in a good mood. He didn’t say be benevolent to those who treat you
right. What he said, very matter-of-factly, was that benevolence is the
lifelong duty of the true warrior. It is your duty!
I have already discussed the importance of duty in previous chapters.
When you develop your code of honor, spend some serious time in
meditation and reflection, deciding what is important in your life – what
your principles are and what your duties to those around you are.
Benevolence should be integrated throughout your code of honor; it should
be one of the cornerstones of your way of life. So, what exactly is
benevolence?
Benevolence is showing kindness or goodwill towards your fellow
men. It is having compassion for the sufferings or troubles of others, and
the desire to help them. It is having a kind heart and feeling sympathy for
other people, and being willing to do what you can to help others with their
lives. Now you may be thinking, I wanted to read about the qualities of the
warrior, not the priest, and that is exactly what you are doing. Benevolence
is a very important quality of the warrior.
Let’s look at this in a little more detail. The warrior has spent many
hours training in martial arts. He knows how to fight, both to protect
himself and to protect others. Now, here’s the question. Why would anyone
in his right mind put his life in jeopardy to protect someone else if he did
not have a heart of compassion and kindness towards other people? Sure,
there are those macho guys out there who just like to fight, but we are
talking about true warriors here, those who are dedicated to the warrior
lifestyle, not merely trained ruffians.
True warriors feel a duty to keep those around them safe and protected.
They feel empathy for those weaker than themselves and feel a strong urge
to help them as much as they can. This is part of the code that they live by,
and it is part of living the warrior lifestyle. Arnold Schopenhauer stated,
“Compassion is the basis of morality.” This is why the warrior is willing to
put his life on the line to help or protect others. It is this sense of duty and
honor which causes someone to get involved in certain risky situations
instead of turning a blind eye and merely walking away, justifying his
actions by thinking that the situation was “none of his business.”
The warrior doesn’t think like that. If he is able to help, and he sees
someone who is in desperate need of assistance, he considers it his
business. This is definitely not meant to say that you should go around
sticking your nose in everyone’s business. That is not what I am saying at
all. Of course you should mind your own business. But if you are walking
down the street and you see someone being mugged or who has just been
mugged, honor demands that you stop and help.
William Penn wrote, “I expect to pass through life but once. If,
therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do for
my fellow being, let me do it now…as I shall not pass this way again.”
Benevolence is not simply putting your life on the line to help others; it is
an internal attitude towards other people. It does not always require that you
take some physical action. Kind words, a nice note, and even something as
simple as a smile or a pat on the back can mean more than you know to
someone who is having a hard time.
William Makepeace Thackeray stated, “Never lose a chance of saying
a kind word.” There is a Japanese proverb which echoes this sentiment
stating, “One kind word warms three winter months.” Sai Baba taught, “To
a person struggling in the sea of life a few uplifting words may be of great
help.” You simply never know how much a very small gesture of kindness
will mean to another person. It could be life-changing for him and you most
likely will never know how much that one effortless comment changed his
life.
Everyone has his own set of problems in life. You never really know
what kind of struggles someone else is dealing with, and you don’t want to
add to his problems. Of course many people bring their problems on
themselves, but that doesn’t make them any less painful, and that fact is
really none of your business. Remember, you are responsible for your own
actions, not the actions of others. Judging whether or not someone is worthy
of your kindness or compassion is not your duty; your duty is making sure
that you act with the heart of the warrior.
While it is true that many people cause their own heartaches, that fact
doesn’t exempt you from your duty of acting with a benevolent heart and
trying to help them when you can. Scott Adams said, “Remember there’s no
such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no
logical end.” You just plain don’t know how much that small act of
kindness or compassion may change someone’s life. And the effects of it
may not only change that person’s life, but could change the lives of other
people through that person. The ripple effect could go on and on.
This brings me to the question of how do you develop benevolence in
your heart if it does not come naturally to you. The answer is that you must
put yourself in the other person’s place. How would you feel if you were in
his shoes? Would it matter if you caused your own problems or if they came
from some outside source? Would the source of your problems matter as far
as making them any easier to live with? How would you want others to treat
you if you were hurting or in need?
If you put yourself in the other person’s place and try to think from his
point of view, you will find that you won’t have a problem having
compassion for this person. Maxwell Maltz wrote, “Take the trouble to stop
and think of the other person’s feelings, his viewpoints, his desires and
needs. Think more of what the other fellow wants, and how he must feel.”
I touched on the fact that you may think that someone doesn’t deserve
your kindness or compassion because of how they act or what they have
done, but this is the wrong attitude to have. Again, you are not responsible
for how other people act. You are responsible for your actions and for living
up to the standards that you have set for yourself. Yes, other people will act
like jerks. They will be ungracious and rude. They will be and do many
things that you will find offensive, but this doesn’t excuse you from living
by your own high standards.
There will be days when you don’t want to be nice to other people,
days when you have had so much garbage dumped on your doorstep that
you just feel that you have nothing left to give to anyone. When you start to
feel this way, you know that your life has become out of balance and you
should stop and take time for yourself. Meditate and get rebalanced.
Everyone has stress and problems, including you. Don’t get into the habit of
putting everyone else first and ignoring your own needs.
As with everything on this earth, you can go overboard in this area by
constantly putting others first and not taking care of your own needs. Sir
Francis Osborne warned, “In seeking to save another, beware of drowning
yourself.” If you don’t take care of your own needs, spiritually, mentally,
and physically, you will never have enough to give to others. If your teapot
is bone dry, how can you share tea with anyone else? Make sure you don’t
forget to have compassion for yourself too.
Everyone on this planet makes mistakes and many times the
consequences of those mistakes can be heartbreaking. Consider this when
dealing with other people and observing their lives. Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow wrote, “The little I have seen of this world teaches me to look
upon the errors of others in sorrow, not in anger.” Everyone is fighting some
kind of battle in his or her life, remember this and make a benevolent
attitude part of who you truly are and a part of your standard of living.
 Meditations on Benevolence
 

One kind word warms three winter months.

Japanese Proverb

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.

William Makepeace Thackeray

We should give as we would receive,

cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation;
for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
Seneca

If you have much give of your wealth,

if you have little give of your heart.
Arab Proverb

To a person struggling in the sea of life a

few uplifting words may be of great help.
Sai Baba

I expect to pass through life but once.

If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show,
or any good thing I can do for my fellow being,
let me do it now…as I shall not pass this way again.
William Penn

Have benevolence towards all living things.

The Tattvartha Sutra

Compassion is the basis of morality.

Arnold Schopenhauer

Take the trouble to stop and think of the other person’s

feelings, his viewpoints, his desires and needs. Think more
 of what the other fellow wants, and how he must feel.
Maxwell Maltz

Do not let the ingratitude of many men deter you from doing
good to others. To do good without ulterior motive is
a generous and almost divine thing in itself.
Francesco Guicciardini

The little I have seen of this world teaches me to look

upon the errors of others in sorrow, not in anger.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

You cannot do a kindness too soon,

for you never know how soon will be too late.
Emerson

Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness.

Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.
Scott Adams
 Chapter 19

Courtesy
The Art of Civility

Courtesy: Polite or considerate behavior; consideration for other

people or good manners; something done out of politeness or
consideration for another person.

Epictetus wrote that you should, “Lay down for yourself, at the outset,
a certain stamp and type of character for yourself, which you are to
maintain whether you are by yourself or are meeting with people.” This is
very good advice. Part of this “stamp” should be that you always treat
people with courtesy, especially if you are a true warrior. This is another
one of those traits that you develop, not because other people deserve it, but
because it is in line with the person you have decided to be.
Goethe stated that, “A man’s manners are a mirror in which he shows
his portrait.” The person who has decided to live the warrior lifestyle has
made a conscious decision concerning the kind of person he wants to be. He
has decided to live his life according to a specific code and specific
principles, and he understands that it is his actions which ultimately define
him. He has decided to live by higher standards than the average person,
and being considerate of others is a part of those standards.
Good manners say more about you than about the person you are
conversing with at the time. You don’t have to treat people politely or be
considerate of their feelings. There is no law which states that you have to
be courteous to others. Being courteous is simply a way of both showing
respect for those around you and holding yourself to a standard of
excellence in your own personal behavior.
 Courtesy is merely being polite to other people and being considerate
of their feelings. Although there may be times when you don’t feel like
being courteous, do your best to get past the strong urge to be curt to
someone else, even if he actually deserves it. Remember, manners say more
about you than the other person, and courtesy simply boils down to good
manners. Just because someone else is acting like a jerk, that is no excuse
for you to do the same. Gracian wrote, “The man of principle never forgets
what he is, because of what others are.”
This is a quote that every warrior should think about daily. You are not
responsible for how other people act; you are only responsible for how you
act. If someone is acting crude and inconsiderate, that tells those around
him something about his character. But if you allow his actions to influence
how you act, then you are lowering yourself to his level. This is not the way
of the warrior. Warriors do not lower themselves to the standards of other
people; they live independently, according to their own standards and code
of honor.
If you allow the actions of others to influence your actions, as far as
things such as courtesy, consideration of others, or kindness go, you have
veered off the path of the warrior. This is how the average person behaves.
The true warrior, who takes the warrior lifestyle seriously, does not use the
behavior of others as an excuse to act inappropriately. Let’s look at an
example of what I am trying to explain to you.
Let’s say you are shopping at your local grocery store filled with
several elderly people, and some punk is walking down the aisle loudly
spouting profanity, offending these elderly ladies. If you approach him in a
polite way and show him the error of his ways, there is nothing wrong with
that. But if you approach him, loudly rip him, with some four letter words
of your own, and put him in his place, you have been just as discourteous to
those in the store as he was.
You let his actions upset you and you lost your temper, when in fact,
you could have accomplished the same goal without lowering yourself to
his standard of behavior. You do not have to be rude or discourteous to get
your point across. Philip Dormer Stanhope wrote, “An able man shows his
spirit by gentle words and resolute actions; he is neither hot nor timid.” You
can be forceful and resolute without being loud and rude. As Sir John
Vanbrugh said, “Good manners and soft words have brought many a
difficult thing to pass.”
 Just about now I can hear you thinking, “Yeah, but this jerk didn’t
deserve to be treated with respect. He deserved to be firmly put in his
place!” And you would be completely right. The guy in my example
certainly would not deserve to be treated in a courteous manner. He was
acting like a jerk and would deserve to be put in his place, but remember,
there is always a best way to do everything. As Clint Eastwood said in
Unforgiven, “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.”
I cannot emphasize this point strongly enough – deserve has nothing to
do with you being courteous. You use good manners because that is the
kind of person you have decided to be, not because someone else deserves
to be treated politely. You behave in a courteous manner because you have
decided to conduct your life in that manner – you want to be a superior
man. There is an ancient Chinese proverb which states, “Courtesy is the
mark of a civilized person.” You shouldn’t expect everyone to be courteous,
they aren’t. At the same time, how they act should not cause you to become
uncivilized.
Theodore Roosevelt stated that, “Courtesy is as much a mark of a
gentleman as courage.” And Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “Manners are not
idle, but the fruit of loyal nature and of noble mind.” The true warrior does
indeed have a noble mind, which is the root of courtesy. Hopefully you are
beginning to see that behaving in a certain manner, consistent with who you
are as a warrior, is independent of the actions of others, no matter how rude
or threatening they are acting.
Winston Churchill put it about as plainly as possible when he stated,
“Even when you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.” This is a
pretty strong statement concerning your actions. If you should be polite,
even if you have to end someone’s life, how much more so should you be
courteous and polite in normal, everyday interactions? Simply put, be polite
and courteous no matter what the circumstances.
Making courtesy a regular part of your normal behavior is a sign of a
noble man who has refined his actions and brought them in line with his
own high expectations. Matsura Seizen stated, “Noblemen discipline
themselves to be dignified at all times…Sharpen your mind and show your
dignity.” This is exactly what you are doing when you continuously behave
in a courteous manner. By acting this way consistently, people will start to
recognize your quality.
 There is much more to good manners than simply how you speak to
other people. Courtesy is taught in most martial arts dojos, but as I
discussed in the chapter on respect, it is not given serious consideration in
most dojos; it is only discussed on a superficial level. Students may bow to
their instructors before entering the training area, but merely going through
the motions is not truly meaningful. For manners to be truly meaningful,
they have to become a part of who you truly are deep inside, otherwise they
are simply a façade.
How many people have you seen receive a favor and then respond
with a half-hearted “thank you?” This is more like an automatic reflex
response than a truly, heart-felt emotion. In short, it is an insincere
response, only one step above saying nothing at all. True courtesy
originates from the heart and the spirit. It is an essential part of who you are
and it comes out when you interact with others. It is the art of civility
combined with the heart of sincerity.
Courtesy includes things such as gratitude, politeness, civility, and
punctuality. Yes, punctuality! It seems that not many people see punctuality
as a part of being courteous in today’s society, but it is. This should be
common sense, but common sense is also becoming a rarity today. Think
about it. Isn’t it impolite and rude to cause other people to waste their time
because of your tardiness? Yes, it certainly is.
Everyone has the same amount of time to spend each day, and if you
are wasting someone else’s time because of your own actions, that is both
inconsiderate and rude. Of course there are times when problems occur with
circumstances beyond your control, but as a rule, you should always be on
time. Remember, one of the definitions of courtesy is consideration for
other people. If you are constantly late and inconsiderate of someone’s time,
you are being discourteous.
It is the small things such as being on time that define your manners,
not just saying thank you or behaving in specific ways according to the
customs of the day. Good manners encompass all of your actions with
others, and at the end of the day, they play a big role in defining who you
truly are as a person. To quote Tennyson again, “The greater person is one
of courtesy.”
Emily Post defined manners as follows, “Manners are a sensitive
awareness of the feelings of others.” While this is true, manners go much
deeper for the true warrior. Courtesy is not only an awareness of the
feelings of others, but it is also an awareness of who you are as a superior
man. When I refer to the superior man, I am not saying that you are superior
to others and should look down on them. This is not what I mean at all.
The superior man is one who demands excellence from himself even
though it is not required of him by anyone or anything else. He is a superior
man because he pushes himself beyond the ordinary life of the average
person, and develops his life into a life of excellence. Seek to live a noble
life and make courtesy a part of who you are, not just a window dressing.
Take pains to act in a way that is consistent with who you want to be, even
when people are pushing your buttons. Always remember, your behavior
tells others who you are, so never excuse bad behavior because of how
someone else is behaving.
 Meditations on Courtesy
 

Life is not so short but that there is always time for courtesy.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Manners are not idle, but the fruit of

loyal nature and of noble mind.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Intelligence and courtesy not always are combined;

often in a wooden house, a golden room we find.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.

Jacques Maritain

The small courtesies sweeten life;

the greater ennoble it.
Christian Nevell Bovee

The greater person is one of courtesy.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Promptitude is not only a duty,

but is also a part of good manners;
it is favorable to fortune, reputation,
influence, and usefulness.
Charles Simmons

Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.

Theodore Roosevelt

Clothes and manners do not make the man; but,

when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.
Henry Ward Beecher
Courtesy is a silver lining around the dark clouds
of civilization; it is the best part of refinement
and in many ways, an art of heroic beauty in
the vast gallery of man’s cruelty and baseness.
Bryant H. McGill

Courtesy is the mark of a civilized person.

Chinese Proverb

A man’s manners are a mirror

in which he shows his portrait.
Goethe

No one is more insufferable than

he who lacks basic courtesy.
Bryant H. McGill

Good manners and soft words have

brought many a difficult thing to pass.
Sir John Vanbrugh

The test of good manners is to be able

to put up pleasantly with bad ones.
Wendell L. Willkie

Manners are a sensitive awareness

of the feelings of others.
Emily Post
 Chapter 20

Spirituality
The Warrior’s Peace

Spirituality: The quality or condition of being spiritual.

The warrior’s spiritual beliefs are where his peace comes from. The
definition of spirituality is basically being spiritual, and the definition of the
word spiritual is, relating to the spirit or showing great refinement and
concern with the higher things in life. Basically, spirituality has to do with
someone’s deeply held beliefs concerning things which are beyond this
material world, whether it is God, the soul, life after death, etc., but at the
same time, are integrated into life in the physical realm.
Warriors have to come to peace with the fact that they will die some
day, just like everyone else. I have already discussed the fact that the
warrior should spend time in meditation and reflection in order to truly
understand his beliefs about his principles and how he wants to live his life.
His spiritual beliefs are included on the list of things which he should spend
time contemplating. Peace comes from knowing what you believe and why,
and having the utmost confidence that your beliefs are true.
This certainly holds true for the warrior’s spiritual beliefs. The warrior
understands, more than the average person, that life is a gift and that he
never knows when death will come. Warriors throughout the ages have
understood this fact, have meditated concerning their spiritual beliefs, and
have made their peace with God. This doesn’t mean that all warriors share
the same religious beliefs, in fact, quite the opposite is true. Emerson put it
this way, “God enters by a private door into every individual.”
 There is a difference in being spiritual and being religious. Being
spiritual can be seen as taking your beliefs in God and the spiritual world
seriously, and making it a part of your life. Being religious, on the other
hand, has more to do with someone’s adherence to some organized religion
which tells someone exactly what to believe. The two can and do overlap,
but they are not exactly the same thing.
This is a subject that stirs up much debate, arguments, and hard
feelings throughout the world. This subject could fill up many books all by
itself. I will only touch on it here because it is important to the warrior to
understand his beliefs concerning the spiritual world and God. Aesop put it
nicely when he wrote, “In quarreling about the shadow, we often lose the
substance.” There are way too many people out there who love to argue
over people’s spiritual and religious beliefs, but never spend the time to
truly think for themselves about why they believe what they believe. In
essence, they are just following whatever crowd they have fallen in with at
the time. This is being a sheep, not a warrior.
Lao Tzu explained it this way, “Most of the world’s people worship the
offspring, while one who is spiritually mature embraces the Source and
never becomes the slave of any social or religious movement.” You have to
think for yourself and spend quiet time in deep thought to determine what
you really believe. Don’t take someone else’s word for it; you take the time
to go directly to the Source yourself and listen to your spirit concerning
what is true.
Most of the sages throughout the ages have believed that human beings
have a soul or a spirit, and that this spirit is the true you and will live on
even after the body dies. Socrates taught, “It is perfectly certain that the
soul is immortal and imperishable, and our souls will actually exist in
another world.” This belief is almost universal around the world, as are
many of the basic religious beliefs.
If you study the beliefs of the world’s major religions, you will be
shocked at how much they agree on, and how few points they truly find
themselves at odds with in their doctrines. But those few points in which
they disagree have caused major problems in the world, and heartbreak for
thousands of people. Ramakrishna stated that, “Truth is one; only It is
called by different names.” You could add to that statement that, It is called
by different names, argued about and fought over.
 One has to only look at the many atrocities committed by religious
people over the years to understand that arguing over religion is
counterproductive and is not something that the truly spiritual person wants
to concern himself with. The warrior should concern himself more with true
spirituality and being true to his beliefs, instead of arguing and trying to
convince others to believe as he does. Take care of your own spiritual life
and allow others to believe as they will.
Lynn Andres wrote, “We must walk in balance on the earth – a foot in
spirit and a foot in the physical.” Balance is important in everything you do.
You must balance your life – spiritually, mentally, and physically. If you
leave out any one part, or you allow one part of your life to receive the vast
majority of your attention, you will find that your life becomes unbalanced
and is not working as it should. The correct balance is vital.
The key to this balance is to make sure that all of the parts of your life
are connected. Spirituality isn’t a completely separate part, or at least it
shouldn’t be, although for many people it is because they keep their
spirituality completely segregated. By doing this, they make their
spirituality something separate from themselves; almost like it is something
mystical that they do one day a week or at a certain time each day. This is
not the way it should be.
As with everything else in his life, the true warrior takes his spirituality
seriously. It is not something that he focuses on for 30 minutes during his
meditation or for an hour during some church service – it is a vital part of
who he is, just like the other traits of the warrior lifestyle. The warrior
doesn’t compartmentalize the parts of his life into separate lock boxes
which he pulls out when he wants to use them. He lives his life sincerely.
His spirituality is as much a part of who he is as his martial arts or his code
of honor. The warrior’s spirituality is a part of who he truly is as a person.
The warrior should be clear concerning his beliefs about spirituality. I
have already discussed how he should strive to live his life to the best of his
ability every day, as well as being prepared for whatever unexpected
challenges life may have for him. Integrating your spirituality into
everything you do is actually a part of living a life of excellence. It is a part
of the warrior lifestyle, and it shouldn’t be a separate part, but rather a part
of the whole.
Don’t compartmentalize the different parts of your life. Be who you
truly are and make everything, from your code of honor to your spirituality,
merge into your one true self. You can think of this process kind of like a
recipe. If you are making a special sauce for your dinner, it will have
several different ingredients in it. These ingredients start off as separate,
individual parts, but once you combine them together in the right balance
and spend time cooking, stirring, and preparing the sauce, the individual
parts no longer exist. What exists is the single, unique sauce that is much
better than any of the single ingredients would be alone.
This is what happens in the life of the true warrior. He combines all the
individual parts, (spirit, mind, body) into one complete, balanced man. The
individual parts no longer exist; all that exists is the superior man. And just
like the sauce, once these individual parts are correctly combined to create
this special, superior man, they no longer exist individually, but rather are
simply a part of the whole. The sum has become something greater than the
individual parts.
When you begin to integrate spiritual practices and beliefs into your
journey as a warrior, you will start to see things in a different light. You will
start to understand some of the teachings of the masters that didn’t quite
make sense to you before. The importance of de-escalation will take on a
different meaning to you as you see it from both a spiritual point of view, as
well as a practical point of view. You will indeed not want to be forced to
use your deadly skills on anyone, and will never even consider doing so,
except as a last resort.
Integrating spirituality into your journey, on the path of the warrior,
will open your mind to many new ideas, and will enlighten you concerning
some topics which you have heard about but never quite grasped, such as
the idea of energy. The concept of energy, (chi or ki) is intertwined in many
martial arts styles. Some of what is passed on concerning energy is
superstition and some is not.
There are many aspects of spirituality to explore and much to learn and
to consider. Don’t be afraid to read the many writings concerning different
religions and beliefs. Reading and exploring different forms of spirituality
doesn’t mean you accept what you read or that you are being unfaithful to
your religion, if you are already religious. It is simply part of your quest for
knowledge. Never be afraid of gaining knowledge; what you should fear is
remaining ignorant. The more you know, the more you understand about the
workings of our world.
 The warrior’s spirituality goes hand in hand with his quest to develop
his character and his honor. Take your spiritual beliefs seriously. All of the
traits of the warrior lifestyle are important. To continue with my recipe
analogy, you can look at each of the traits of the warrior lifestyle as one of
the ingredients of the recipe for the true warrior. If you leave out one or
more of the ingredients, the final creation will be just a little off.
The purpose of this chapter is not to tell you what to believe or to
persuade you to believe as I do, but to get the point across to you that
spirituality is a fundamental part of the warrior lifestyle. Study the many
ancient texts, use what you find useful, and discard what doesn’t resonate
with your spirit. Take time to explore your spirituality.
 Meditations on Spirituality
 

We must walk in balance on the earth –

a foot in spirit and a foot in the physical.
Lynn Andrews

Do not become attached to this temporary physical body;

use the body as a tool. Consider yourself as separate
from this destructive body, which has been created
out of the blending of the five elements.
Sai Baba

It is perfectly certain that the soul

is immortal and imperishable,
and our souls will actually exist in another world.
Socrates

Truth is one; only It is called by different names.

Ramakrishna

God enters by a private door into every individual.

Emerson

Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things.

Meister Eckhart

There is only one Universal Way,

but from different perspectives it is given different names.
Lao Tzu

All things share the same true nature.

Bodhidharma

When the One Great Scorer comes to write

against your name, He marks, not that you
 won or lost, but how you played the game.
Grantland Rice

Know that you are always in God’s Presence.

The Kabbalah

We are all children of the one God.

God is listening to me.
The sun, the darkness, the winds,
are all listening to what we now say.
Geronimo

The Great Spirit sees and hears

everything, and He never forgets.
In-Mut-Too-Yah-Lat-Lat

For the kingdom of God is within you.

Jesus

Tao is the Being that resides in all beings.

Tai Gong Diao

Man sees only what is visible,

but the Lord sees into the heart.
The Book of Proverbs
 Chapter 21

Meditation
The Inner Secret

Meditation: The emptying or concentration of mind: the emptying

of the mind of thoughts, or the concentration of the mind on one
thing, in order to aid mental or spiritual development,
contemplation, or relaxation; pondering of something: the act of
thinking about something carefully, calmly, seriously, and for some
time.

Meditation carries two meanings for the warrior and both are
important in his quest to live the warrior lifestyle. The most common
definition of meditation is that of sitting quietly and emptying the mind of
outside thoughts. The other definition is contemplating or carefully
considering something. This is commonly what people mean when they say
that they will meditate on a question or a problem. The true warrior should
integrate both forms of meditation into his life. Let’s look at the second
definition first.
There are many things which the warrior must give some serious
thought to concerning the warrior lifestyle. From seriously thinking about
what he truly believes to pondering why he holds certain principles to be
important, the warrior spends more time meditating on what is important to
him than the average person. The average, everyday guy mostly goes
through life without giving these things much thought, doing whatever
gives him pleasure or whatever he finds himself in the mood for at the
moment.
 As I have said before, the warrior takes the things in his life a bit more
seriously than the average guy. He knows the importance of spending
quality time meditating on his principles and developing his own personal
codes – his code of honor and his code of ethics. This takes time spent
alone with his thoughts, in quiet contemplation. He has to shut out all of the
outside distractions and focus his mind seriously on the topic at hand. With
all of the outside distractions which we all have at our fingertips, this is
something that is easier said than done.
I must also make an important distinction concerning meditating on
your problems or objectives. Giving serious thought to an issue is not the
same thing as constantly worrying about it. Worrying about a problem is
never constructive or helpful. Actually, worrying about a problem only
causes you more stress and prevents you from being able to develop a
rational strategy to improve your situation. This is not what I mean when I
say that you should seriously think about a problem or solution.
If you will notice, the last definition of meditation, at the top of the
previous page, is the act of thinking about something carefully, calmly,
seriously, and for some time. This is vastly different from worrying about it,
which is more along the lines of thinking about something in a semi-
panicked state and replaying everything that could happen, over and over
again in your mind. See the difference? Meditating on something is done in
a careful, purposeful way, calmly, seriously, and rationally. Worrying
doesn’t include any of those characteristics.
Yes, this can be hard to do, especially when the challenge you are
facing is serious and carries with it some serious consequences, but it is also
important to develop this ability. Which brings me to the question of how
do you learn to develop this ability? How is one able to control his thoughts
and his mind? The answer is meditation. I know, this sounds a bit like a Zen
koan. How do you learn to control your mind and meditate on a specific
topic? You learn to successfully meditate on something by learning the art
of meditation.
In this case, I am referring to the first definition of meditation – the art
of emptying the mind. There are many advantages to meditation.
Meditation lowers your stress level, decreases anxiety (worry), decreases
depression, irritability and moodiness, improves memory and learning
ability, improves creativity, aids in focusing the mind, increases emotional
stability, and has many other health benefits which I won’t list here.
 As you can clearly see, traditional meditation can indeed help you
learn to control your mind and focus more successfully on whatever issue
you need to focus on to find the answers you seek. Thus, you learn to
successfully meditate (contemplate) on something by learning the art of
meditation. There are many books, CD’s and DVD’s on the market which
teach you how to meditate, and there are many different meditation
techniques that you may want to learn.
The easiest way to start meditating is to start slow, with very short
sessions, 5-10 minutes at a time. Just sit in a comfortable position, with
your spine straight, and clear your mind of all thoughts. While this may
sound easy, it can be a challenge. Thoughts will continually enter your
mind. Just let them go. The trick is to acknowledge them but refuse to think
about them. When you notice a thought has entered your mind, refuse to
dwell on it – just let it fade away. Soon you will find that this process gets
easier and easier, and you can meditate for longer periods of time.
There are also other kinds of meditations. You can successfully empty
your mind by focusing on a single point such as a candle flame or a
mandala. These kinds of meditations involve staring at a specific point and
concentrating your focus on that one point, clearing your mind of
everything but the object, and just letting your mind go blank. Another
meditation to help you control your thoughts is to focus on your breathing
and count your breaths as they slowly go in and out.
There are too many techniques to learn for me to cover them all in this
short chapter, but I do want to mention one other one before I move on –
guided meditations. There is a company called Brain Sync which produces
meditation CD’s which are recorded at specific frequencies to induce
specific brainwaves. These CD’s have both a guided track and a track with
only music or sounds, and are excellent for both the novice and the more
experienced practitioner.
This is merely a very quick overview of meditation techniques and
what meditation is. I suggest you do some research on the art of meditation
and experiment with different techniques until you find the technique that
fits your style and that you are comfortable using on a regular basis. And
yes, you should get in the habit of meditating on a regular basis, daily is
best. Once you get the art of meditation down, I recommend meditating
once in the morning and once at night.
 While meditation tends to be a part of the warrior lifestyle that many
warriors neglect, it shouldn’t be. They wrongly look at mediation as some
“new age mumbo-jumbo” and think that it is a waste of time that they could
be using in their martial arts training or some other physical activity. This is
wrong thinking. I listed only a few of the benefits that meditation provides
for the warrior; there are many more.
Meditation helps the warrior to control his thoughts and his mind, and
to remain calm during stressful situations. The more that you meditate, the
more you will find that you are able to think rationally, no matter what is
happening around you. As Sai Baba stated, “Without mediation, it is not
possible to control and master the mind.” Controlling your thoughts and
your mind is vitally important to the warrior, as I discussed in the chapter
on rational thought.
If your mind is in turmoil, you can’t think rationally and it will be hard
to make good, clear decisions. Meditation is the solution to this problem.
Margolis stated, “Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.” Lao Tzu echoed
this philosophy teaching, “Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.”
When you have a problem to solve and need to figure something out,
sit in meditation and let the waters of your mind clear. Continually trying to
solve the problem by going over and over it in your mind is like trying to
clarify muddy water by continuing to splash around in it; it doesn’t work.
To clear the muddy water, you must let it sit quietly for a while and it will
clear up on its own. The same principle applies to your mind. When you
have a problem that you can’t figure out, you need to step away from it for
a while, quiet your mind, meditate, and let the answer come to you.
I want to touch on one more mediation technique called visualization.
Most martial artists don’t even realize that visualization is a form of
meditation, but it is. Visualization is seeing a specific image in your mind.
It can be a single image of something or watching a sequence of actions,
kind of like playing a movie in your mind where you are the director, and
most likely the hero.
The practice of visualization is a form of mental practice for the
warrior. It is a way to put yourself in different scenarios and see yourself
using your martial arts skills or perfecting the art of de-escalation. To use
visualization techniques you simply play the scene over and over in your
mind.
 The more you practice meditation, the more benefits you will see from
your endeavors. You will find that your whole demeanor is calmer and you
are better able to handle stressful situations. Things that used to stress you
out will no longer bother you as much. You will be able to think more
clearly. Your temper will become less of a problem. This list could go on
and on. The point is, meditation is a vital practice for the true warrior.
Hopefully you have grasped the importance of meditation in your life
and will put it to good use. As the Dhammapada states, “Whoever gives
oneself to distractions and does not give oneself to mediation, forgetting
true purpose and grasping at pleasure, will eventually envy the one who
practices mediation.”
 Meditations on Meditation
 

Tao is only known through silent contemplation.

To truly understand this is the beginning of enlightenment.
Lao Tzu

If during the day one feels work becoming annoying,

one should sit in meditation.
Confucius

Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted.

Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.
Margolis

Real action is in silent moments.

Emerson

Ask questions from your heart,

and you will receive answers from your heart.
Omaha Maxim

Quieten your body. Quieten your mind.

Buddha

Whoever gives oneself to distractions

And does not give oneself to meditation,
forgetting true purpose and grasping at pleasure,
will eventually envy the one who practices meditation.
The Dhammapada

Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.

Lao Tzu

Without meditation it is not possible

to control and master the mind.
Sai Baba
 Delve within; within is the foundation of good,
and it is always ready to bubble up, if you always delve.
Marcus Aurelius

Slowly but surely, reap the fruits of your meditation.

Swami Muktananda

Reading makes a full man – Meditation a profound man.

Franklin

Through meditation…
The fire of anxiety will consume you no longer,
and you will attain undying peace.
Swami Muktananda

In inner quiet lies the salvation of the spirit.

Baltasar Gracian

Without discipline, he has no understanding or inner power;

without inner power, he has no peace;
and without peace where is joy?
The Bhagavad Gita
 Chapter 22

Insight
The Art of Discernment

Insight: Perceptiveness, clear perception, the ability to see clearly

and intuitively into the nature of a complex person, situation, or
subject.

Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr. stated that, “A moment’s insight is

sometimes worth a life’s experience.” Insight is basically the warrior’s
sense of discernment. It is his perception concerning what is truly
happening in any given situation, whether it is dealing with a specific
person, situation, or topic. Clear insight is vital to the warrior because
without it, the warrior will not have the perception or information that he
needs to make well-informed decisions.
In today’s world it seems that everyone has their own point of view
concerning pretty much everything. It doesn’t seem to matter whether or not
a person is informed on the topic in question or whether he actually knows
anything at all about what he is referring to in the conversation; people still
feel the need to express their point of view. The majority of the time, people
are merely repeating what they have heard someone else say, as this is an
easy substitute for thinking for themselves.
This kind of sheep mentality, where people just follow along with the
point of view that someone else has, without taking the time to think for
themselves, is the same kind of mentality which has led to historic tragedies
over the years. Events such as the Holocaust, the Inquisition, and countless
wars, can be attributed to uninformed people simply going along with
someone else’s point of view. As Marshall McLuhan said, “A point of view
can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.”
It should already be evident to you that the true warrior is not one to
follow the herd, whether in action or thought. The warrior thinks for
himself and leaves others to do the same. But simply thinking for yourself
is not good enough; you have to develop the ability to be perceptive and to
clearly understand what is happening. Developing insight is learning to read
people and to comprehend their objectives and motivations. This is an
intuitive ability that anyone can learn with practice and awareness.
When I refer to insight being an intuitive ability, I am not referring to
anything mystical or magical. What I am talking about has more to do with
being aware and reading between the lines in order to perceive what is
really going on in any given situation or circumstance. This clear perception
is vital, especially knowing how insincere and dishonest people can be. If
you merely trust what people say, or the facade that they present to the
public, you will find that many times you are being deceived.
In his famous letters to his son, Lord Chesterfield wrote, “Mind, not
only what people say, but how they say it.” This is part of developing
insight. You have to look at the small signs which give you clues and
insight into the true meaning behind what people say and what they do.
This is something that many people have a problem doing, as it is much
easier to simply believe what someone says instead of digging deeper and
really understanding someone’s meaning.
Lord Chesterfield goes on to say, “The knowledge of mankind is a
very useful knowledge for everybody…You will have to do with all sorts of
characters; you should therefore know them thoroughly, in order to manage
them ably.” To do this you have to go beyond mere surface information.
Baltasar Gracian urged us to, “Look beneath. For ordinary things are far
other than they seem…The false is ever the lead in everything, continually
dragging along the fools: the truth brings up the rear, is late, and limps
along upon the arm of time.”
Insight is the ability to look beyond the surface of things and to get to
the truth. It is being able to see the true nature of things, whether it is a
person’s character or his true objectives. This is not a mystical process, but
rather an art – the art of discernment. It is being able to perceive and deduce
someone’s true intentions. When I teach reading strategies to students, one
of the strategies I teach is how to reach a logical conclusion from what the
author writes.
An author doesn’t spell out every single thing for you in a novel. He
expects the reader to be able to infer certain information and come to a
logical conclusion without it being completely explained or written out
word for word. This is part of rational reasoning, and is basically what
insight is. People do not make everything perfectly clear to those around
them, especially if they are trying to hide their true goals or motivations.
The wise man has to read between the lines, using logic and rational
thought, to figure out others’ true intentions.
This may sound a bit paranoid, but it is very important. If you take
everything at face value, you will find that you are being deceived over and
over again. The art of discernment is crucial for the warrior. This is even
truer when it comes to life-or-death situations. If you are targeted by a
predator, you have to be able to discern his true intentions, how dangerous
he is, what he really wants, if he is mentally stable, etc. in order to know
how to respond to de-escalate the situation. Without insight into the other
person, you are merely taking a chance with whatever response you take.
It is insight and being able to read a person that gives you the
advantage. I call this an art because that is exactly what it is. There are
many books on the market which teach how to read people’s expressions,
body language, speech patterns, eyes, etc. Law enforcement officers are
trained to discern certain things in people that tip them off as to whether or
not someone is telling the truth or lying. I highly recommend that you do a
little research on this subject.
Although, as I said, this is not any kind of mystical, psychic skill,
developing accurate insight into a person’s mind, a specific situation, or a
specific subject, is not always a rational skill. You have to learn to trust
your instinct and your intuition. Your intuition can be likened to your gut
feeling. If you have a bad feeling about something, always take that feeling
seriously, even if there is no rational explanation for it.
Blaise Pascal wrote that, “The heart has reasons which reason cannot
understand.” This is very true. Your intuition comes from your spirit, which
many people believe is directly connected to God. Clear perception
essentially comes from two sources: your rational ability to read between
the lines and your intuition. These two sources can work together or they
can be completely independent of each other, but they are both important in
developing clear insight.
The sages throughout the ages have always taught that we should listen
to our intuition. Sometimes this is referred to as listening to your heart or
listening to your spirit. It doesn’t matter what label you put on it, you
should always listen to the still, quiet voice inside your mind. Gracian
stated, “Trust your heart…for it is never untrue to itself.” Emerson echoed
this sentiment saying, “Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render
no reason.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery agreed stating, “It is only with the
heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Listening to your intuition and acting according to what your spirit
tells you, is not a natural thing for most people. This is especially true for
the warrior, who can be more comfortable figuring things out rationally
than going with his feelings. It is a process that takes practice and faith. You
have to learn to trust your intuition just like you learn to trust in any of your
other skills. As with listening to another person, listening to your intuition
requires that you actually listen. Your intuition is not going to force you to
listen. You have to slow down, quiet your mind, and purposely listen to
what your spirit is telling you.
As you have probably figured out by now, the traits of the warrior
lifestyle are all connected in one way or another. Developing insight and
listening to your intuition is greatly aided by meditation. To once again
quote Margolis, “Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.” When you can’t
quite figure things out in your mind, get quiet and meditate on the situation
and allow your spirit to provide you with the insight that you need.
There is an Omaha Maxim which states, “Ask questions of your heart,
and you will receive answers from your heart.” If indeed your spirit is
directly connected to God, as many religions and sages have taught
throughout the ages, then your spirit contains all the information that you
need for clear insight into any situation, and it is up to you to be quiet and
listen for the answers you seek. The Sufi mystic, Rumi, wrote, “Moonlight
floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon; how much it can fill your
room depends on your windows.”
The ability to develop insight depends on you. The Zen Buddhist
teacher, Dogen, taught, “Don’t follow the advice of others; rather, learn to
listen to the voice within yourself.” Notice he said that you have to learn to
listen. This is a skill and you have to practice it in order to perfect it.
Developing this skill will prove extremely valuable to the warrior in many
ways. It is not simply a useful self-defense skill, but is a skill that you can
use in every part of your life, once you develop it, learn to listen, and trust
what you hear.
I will end this chapter with a quote by La Rochefoucauld, “Countless
acts that seem ridiculous have hidden reasons that are exceedingly wise and
sound.” It is insight which provides you with these hidden reasons which
are wise and sound. Develop the art of discernment and see for yourself the
value of this internal skill.
 Meditations on Insight
 

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;

what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Trust to your heart…for it is never untrue to itself.

Baltasar Gracian

Don’t follow the advice of others; rather,

learn to listen to the voice within yourself.
Dogen

The worst pain a man can suffer:

to have insight into much and power over nothing.
Herodotus

Trust the instinct to the end,

though you can render no reason.
Emerson

He who uses only the sight of his eye is acted on by what he

sees; it is the intuition of the spirit that gives the assurance
of certainty. That the sight of the eyes is not equal to the
intuition of the spirit is a thing long acknowledged.
And yet stupid people rely on what they see.
Chuang Tzu

The heart has reasons which reason cannot understand.

Blaise Pascal

Countless acts that seem ridiculous have

hidden reasons that are exceedingly wise and sound.
La Rochefoucauld
 Mind, not only what people say, but how they say it.
Lord Chesterfield

See but do not appear to see; listen but do not appear to

listen; know but do not let it be known that you know.
Han Fei Tzu

Do not be the victim of first impressions.

Baltasar Gracian

He who lacks foresight and underestimates his enemy

will surely be captured by him.
Sun Tzu

It is not difficult to know a thing;

what is difficult is to know how to use what you know.
Han Fei Tzu

A point of view can be a dangerous luxury

when substituted for insight and understanding.
Marshall McLuhan

Insight: what makes the unseen seen,

and the unspoken heard.
Bohdi Sanders
 Chapter 23

Self-Reliance
The Warrior’s Independent Spirit

Self-Reliance: reliance on one’s own capabilities, judgment, or

resources; independence.

Being self-reliant in today’s world is a tall order. Is anyone truly self-

reliant without owning their own farm or ranch, and being independently
wealthy? And even if you do have the finances to be independently wealthy,
you will still need to depend on others to some extent for your medical
needs, supplies, etc. Tiruvalluvar put it clearly, saying, “Those who live by
the plow live in self-sufficiency. All others lean on them to simply subsist.”
In short, very, very few people on this earth are completely self-reliant.
Nonetheless, it is important for the warrior to be as self-reliant as
possible. The warrior has an independent spirit. Without an independent
spirit, it would be impossible to live the warrior lifestyle. Just look at how
many of the traits of the warrior lifestyle go against the flow and are
completely different than those of the average person. Only someone with
courage and an independent mind could possibly be successful living life in
a way that so many can’t comprehend.
Self-reliance is basically relying on yourself for your needs instead of
relying on other people. While it is true that everyone in today’s world
needs money to survive, or at least needs money to survive in comfort, you
can still strive to be as independent as possible. Most people depend on
others for their income; they have a job and work for someone else. While
there is nothing wrong with that, it certainly puts you in a position where
you are dependent on someone else, at least where your finances are
concerned.
Although, as I said, there is nothing inherently wrong with working for
someone else, it can place you in a difficult position at times. Let’s look at
an example. Say that your boss is not a man of character and he asks you to
do something for his business that is not ethical. That puts you in a difficult
moral position. On one hand, you need the money to support your family,
but on the other hand, you want to stay true to your code of honor. Refusing
to do as your boss wants could cost you your job, but complying will go
against your own personal beliefs.
This is just one example, but I’m sure you can think of dozens more.
There will always be these kinds of conflicts when you depend on someone
else instead of being totally self-reliant. These kinds of conflicts can put
you in the difficult position of having to choose between making the money
that your family needs to survive and living up to your own principles.
When you work for someone else, the other person has a certain
amount of control over your life. In an instant, he can fire you, disrupt your
money supply, and change your life. This can be very stressful and make it
much harder to stay true to the warrior lifestyle. The stress of such an event,
or even the real possibility of such an event, can be enormous and can
disrupt many parts of your life such as your meditation, your training, and
your health.
This is just something that the majority of us have to learn to live with
and to work around. Unless you own your own company or business, you
have to work for someone else to earn a living and to take care of your
duties and responsibilities. You may be thinking that the answer is simple –
just start your own business. And this is a viable option, but it is not as
simple as it sounds.
Starting your own business is definitely easy; making a good living
from your business is a whole other matter. There are thousands of people
who own their own business and who are not beholding to someone else for
their income, or are they? Even if you have your own business, you are still
relying on other people to either purchase your products or your services. In
essence, you are still relying on others for your income; the only difference
is that you are in control of how you do it and the ethical practices of your
business.
 For example, an author is in the business of writing books or articles.
He can decide what subject he will write on and can write whatever he
wants. He has a lot of freedom, especially if he publishes his work himself.
You may think that he is totally self-reliant for his living, but you would be
wrong. Even if he publishes his own work, he will not make a penny if
readers don’t buy his books. He is still dependent on other people for his
income. Are you starting to get the point? It is not easy to be totally self-
reliant.
Therefore, self-reliance for the warrior becomes less of an absolute
term and more of a relative term. You will most likely never be totally self-
reliant, but you should strive to be as self-reliant as possible. Being self-
reliant is not an all-or-nothing proposition. You can work to be as
independent as possible, although you may not be totally self-reliant. After
all, isn’t this one of the reasons that you are practicing martial arts – to
become self-reliant where your safety is concerned?
What you want to do is to become as independent as possible, in as
many areas as you can. This doesn’t just apply to the physical parts of life,
but also to your mind and spirit. The more you take control over your own
life, the more independent you become. For example, you may have to
work for a company to make money, but you can use that money wisely by
saving and investing, and the more that you save, the more financially
independent you become.
This principle works in every area of your life whether it has to do
with your health, your home, or other areas. If you want to be more
independent where your health is concerned, start to learn how to eat
healthy, learn about holistic health cures instead of running to the doctor for
every little thing. If you want to be more independent with your home, learn
to do home repairs instead of having to always call a repair man to do the
work for you. There are hundreds of examples concerning becoming more
independent. You get the point.
As I stated above, becoming self-reliant doesn’t just relate to finances
or the physical aspects of your life; being self-reliant concerns every single
area of your life – physical, mental and spiritual. Actually, becoming
independent in the mental and spiritual areas of your life is much easier and
can be wrapped up in a simple statement: Think for yourself!
If you want to be independent, it is vital that you think for yourself and
not let anyone else do your thinking for you. Don’t let others tell you what
you should think, how to think, or what to believe. There are many physical
aspects of self-reliance that you have very little control over, but you have
total control over your mind and your spiritual life. The only person that
can stop you from being independent, where these two areas are concerned,
is yourself.
Don’t be lazy. Think for yourself at all times. Do your homework on
whatever topic you may be mulling over, and think rationally. Your mind is
your own, don’t give anyone else control over what you think or how you
think. It doesn’t matter whether or not anyone else actually likes what you
think, or agrees with what you think; it is none of their business. Taking
control over your mind is actually the first step in becoming self-reliant. If
you can discipline yourself to become mentally independent of others, it
will be easier for you to become independent in the other areas of your life.
Max Stimer stated that, “Individually free is he who is responsible to
no man.” You are not responsible to any man, as far as your thoughts and
your spiritual life go. Lao Tzu stated that, “Each individual is responsible
for his own evolution.” Your self-reliance is up to you, starting with
becoming mentally independent. Start by making your mind independent,
and then move on to as many areas as you possibly can.
Becoming mentally independent doesn’t mean that you never listen to
anyone else. There are a lot of wise men on this earth. You should listen to
their wisdom and learn from them, but at the same time, you should think
about what they say, not just take their words as gospel. Tolstoy stated,
“One should seek the truth himself while profiting by the directions which
have reached us from ancient sages and saints.” This is an excellent way to
explain what I am trying to say. Use what the wise men say, but always
think about what is being said and seek the truth for yourself.
Why should the warrior seek to be self-reliant? The answer lies in two
words – freedom and safety. Being self-reliant gives you more personal
freedom to live the way that you want to live. Epicurus wrote, “The greatest
fruit of self-sufficiency is freedom.” The more self-sufficient you become,
the more freedom you have from other people having control over your life.
It is also a vital part of your overall self-defense. The less self-
sufficient you are, the more you are leaving your life to chance. Francesco
Guicciardini wrote, “Remember this: whoever lives a life of chance will in
the end find himself a victim of chance. The right way is to think, to
examine, and to consider every detail carefully, even the most minute.” You
don’t want to leave your life up to chance anymore than you absolutely
have to.
Think about ways to make your life more self-sufficient. How can you
prepare for a change in your financial situation? What would you do if you
could no longer simply go to the grocery store to get your food, or if
something happened to your water supply? These are things that everyone
should give some thought to in order to be prepared for the unexpected.
Make a list of the ways that you need to be more self-reliant, and then take
steps to increase your independence.
Aesop, “It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.” There
is no guarantee that life will always be easy; become as self-sufficient and
self-reliant as possible. I will end this chapter with a wise thought from
Agnes Macphail, “Do not rely completely on any other human being…We
meet all life’s greatest tests alone.”
 Meditations on Self-Reliance
 

Individually free is he who is responsible to no man.

Max Stirner

Those who live by the plow live in self-sufficiency.

All others lean on them to simply subsist.
Tiruvalluvar

It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.

Aesop

One should seek the truth himself while

profiting by the directions which have
reached us from ancient sages and saints.
Tolstoy

The greatest fruit of self-sufficiency is freedom.

Epicurus

Remember this: whoever lives a life of chance

will in the end find himself a victim of chance.
The right way is to think, to examine, and to
consider every detail carefully, even the most minute.
Francesco Guicciardini

It never ceases to amaze me:

we all love ourselves more than other people,
but care more about their opinions than our own.
Marcus Aurelius

Trust God, but tie up your camel.

Hadith

You may always be victorious if you will

never enter into any contest where the issue
 does not wholly depend upon yourself.
Epitetus

Recognize that if it’s humanly possible,

you can do it too.
Marcus Aurelius

Do not rely completely on any other human being,

however dear. We meet all life’s greatest tests alone.
Agnes Macphail

More satisfying far, that many depend upon you,

than that you depend upon anybody.
Baltasar Gracian

Depend on others and you will go hungry.

Nepalese Proverb

Prepare yourself for you must travel alone.

Book of the Golden Precepts

Each individual is responsible for his own evolution.

Lao Tzu

Do we not realize that self respect comes with self reliance?

Abdul Kalam
 Chapter 24

Friendship
The Sacred Brotherhood

Friendship: The mutual feelings of trust and affection, and the

behavior that typify relationships between friends.

In the Phaedrus, written by Plato, Phaedrus stated, “The word friend is

common, the fact is rare.” Although this was composed by Plato around
370 BC, it still holds true today. People throw the word “friend” around
very loosely, but the fact is, true friends are very rare and the majority of
people are very lucky if they have even one friend that they can count on in
good times and in bad times. Thomas Fuller pointed out, “If you have one
true friend, you have more than your share comes to.”
When most people say someone is their friend, it means little more
than they have met that person or that they know that person’s name. True
friendship means much more than that to the warrior. Even the above
definition of friendship does not do justice to what it means to have a
warrior as your true friend. Friendship in the warrior lifestyle is more akin
to a sacred brotherhood than a casual acquaintance.
When it comes right down to it, only the superior man truly has real
friends. Voltaire stated this very clearly saying, “The wicked have only
accomplices; voluptuaries have companions in debauch, self-seekers have
partners, politicians attract partisans; the generality of idle men have
attachments; princes have courtiers, and virtuous men alone have friends.”
Gracian shared this point of view writing, “There is no true friendship
among thieves.” Socrates also believed this stating, “Friendship exists only
between good men, whereas the bad man never achieves true friendship
with either a good or a bad man.”
La Rochefoucauld stated, “What men have called friendship is merely
association, respect for each other’s interests, and exchange of good offices,
in fact nothing more than a business arrangement from which self-love is
always out to draw some profit…Rare though true love may be, true
friendship is rarer still.” Not everyone that thinks they have friends truly
have real friends. This is an important point to remember. Benjamin
Franklin stated, “There are three faithful friends – an old wife, an old dog,
and ready money.”
It is only those who understand the ideals of true friendship, and what
it takes to be a true friend, which actually have friends who can truly be
defined as real friends. All other people merely have some form of
acquaintances that come and go throughout their lifetime. While there is
certainly nothing wrong with having many acquaintances, they are not the
same as true friends. You should have many acquaintances; that is part of
living life and doing business with other people, but make sure you
understand the difference between an acquaintance and a true friend.
The ancient Chinese proverb, “Your acquaintances must fill the
empire; your close friends must be few,” is definitely true. The dictionary
defines a friend as, “A person attached to another by feelings of affection or
personal regard; a person who gives assistance; a supporter.” This definition
is more of a way to distinguish between someone who is merely “friendly”
and someone who is your enemy. The true warrior looks at friendship a bit
differently.
The superior man takes the concept of true friendship much more
seriously. To him, a true friend is someone who will stand by you through
thick and thin. When the chips are down, your friend will be there with you.
When the wolf is at your door, your friend will be standing there, right
beside you, ready to put his life on the line, side by side with you. A true
friend is someone you can count on no matter what. He is not there merely
for the good times, but rather is always there when you need him. This is
the kind of friend the true warrior is, and this is how he sees true friendship
in others.
You may be thinking that this is a tall order, and you would be right. It
takes dedication and effort to be a true friend to someone. Friendship is
something that you have to work at; it is not something that just causally
happens overnight. There is an old saying that goes something like this, you
are born with your family, but you choose your friends. Who you decide to
be friends with is entirely up to you, and you should take care regarding
with whom you choose to associate.
Pythagoras taught, “Make him your friend who distinguishes himself
by his virtue, and take example from his virtuous and useful actions.”
Confucius agreed, stating “Make friends only with those gentlemen who are
superior men.” Who you decide to be close friends with matters, and that
decision will determine whether you are making a true friend or merely an
acquaintance. You should always judge someone’s character before you
decide to embark on a friendship.
Your choice of friends says a lot about you. Gracian tells us that, “One
is known by the friends he keeps.” John Caspar Lavater goes into even
more detail stating, “He is a good man whose intimate friends are all good,
and whose enemies are decidedly bad.” Choosing to associate with people
of low character is a way to guarantee that you will not be developing a true
friendship, at least not with those people. Someone has to have character
and honor to stand by his friends in the bad times, and people of low
character do not have what it takes to be trusted to do this.
It takes time to develop a true friendship and to know for sure that you
can trust someone. Even after years of companionship, you have to be
careful about being too trusting. Trust has to be earned and friendship has to
be proven. Until you know for certain that someone is your tried and true
friend, you should be careful how much trust you place in him.
Too many people are fickle and dishonest, this may sound cold and
distrustful, but it is also very true. Don’t be too quick to consider someone
your friend. At the same time, once you have given your friendship to
someone, you have given your bond to them. As The Havamal says, “Be
your friend’s true friend.” For this reason, you should be careful and slow
about extending your hand in true friendship. Socrates put it perfectly, “Be
slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and
constant.”
Once you have given your hand in friendship, you still have to work to
make the friendship strong and to keep it strong. Like all other parts of the
warrior lifestyle, friendship takes effort and work. You could look at
friendship like planting a garden. If you take care of it and do your part, it
will grow and flourish; if you neglect it, weeds will appear and choke what
you worked hard to grow. Planting the seed of friendship is merely the first
step, you have to nurture what you have planted in order for it to fully
mature into a real friendship.
Becoming friends with someone is only the first step. You have to
continually strengthen the friendship or it will begin to fade away. Emerson
wrote, “Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused
path.” It is also important to remember that simply because someone is your
friend, that doesn’t mean that you neglect your manners and treat him
anyway you want. Friendships are much easier to destroy than they are to
build.
If anything, you should treat your true friends better than you do your
acquaintances. They are much more important people in your life than
people who you barely know and merely do business with throughout your
life. There is an English proverb that illustrates this point very well, “An
hour will destroy what it took an age to build.” This is very true. Building a
friendship takes a lot of time, patience, effort, and work, but ending a
friendship takes very little effort at all.
Of course, this shouldn’t be the case for the true warrior. When the
warrior gives his hand in friendship, it basically takes a betrayal for him to
end the friendship. He is a man of honor and takes the sacred bond of
friendship seriously, and it is hard for him to comprehend that other people
do not have the same dedication to friendship that he has. This can lead to
the warrior being blindsided if he is not very careful in his choice of friends.
History is full of examples that show the treachery of false friends.
This is why Baltasar Gracian taught that you should, “Trust in today’s
friends as if they might be tomorrow’s enemies.” Many years before
Gracian’s time, the Vikings wrote this same admonition, “A man must be
watchful and wary as well, and fearful of trusting a friend.” Not everyone
takes the sacred brotherhood of friendship as serious as the warrior does, so
it is wise to be careful when it comes to trusting others.
The wisest path to take is to never trust someone with enough
information to hurt you. At least not unless there is a very good reason to do
so, you have known them for years, and they have proven to be a true friend
through the storms of life. Even then it is wise to be careful concerning
what you share. It is always best to keep some things private. Remember,
even Jesus was betrayed by someone he thought was one of his closest
friends.
 Strive to make sure that your true friends are men of character, honor,
and integrity. It is someone’s character that truly matters when it comes to
friendship. Look at what is inside someone when you are thinking of
befriending him. Lieh Tzu put it wonderfully saying, “Ordinary people are
friendly to those who are outwardly similar to them. The wise are friendly
with those who are inwardly similar to them.” Think about this.
I will end this chapter with another quote from La Rochefoucauld, “A
true friend is the most precious of all possessions and the one we take least
thought about acquiring.” Take the sacred brotherhood of friendship
seriously and strive to make friends of the highest quality.
 Meditations on Friendship
 

Make him your friend who distinguishes

himself by his virtue, and take example
from his virtuous and useful actions.
Pythagoras

Go often to the house of thy friend,

for weeds choke the unused path.
Emerson

He is a good man whose intimate friends are all good,

and whose enemies are decidedly bad.
John Caspar Lavater

One is known by the friends he keeps.

Baltasar Gracian

Be never the first to break with your

friend the bond that holds you both.
The Havamal

Be slow to fall into friendship,

but when you are in, continue firm and constant.
Socrates

You do not really know your friends from

your enemies until the ice breaks.
Icelandic Proverb

Reprove your friends in secret, praise them openly.

Syrus

The wicked have only accomplices; voluptuaries have

companions in debauch, self-seekers have partners,
politicians attract partisans; the generality of idle men
 have attachments; princes have courtiers,
and virtuous men alone have friends.
Voltaire

Trust in today’s friends as if they

might be tomorrow’s enemies.
Baltasar Gracian

Avoid friends who are detrimental to your peace of mind.

Gongs and Drums of Gampopa Precepts

Many kiss the hand they wish cut off.

George Herbert

There is no true friendship among thieves.

Baltasar Gracian

Beware of befriending an enemy’s friend.

The Havamal

If you have one true friend

you have more than your share comes to.
Thomas Fuller

Make friends only with those

gentlemen who are superior men.
Confucius
 Chapter 25

Filial & Family Duty

The Warrior’s Ultimate Responsibility

Filial Duty: duty relating or appropriate to a child’s relationship

with, or feelings toward, his or her parents.

Family: two or more people who share goals and values, have
long-term commitments to one another; all the members of a
household.

The young rely on their fathers, the old on their children. The words
from this Vietnamese proverb form the cornerstone of filial and family duty.
As a man of honor, you have a duty to provide for both your immediate
family and your parents. This is your ultimate responsibility on this earth
and one which you should take seriously. Taking care of your family is not
something that you should think about in your spare time, when you aren’t
training or working on other traits of the warrior lifestyle, it should come
first.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives,
and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is
worse than an unbeliever.” Duty to your family has been taught throughout
the ages. Takuan Soho stated, “You must apply yourself to your work, serve
your parents with filial piety, behave with propriety towards your wife…
Furthermore, as a parent, you should conduct yourself with dignity and in
accordance with what is right.”
It is your responsibility as a true warrior to be the head of your family
and to do your best to ensure that each person in your family is provided for
according to their needs. You should also do your best to make sure that
your family is at peace and lives in harmony with each other. This can
sometimes be hard to do, but it is very important nonetheless. Tiruvalluvar
taught, “As iron is worn away by frequent filing, a family’s strength is
eroded by incessant inner frictions.”
Maintaining harmony in the family is a balancing act, especially in
today’s world with so many different challenges that have to be addressed
in every family. Your duty to your family is your foremost duty and can be
broken down into three categories: your parents, your spouse, and your
children. Of course not every family will have all three of these categories.
There are many nontraditional families, but for our purposes, I will address
the traditional family.
Let’s start with your filial duty, your duty to your parents. The
warrior’s duty to his parents was taken very seriously in the practice of
Bushido. There is a Japanese proverb which states, “Duty to parents is
higher than the mountains, deeper than the sea.” This is a pretty strong
statement, and shows how seriously filial duty was taken in Japan. This
responsibility has been taught throughout the world, but seems to be taken
much less seriously in today’s society.
Many people today do not want to be bothered with anyone else,
including their own parents and family. Our society has become a selfish
society, full of people who only want to focus on themselves. Now
retirement homes are flourishing in almost every town. It didn’t used to be
that way. Not that long ago, people took care of their own families. They
made sure that their parents had what they needed and could live in
comfort.
The fact is that people in today’s society, because of jobs and other
factors, do not remain in one place for their whole life. Families no longer
live in the same town or in many cases, even in the same part of the
country. This makes it harder to care for elderly parents, but this does not
excuse you from your filial duty.
Your parents raised you and provided for your needs when you were
young. They most likely helped you get on your feet, even after you were
legally considered an adult. That is what good parents do. Sure, you could
probably make a list of things that you feel that your parents didn’t do a
good job with; everyone could make such a list. But the vast majority of
parents did the best that they knew how to do in raising and providing for
their children, and it is the children’s responsibility to take care of their
parents in their old age.
Sai Baba stated, “Show parents respect with love and devotion. It is a
tribute you should offer them for the great chance they gave you to come
into this world.” You do owe your parents this duty, whether you think you
do or not. It is a part of being a man of honor, and a good son or daughter.
The question then is how do you fulfill this duty? Is it merely enough to
make sure that your parents have a roof over their head and food to eat?
There is a Native American saying that if you merely provide food,
water, and shelter for your parents, you are doing no more than you would
do for your dog. If you think about it this is very true. Most pet owners
provide their pet with food, water, and shelter from the elements. If this is
all that you are doing for your elderly parents, are you truly fulfilling your
filial duty? Not according to most cultures, but that seems to be the attitude
in many modern cultures.
Isocrates gave us a very good guide as to how to fulfill your filial duty.
He stated, “Conduct yourself toward your parents as you would have your
children conduct themselves toward you.” Basically, this is the Golden Rule
applied to filial duty. Think about how you hope to be treated by your own
children when you are older, and make the effort to treat your parents that
way. Everything on this earth would be better if people simply applied the
Golden Rule to all of their endeavors.
You owe your parents much more than merely providing for their basic
survival needs. You owe them your respect and time. If you aren’t going to
take care of their needs, who will? Think about this, plan ahead, and do
your best to provide for all of your parents’ needs in their latter years. This
is not only your duty, but the right thing to do, even for those who aren’t
living the warrior lifestyle.
The second category is your duty to your spouse. There is a Spanish
proverb which states, “He who does not honor his wife dishonors himself.”
You chose your spouse and made a vow to honor and protect her. You gave
your word, in front of your family and God, to love and cherish her, to
honor and protect her, till death do you part. Does any of this sound familiar
to you?
You have a sacred duty to honor and protect your wife, and to care of
her needs. This is even a higher duty than your filial duty, although they are
both extremely important. Your spouse should be the most important person
in your life, your best friend and lover. She counts on you to protect her and
provide for her. This may sound a bit sexist, but if you were to do an
opinion poll of a cross-section of women, I think that you would find that
the vast majority of women would love to find someone that they could
count on to see that they are protected and well-provided for throughout
their life.
Sure there will be those who make comments such as, “I don’t need a
man to provide for me,” and that is true, a woman definitely can make as
much money as a man in today’s society. Women are certainly as intelligent
as men and can take care of their own needs, both financially and otherwise.
But scientific polling has shown that what attracts most women to a man is
his ability to provide for them. This is even a bigger attraction than the
man’s looks or body type.
This is not to say that women marry for money; that is not what I am
saying at all. I am merely repeating what the science of human attraction
has proven through many different testing methods. Although women are
attracted to powerful men, who can provide for them, most end up marrying
for love rather than for financial security, but they still place their hopes and
dreams on their spouse for support, protection, and financial security. And
you owe your wife all of those things.
In one of the world’s oldest texts, Ptah-Hotep wrote, “If you would be
wise, provide for your house, and love your wife in your arms. Fill her
stomach, clothe her back; oil is the remedy for her limbs. Gladden her heart
during your lifetime, for she is an estate profitable to his lord. Do not be
harsh, for gentleness masters her more than strength. Give to her that for
which she sighs and that toward which her eye looks.” This is a pretty good
summary of providing for your wife.
If you will notice, Ptah-Hotep didn’t leave much out. Not only did he
say that the wise man will provide for his wife’s basic needs, but that he
makes her happy, he is gentle with her and gives her the nice things which
she desires. He even suggests special pampering such as oil massages. In
short, he is recommending that you treat your wife like a queen, which of
course, his wife was – the queen of Egypt.
While you may not be rich or be the King of Egypt, you can and
should still treat your wife like your queen. There is a Norwegian proverb
which states, “In every woman there is a queen. Speak to the queen, and the
queen will answer.” Essentially, if you treat your wife like she is special,
she will feel special and in turn will treat you in the same way. This is the
way that the world works. You reap what you sow. Treat your wife special
and she will treat you special, and this cycle will continue throughout your
life together.
The third category of your family duty is that of your duty to your
children. Montaigne said, “A father should make himself worthy of respect
by his virtue and abilities, and worthy of love by his kindness and gentle
manners.” And Robert Burton wrote, “Diogenes struck the father when the
son swore.” Making sure that your children are raised correctly and are
given the best chance possible to become men and women of character, is a
duty that you should take extremely seriously. This is also an area where
many people are failing in today’s society. As a teacher, I see this failure
firsthand.
There are basically three areas that should be addressed with your
children, and they should be addressed as early as possible in your child’s
life. These three areas are: education, self-esteem, and character training. Of
course it goes without saying that you are expected to provide for your
children’s basic needs of clothing, nutrition, shelter, and love. Bringing
another life into this world is a much more serious decision than most
people think. As strange as it sounds, you need a license to raise animals in
many states, but any moron is allowed to have a baby and then to basically
do as he will, as far as raising his child.
There needs to be much more education about the correct way to raise
children who will grow up to be mentally balanced, productive, and men
and women of character. Ancient noblemen took this duty much more
seriously than most people do today. For example, when Alexander the
Great was a child, he was tutored by Aristotle. He was taught military
strategies and martial arts. His education was considered of upmost
importance.
While it is true that Alexander’s father was the king, and that not
everyone can afford to hire the greatest minds of the time to tutor their
children, we can take this attitude towards education as an example of how
important a good education actually should be to you. Our current
educational system is pathetic, and that is putting it lightly. In order to
ensure that your children have a truly good education, you have to do more
than simply get them up in time to catch the school bus.
 Take your children’s education seriously. It should not be just about
memorizing a few facts and figures, but rather really understanding the
principles behind the subjects that they are learning. I will not get into all
the ways of ensuring that this happens, but you, as a parent, should make
sure that your children understand how important a good education is. Take
whatever steps you have to take to guarantee your children value a true
education.
Moreover, you should consider educating your students in more than
the normal academic subjects. I highly recommend teaching your children
martial arts, survival techniques, gardening, and other topics which will
enable them to become more self-sufficient adults. If one of your children
shows an interest or special talent in a certain area, foster that in that child.
Remember that God gave these children to you to raise, not to the
government. You are in charge of their education.
In making sure that your children truly value education for the sake of
becoming educated, and not merely because they have to go to school, you
will also be building their self-esteem. Lord Chesterfield warned his son,
“Nothing sinks a young man into low company, both of women and men, so
surely as timidity, and diffidence of himself.” A child’s self-esteem is of
utmost importance.
I am not referring to the false, politically correct idea of self-esteem
where our society has decided that it is bad for any kid to lose, so they play
sports without keeping score, etc. This is not fostering self-esteem, but
rather merely teaching kids to lie to themselves. What I am referring to is
true self-esteem – a sense of self-worth and self-respect. This is vital in
keeping your children from falling prey to the vices of their peers and other
kids who have not been brought up as they should have been or who have
taken the wrong road for one reason or another.
You should take steps to ensure that your children realize their value. I
would even go as far as to say that you should raise your children like they
are princes and princesses, but without allowing them to become spoiled
brats. Raise them to think that they are special, because indeed they truly
are. Part of this process is teaching them the same character traits that are
discussed in Modern Bushido.
I have already discussed the importance of developing a strong
character, and it is important for you to start developing character in your
children as early as possible. Leon Battista Alberti wrote, “The head of the
family must first of all be on the watch for the first sparks of vice to appear
among his children’s appetites and must put them out immediately if he
does not wish to be compelled later to extinguish the flames of corrupt
desire at greater cost, with sorrow and tears.”
Teach your children good character traits from their earliest years!
Modern Bushido is a good start, but it only scratches the surface as far as
getting into details concerning specific character traits. Educate yourself on
these character traits, incorporate them in your life, and then teach them to
your children as if their lives depend on them.
The true warrior should do his best to protect all of those for which it
is in his power to protect, but his first duty is to his family. Your family
should always come first! Also a part of this duty is taking care of yourself,
for how can you possibly take care of anyone else if you do not take care of
yourself? Don’t take unnecessary risks or put your life on the line when you
don’t have to do so. Who will take care of your family if you don’t?
Takuan Soho taught, “You must apply yourself seriously to your work,
serve your parents with filial piety, behave with propriety toward your
wife…Furthermore, as a parent you should conduct yourself with dignity
and in accordance with what is right.” This is a good summary of this
chapter.
 Meditations on Filial Duty
 

The young rely on their fathers, the old on their children.

Vietnamese Proverb

You must not expect old heads upon young shoulders.

English Proverb

When you have your own children you will

understand your obligation to your parents.
Japanese Proverb

He who does not honor his wife dishonors himself.

Spanish Proverb

Show parents respect with love and devotion.

It is a tribute you should offer them for the great
chance they gave you to come into this world…
Sai Baba

Duty to parents is higher than

the mountains, deeper than the sea.
Japanese Proverb

Conduct yourself toward your parents as you would

have your children conduct themselves toward you.
Isocrates

He (Cato) never said anything obscene in front of his son,

no more than if he had been in the presence
of the holy Vestal Virgins.
Plutarch

You must apply yourself seriously to your work,

serve your parents with filial piety, behave with
propriety towards your wife…Furthermore,
 as a parent you should conduct yourself with
dignity and in accordance with what is right.
Takuan Soho

A father…
He should make himself worthy of respect
by his virtue and abilities, and worthy of
love by his kindness and gentle manners.
Montaigne

Diogenes struck the father when the son swore.

Robert Burton

A torn jacket is soon mended;

but hard words bruise the heart of a child.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

He preaches well that lives well.

Cervantes

As iron is worn away by frequent filing,

a family’s strength is eroded by incessant inner frictions.
Tiruvalluvar
 Chapter 26

Balance
The Art of Harmony

Balance: A state of emotional and mental stability in which

somebody is calm and able to make rational decisions and
judgments; a state in which various parts form a satisfying and
harmonious whole and nothing is out of proportion or unduly
emphasized at the expense of the rest.

Balance is very important, both to the warrior and to the warrior

lifestyle. It is extremely easy to get caught up in whatever endeavor your
mind is currently focused on, and to let other important things slide. If this
happens consistently, your life can quickly become unbalanced and out of
harmony. The key to maintaining a state of emotional and mental stability is
preserving balance in your life.
For the warrior, balance refers to keeping the three main parts of your
life balanced and in harmony – spirit, mind and body. You can think of
these three parts of your life as an equilateral triangle. Each side of this
triangle represents one of these parts of your life and when your life is in
balance, each line of this triangle should be the same length. When one line
becomes longer because you are spending too much time on that part of
your life or shorter because you are neglecting a part of your life, the
triangle (your life) is no longer balanced.
It is a constant balancing act to keep these three parts of your life
balanced and in harmony. As the definition above states, you have to work
to ensure that nothing is out of proportion or overly emphasized at the
expense of the other parts. Your life can easily get out of balance when you
start something new and are very excited about your new interest.
For example, maybe you have been a martial artist for many years, but
have never addressed the spiritual side of your life. You begin to read and
study to develop your spiritual side, and find it extremely interesting, then
you realize that you have basically put your martial arts training on a shelf
and you are spending all of your time reading and meditating to develop
your new found interest. Your spiritual line is getting too long and your
physical line is suffering because of it and your life is beginning to become
unbalanced.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with studying and developing your
spiritual side, in fact, you should be doing this as it is part of the warrior
lifestyle. But you shouldn’t spend all of your time on this one area. Anytime
you spend an excessive amount of time concentrating on one area, it will be
at the expense of some other part of your life. The key is not to go
overboard with anything that you are doing. The warrior lifestyle has many
areas which must be addressed, and you shouldn’t sacrifice one area in
order to focus on another.
This is what balance is all about – organizing your life in such a way
as to be able to develop every part of your life to the fullest. There are no
unimportant traits of the warrior lifestyle. Hazrat Inayat Khan stated, “The
secret of life is balance, and the absence of balance is life’s destruction.”
You must learn to balance all the parts of your life, and while this sounds
relatively easy, it takes quite a bit of discipline.
The Talmud teaches us to, “Be moderate in all things.” Moderation is
the key to balance. Epictetus taught, “If one oversteps the bounds of
moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.” Everything in life can
be taken to extremes. There is basically no interest, hobby, or skill on this
earth, which someone, somewhere doesn’t take to the extreme. While it is
not wrong to spend time and effort perfecting whatever you do, you must be
careful not to do so at the expense of other important parts of your life.
Taking things to the extreme is the cause of many heartaches and
regrets in this life. A good example of this would be the man who spends all
his time focused on his work, at the expense of his family life. While he
may become a gigantic success at work, his family life suffers for it and he
may in fact find that he has sacrificed his marriage and his relationship with
his children in order to spend so much time becoming a success at his job.
In essence, his life is out of balance, and eventually his unbalanced life will
cost him dearly.
Epicurus taught us to, “Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in
abundance.” Moderation means that you intentionally limit yourself, you
don’t go to extremes. This doesn’t mean that you never go all out and put
your entire soul into something at times, but rather that you make sure that
you balance these times in your life. W. Somerset Maugham wrote, “Excess
on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the
deadening effect of a habit.” Don’t get into a rut in living your life.
Living your life in the same monotonous way, day after day is not
necessarily living a balanced life. In fact, this is dull and boring, and
definitely not living life to the fullest. You have to balance your daily
routine with days that you break from routine and enjoy new things. Albert
Einstein stated, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you
must keep moving.” A dull, repetitive life is as out of balance as a life that
is continually overactive. These are merely two extremes of living life.
The man, who lives his life at the speed of light, never slowing down
and taking time to develop his mind or his spirit, is obviously out of
balance. Likewise, the man who lives his life in a habitual rut, never
experiencing any of the things that this world has to offer, is equally out of
balance. The secret of a balanced life lies somewhere in between these two
extremes. It is not hyper-active and it is not semi-comatose.
The man who lives his life in hyper-overdrive is sacrificing spending
quiet time alone with his feelings and meditating. His life is constantly
going here and there, almost as if he does not understand how to slow down
or is afraid to be alone with his thoughts and feelings. He purposely ignores
the quiet side of his life and always needs outside stimulation to keep his
mind occupied.
On the other hand, the man who never goes out, who wants to live life
more like a Buddhist monk, hidden away in a cave, is sacrificing the fun
and excitement of life. He spends too much time on the quiet, spiritual and
mental side of his life at the expense of experiencing all that life has to
offer. This becomes a habit and it can get to the point that he is almost anti-
social and does not want to be around other people. He is intense about his
meditation time and reading, but has let other parts of his life fall by the
wayside.
 The famous author, Zig Ziglar, wrote, “I believe that being successful
means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your
life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your
home life is in shambles.” If you find that you are failing in one area of
your life, while other areas are very successful, the cause may be that your
triangle of life is out of balance. Going back to the example that I gave you
before, can a man who is a great success in his business, but a total failure
in his home life, truly be called a successful man?
A truly successful man is a man who is wise enough to balance all of
the aspects of his life. He doesn’t allow any one area of his life to atrophy
while another explodes. Instead he works to balance spirit, mind and body.
You perform at your best when your thoughts, feelings, and emotions are
balanced with your objectives and your principles. This doesn’t happen
automatically; you have to work at it.
It is so easy to get excited about one area of your life, for example
your martial arts training, and let another slip. You may be training so hard
in your martial arts that you neglect your meditation time, because you are
excited to get to your training. It takes discipline to refrain from doing what
you are in the mood to do, in order to do what you know needs to be done.
This is where your life becomes a balancing act.
It takes time to develop each part of your life, just as it takes time to
develop the traits of the warrior lifestyle. Neglecting one part of your life in
order to spend more time on another part, is simply shortsighted. Just as
your car will not feel quite right going down the road if you have a tire that
is out of balance, your life will not feel quite right if a part of it is out of
balance. For your car to ride smoothly, you must take time to examine each
tire and keep them inflated and balanced. The same principle applies to
your life. You must spend time developing each facet of your life and keep
them all balanced.
Thomas Merton wrote, “Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of
balance and order and rhythm and harmony.” It is hard to truly be happy
when your life is not in balance. You will feel a nagging feeling inside that
something is just not right, and that feeling will continue until you slow
down and take the time to put your life back into balance. While there is
nothing wrong with practicing martial arts, meditating, reading and
studying, or even eating pie, excess in any of these areas will cause a
problem in another area.
 The last point that I want to make about living a balanced life is that I
am not saying that you shouldn’t spend time perfecting certain skills in your
life. It is just a fact of life that if you want to perfect a skill, it takes a lot of
time. The secret is being disciplined enough to spend a lot of time
perfecting your interest, while at the same time not neglecting the other
parts of your life.
This is where most people have a problem. They will end up spending
so much time perfecting one area, that they neglect all the other areas of
their life. Be the best that you can be at everything you do, but don’t
sacrifice other areas of your life to do so. Learn good time management.
 Meditations on Balance
 

Be moderate in all things.

The Talmud

Drink nothing to the dregs,

either of the bad, or of the good,
for to moderation in everything
has one sage reduced all wisdom.
Baltasar Gracian

Tis not drinking that is to be blamed, but the excess.

John Seldon

To live long and well, employ moderation.

Chinese Proverb

The secret of life is balance,

and the absence of balance is life’s destruction.
Hazrat Inayat Khan

To learn moderation is the essence

of sound sense and real wisdom.
Jacques Benigne Bossuet

I believe that being successful means having a balance

of success stories across the many areas of your life.
You can’t truly be considered successful in your
business life if your home life is in shambles.
Zig Ziglar

Excess on occasion is exhilarating.

It prevents moderation from acquiring
the deadening effect of a habit.
W. Somerset Maugham
 If one oversteps the bounds of moderation,
the greatest pleasures cease to please.
Epictetus

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but

of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.
Thomas Merton

You perform better when your thoughts, feelings,

emotions, goals, and values are in balance.
Brian Tracey

The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life,

acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you
can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.
Euripides

There should be balance in all our actions;

to be either extreme or lukewarm is equally bad.
Hazrat Inayat Khan

Life is like riding a bicycle.

To keep your balance you must keep moving.
Albert Einstein
 Chapter 27

Excellence
The Spirit of Kaizen

Excellence: The quality or state of being outstanding and superior.

Living a life of excellence is essentially what the warrior lifestyle is all

about. The true warrior should seek excellence in everything that he does
whether it is gardening or his martial arts. As Ralph Marston wrote,
“Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” It is an attitude, an attitude
towards everything you do in life, and it is this attitude which makes the
warrior a superior man.
The Japanese have a term called kaizen which means constant, never-
ending improvement. This is what the warrior should shoot for in every area
of his life – constant, never-ending improvement. No matter how well you
have mastered any skill, there is always room for at least a little more
improvement. Booker T. Washington stated, “Excellence is to do a common
thing in an uncommon way.” This is how the true warrior does everything
in his life.
The vast majority of people in this world merely do the minimum.
Their attitude seems to be that good enough is good enough. Good enough
is rarely good enough for the warrior; he seeks perfection and excellence.
This doesn’t mean that everything that he does will be done to perfection,
but he will at least try his best to do everything he does to the best of his
ability. He puts his whole heart into whatever he may be working on at the
time.
This is something that he requires of himself. Nobody is going to make
you live a life of excellence. Nobody is going to hound you to be the best
that you can be in life. This is a choice that you have to make. Aristotle
even stated this saying, “Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice.”
As the definition states, excellence is the state of being outstanding and
superior. Throughout Modern Bushido, I have referred to the warrior as the
superior man, and this is the reason for that.
The term “superior man” is not a snobbish term that is used to signify
that the warrior considers himself above others and looks down on other
people. This is not what is meant by that term at all. It simply means that
the warrior is a man of excellence that does the best that he can do in every
area of his life to integrate excellence into everything that he does. It is this
attitude, combined with the correct action to transform this attitude into
something tangible, which makes the true warrior a superior man – a man
of excellence.
The famous football coach, Vince Lombardi, stated, “The quality of a
person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence,
regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” This definitely holds true for
the warrior. It is his commitment to excellence that determines the quality
of his life. Furthermore, it is his commitment to excellence that determines
whether or not he is truly living the warrior lifestyle as he should be living
it. The warrior lifestyle is not a lifestyle to be lived halfway.
Living the warrior lifestyle halfway is merely pretending to live this
lifestyle of excellence. John W. Gardener stated that, “Excellence is doing
ordinary things extraordinarily well.” This is exactly what the superior man
tries to do. Whatever he is doing, he tries to do it in an extraordinary way.
This can apply to anything and everything that you do. Gardener went on to
say, “Whoever I am, or whatever I am doing, some kind of excellence is
within my reach.” This is the true attitude of the superior man.
Excellence is a way of life. I use this quote by Henry Ward Beecher
quite often, but it is a perfect motto for the true man of honor, “Hold
yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you.
Never excuse yourself.” If you continually do this, you will soon find that
your life is full of excellence in ways that you may not even realize. Others
will see it and recognize you as a man of excellence, and it will become a
part of your overall reputation, which is a great reputation to have.
Holding yourself to a higher standard is a great way to start being a
man of excellence. Like I stated, living a life of excellence is a choice,
nobody else is going to hold you to this standard; it is totally up to you. You
have to be the one that holds yourself to this higher standard, and this goes
for all of the traits that I have discussed in Modern Bushido. Nobody is
going to force you to live the warrior lifestyle. Other people don’t really
care how you live as long as you aren’t disrupting their lives in some way.
They really don’t care if you live like a street bum or a king. How you live
your life is totally up to you.
To quote Aristotle again, “Excellence is an art won by training and
habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but
we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we
repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” I have to agree.
Overall, excellence becomes a habit, just like everything else that you
repeatedly do in your life. Each action merely reinforces your dedication to
excellence or your lack of dedication to excellence. As Anne Byrhhe wrote,
“Every action we take, everything we do, is either a victory or defeat in the
struggle to become what we want to be.”
When you decide to do something halfway, that decision in and of
itself is akin to taking a step away from being a man of excellence. On the
other hand, every time you slow down and make the effort to do something
the best you can, then you are re-enforcing excellence in your life. As
Aristotle said, excellence becomes a habit. Habits are formed by continually
being consistent at whatever you are doing. The experts tell us that you can
form a new habit in about a month, that is, if you are consistent with your
actions.
All it takes is a firm decision to start doing everything you do, the best
that you can do it. Thomas J. Watson wrote, “If you want to achieve
excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-
excellent work.” This makes sense. If you quit doing “less-than-excellent
work” everything you do will be done at a high level. Essentially,
everything you do will be done at the level of excellence that you are
shooting for.
Confucius put it this way, “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the
urge to reach your full potential…are the keys that will unlock the door to
personal excellence.” You have to choose excellence as an act of your will.
Living a life of excellence is pretty simple – you merely choose to do so,
and then you do it. The catch is, you then have to discipline yourself to
actually follow through.
 Every year, thousands of people make New Year’s resolutions, and at
the same time, every year thousands of people fail to follow through with
those resolutions. You can say that you are going to start living a life of
excellence every single day, but it is meaningless if you don’t back up that
decision with your actions and actually start integrating excellence into
your life. Like everything else in life, this takes discipline and effort.
The Greek poet, Hesiod, wrote, “Badness you can get easily, in
quantity; the road is smooth, and it lies close by, but in front of excellence
the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.”
Making a decision to live a life of excellence, and living a life of excellence
are two different things. Just like writing down your New Year’s resolution
and actually following through with it, are two different things. Like Hesiod
wrote, it takes a lot of work and effort to become a man of excellence.
Excellence has to become the prevailing attitude in your life. It
actually does have to become a habit, and, as with everything else in life,
you have to start from where you are. Start small and continue to build this
attitude in your life. You don’t decide to start martial arts training one day,
and enter the ring with experts the next week. It takes time, it takes work
and it takes consistent training. The same principle applies to anything you
do in life. Nobody becomes an expert at anything overnight.
Colin Powell stated, “If you are going to achieve excellence in big
things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an
exception it is a prevailing attitude.” I discussed earlier that you have to
take control of your thoughts. This is an important part of developing
excellence in your life. Your thoughts are the beginning of your actions;
therefore it is vital that you get your mind straight first. If your mind is not
right, you will never be able to become a man of excellence.
Excellence is not something that you fake in order to build your
reputation; it is an attitude and a way of life. Chung Yung wrote, “The
superior man is watchful over himself even when alone.” This is the attitude
of excellence. It doesn’t matter what he is doing or who is around him at the
time, the man of excellence will seek to do everything to the best of his
abilities. He agrees with the quote from Emerson that, “What I must do is
all that concerns me, not what the people think.”
Excellence is the way of the warrior. Each of the essential traits of the
warrior lifestyle can be traced back to living a life of excellence. The
normal, everyday, common life is void of the majority of these traits. The
common man lives mainly for his own comfort and gives little attention to
pushing himself to go the “extra mile” in order to live a life of excellence.
Simply put, he is satisfied living an average life.
This is not the way of the warrior. The warrior is not satisfied just
going through life, but rather, he wants to make his life the best it can be.
Ordinary is simply not good enough. He wants to be extraordinary and
takes the needed steps to develop his life in just that way. This is what
makes him a superior man. Every man is basically born equal; it is his
decisions that set him apart from others.
 Meditations on Excellence
 

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.

We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence,
but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle

Badness you can get easily, in quantity; the road is smooth,

and it lies close by, but in front of excellence the immortal
gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.
Hesiod

Excellence encourages one about life generally;

it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.
George Eliot

Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity.

The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere.
Truly profound and original insights are to
be found only in studying the exemplary.
Warren G. Bennis

If you are going to achieve excellence in big

things, you develop the habit in little matters.
Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.
Colin Powell

Whoever I am, or whatever I am doing,

some kind of excellence is within my reach.
John W. Gardner

Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

John W. Gardner
 Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.
Ralph Marston

Excellence is the gradual result

of always striving to do better.
Pat Riley

Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.

Booker T. Washington

Ordinary is simply not good enough.

Be extraordinary!
Bohdi Sanders

Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice…

Aristotle

If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today.

As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.
Thomas J. Watson

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion

to their commitment to excellence,
regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.
Vince Lombardi
 Chapter 28

Loyalty
The Warrior’s Dedication

Loyalty: The feeling of devotion, duty, or attachment to somebody

or something; the quality or state of being loyal.

Loyalty is a very admirable trait, and one which is very hard to find in
people today. The average person today is self-centered and selfish. He
tends to focus on only what he wants or what is best and easiest, for himself
in the present moment. The slogan, “Sworn to Fun – Loyal to None,”
describes him perfectly. The true warrior looks at things quite a bit
differently, especially where loyalty is concerned.
The warrior is fiercely loyal to his word, his duty, and to his friends
and family. He has an unwavering sense of dedication to the important
things and people in his life. Euripides stated that, “One loyal friend is
worth ten thousand relatives.” This is definitely true of the warrior. Once
you have gained his friendship, his loyalty is a part of the package, and the
friendship and loyalty of a true warrior is priceless. He will not turn his
back on you or forsake you. He is loyal to the end.
Loyalty has always been an integral part of the warrior’s character. The
Samurai were so loyal to their Daimyo (feudal lord), that they would
actually commit seppuku (ritual suicide) if their Daimyo commanded them
to do so. This is total loyalty. In the same way, the medieval knights were
expected to be completely loyal to their lord and their religion. Loyalty has
always been a part of the warrior’s code of honor. To turn your back on
someone that you have given your friendship and loyalty to, is nothing
more than an act of dishonor.
 Of course, in today’s society, the warrior is not required to be totally
loyal to some Daimyo or lord. This is a good thing since it is so rare to
actually find leaders of honor and character. This is not to say that Daimyos
and lords weren’t less than honorable - many were. The fact that many of
these men were less than honorable speaks to how highly warriors esteemed
loyalty. They remained loyal to their lord, even when the lord did not
deserve their loyalty.
This fact once again reinforces the warrior’s dedication to his own
standards. Once the warrior swore his loyalty to his Daimyo or his lord, he
kept his word, no matter how the other party behaved. He did not let the
lord’s lack of character cause him to break his word of honor. They took
their oath seriously.
True warriors today are not bound by an oath to give their loyalty to
anyone; it is given as a part of their code of honor. There are no laws which
require you to be loyal to your friends or your family. Ada Velez-Boardley
stated, “Loyalty is the pledge of truth to oneself and others.” You and you
alone, make a firm decision to be loyal. Sometimes it is hard to maintain
your loyalty to those in your life, especially when they do not deserve your
loyalty. But it is exactly at times like those, when they do not deserve your
friendship, that your loyalty is tested. It is when people are acting like total
jerks or when they make mistakes, that they most need your loyal
friendship.
As I mentioned in a previous chapter, the warrior doesn’t change his
character because someone does or does not deserve his support. He lives
his life by his own standards, despite the actions of others. Being loyal to
someone does not mean that you always agree with his actions or that you
even like him all the time. What it means is that you have made a firm
decision and have given him your friendship and loyalty. Once you have
done that, you should live up to your word.
This in no way means that you can never withdraw your loyalty from
someone. You can give your friendship to someone, but if they utterly reject
your friendship and your attempts to support them, you are not required to
continue to support them. This is not the same as being disloyal. In this
case, it is the other person’s decision to end the friendship, not yours. The
true warrior is the best friend that someone could possibly have, but if his
friendship is rejected, he is released from any duty that he had to be a loyal
friend.
 While the warrior would never turn his back on a friend or be disloyal
to a friend, he is certainly not required to put up with being treated in a
disrespectful manner or to continue to extend the hand of friendship to
someone who has made it clear that he doesn’t want his friendship. This is
totally different from the warrior being a disloyal friend. In this case his
friendship is being thrown away by the other person and he no longer has
any duty to be loyal or supportive to this person.
On the other hand, the opposite of this scenario should never happen.
The superior man will never turn his back on his friend and end the
friendship out of some unwarranted, selfish reasons. Once the warrior has
entered into the sacred bond of true friendship, he will honor that
friendship, as far as it depends on him. It is for this reason that the warrior
should be carefully selective when it comes to forming true friendships,
instead of mere acquaintances.
When you have decided to give your hand in friendship, you should
remain loyal to your friend, even when your friend is in the wrong. This
doesn’t mean that you have to join him in his misguided actions or support
everything that he does. Never lower your standards just to go along with
something that someone else is doing, whether he is your friend or not.
Being supportive and loyal doesn’t mean you support everything that your
friend does; it simply means that you support your friend. This is an
important distinction.
Let’s look at an example. Say your friend is having a very hard time
financially and has made the very bad decision to sell illegal drugs in order
to get enough money to pay his bills and keep his house. Of course you
shouldn’t support his decision, but this doesn’t mean that you throw in the
towel on the friendship. If this is a true friendship, you should support your
friend by trying to counsel him about the error of his ways. You should try
to stop him from making a possible life-changing mistake because of utter
frustration over his finances.
This is in no way supporting his decision to sell drugs, rather it is you
being a good friend and trying your best to support him through the bad
time that he is going through. Whether or not he listens to you or takes your
advice is not up to you; whether or not you remain a loyal, supportive friend
is. See the difference? To quote Charles Dickens, “She was truest to them in
the season of trial, as all the quietly loyal and good will always be.”
 Another analogy would be to look at the loyalty that a good dog has to
his owner. If you have a good dog and have raised it from the time it was a
puppy, trained it well, spent time with it, loved it, and made it a part of your
life, it will certainly be loyal to you. Your devoted friend will love you and
most likely even put his life on the line for you, depending on the breed.
But even the most loyal dog will not follow his owner in certain acts of
desperation.
For example, let’s say that for some reason you became severely
depressed and decided that you would commit suicide by hiking to the top
of a cliff and jumping off. Your loyal companion would certainly hike up
the mountain with you, giving you love and support all the way, and sensing
something is wrong, he would probably give you even more of his attention
throughout the hike. But when it comes down to you actually jumping off
the cliff, he will not follow you off the edge. He would do what he could to
alert someone to your death or to get someone to help, but he would not
join you in your misguided action.
This is the same type of loyalty and support the true warrior should
give to those in his life. He doesn’t turn his back on them simply because
they are wrong or misguided. Instead he does all that he can to help them
and support them, but if they persist in destroying their life, he will not
destroy his life as well.
This same principle applies to the first example where your friend has
decided to sell drugs. You should support him the best you can, and not turn
your back on him, but at the same time, you cannot join him in his
desperate actions. There is a big difference between loving and supporting
your friend, and allowing your friend to drag you down. I use this quote by
Gracian often, and it bears repeating here, “The man of principle never
forgets what he is, because of what others are.”
There is a quote by Sir Francis Osborne that fits perfectly with this
discussion, “In seeking to save another, beware of drowning yourself.”
Remain a loyal friend, but understand that all you can do is the best that you
can do. You control your actions, but you can’t always control the outcome.
Be loyal and do what you can to help, but in the end you must realize that
everyone has to make his own decisions. You can’t control everything, no
matter how much you would like to.
I have one last comment on my example about the friend who decides
to sell drugs. You may be thinking that anyone who would sell drugs
doesn’t deserve your support and that you would be justified to immediately
end this friendship. This is how most people would view this situation, but
as with so many things, the true warrior looks at things a bit differently.
Remember, deserve has nothing to do with it.
When you have given your hand in friendship, your duty requires you
to exhaust every option before giving up. While others may see your
friendship with this person as condoning his actions, you know better.
Takuan Soho stated, “Each action of the warrior is performed from a place
of fundamental wisdom…it is completely different from the ordinary
behavior of a fool. Even if it looks the same, it is different on the inside.”
Your loyalty to friends and family should have no limit, although it
may be expressed in ways that others cannot understand. Don’t worry how
others view you; just act according to what you know is right where your
loyalty is concerned.
 Meditations on Loyalty
 

You don’t earn loyalty in a day.

You earn loyalty day-by-day.
Jeffrey Gitomer

She was truest to them in the season of trial,

as all the quietly loyal and good will always be.
Charles Dickens.

Though bitter, good medicine cures illness.

Though it may hurt, loyal criticism
will have beneficial effects.
Sima Qian

One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.

Euripides

Within the hearts of men, loyalty and consideration

are esteemed greater than success.
Bryant H. McGill

Confidentiality is a virtue of the loyal,

as loyalty is the virtue of faithfulness.
Edwin Louis Cole

If having a soul means being able to

feel love and loyalty and gratitude,
then animals are better off than a lot of humans.
James Herriot

You’ve got to give loyalty down,

if you want loyalty up.
Donald T. Regan
 Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery.
Morihei Ueshiba

Your loyalty to friends and family should have no limit,

although it may be expressed in ways
that others cannot understand.
Bohdi Sanders

Loyalty to the country always.

Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain

No more duty can be urged upon those

who are entering the great theater of life
than simple loyalty to their best convictions.
Edwin Hubbel Chapin

No one but yourself knows

whether you are cowardly and cruel,
or loyal and devout; others do not see you;
they surmise you by uncertain conjectures;
they perceive not so much your nature as your art.
Michel de Montaigne
 Chapter 29

Total Self-Defense
The Warrior’s Invincibility

Total Self-Defense: The use of reasonable force, mental

intelligence, and other means, to defend yourself, your family, or
your property against any tangible harm, whether physical,
financial, or otherwise.

There is much more to self-defense than being able to defend yourself

against a physical assault. Although self-defense has become synonymous
with martial arts, in reality it encompasses many other aspects besides a
physical attack. The true warrior is concerned with keeping himself and his
family completely safe and secure, not just perfecting his martial arts skills.
As a warrior, you have a duty to protect your family, period. Your duty
is not merely to protect your family from physical attacks, but from any
danger which might threaten them. In today’s world the threat of a physical
assault is a very real, valid threat, but it isn’t the only danger lurking in the
shadows. In fact, defending yourself from a physical assault, even if you are
proficient in your martial arts skills, carries with it hidden dangers that you
may not have considered.
You have to be very careful when it comes to using your martial arts to
defend yourself. Don’t get me wrong, when your life is on the line you do
whatever it takes to protect yourself and your family. That is a given. But
what you must keep in mind is your overall objective, which is to protect
yourself and your family. There is a right way and a wrong way to do
everything, including defending yourself.
 We live in a different world than we did 20 or 30 years ago. Today’s
society is plagued by political correctness and a lack of common sense.
Every prison houses men and women who are there simply because they
defended themselves against a predator’s attack. While they may have
successfully defended themselves against the predator that attacked them,
they failed to protect themselves from our over-reaching, corrupt legal
system.
Self-defense means self-defense, period. It leaves nothing out. Today,
you not only have to defend yourself against predators and criminals, but
you also have to defend yourself against the police, the government and the
legal system. In the long run, our inept and corrupt legal system has done
more damage to many people’s lives than physical assaults, which were
short of death, could have possibly done. This fact is sad but true. Self-
defense today is much trickier than at any time in the history of our world.
The wise warrior will understand this fact and incorporate it into his
self-defense training. Han Fei Tzu wrote, “As circumstances change, the
ways of dealing with them alter too.” Well, I’ve got news for you, in case
you haven’t noticed, circumstances have changed. It’s a different world. We
live in a society where employees can foil an armed robbery, possibly
saving their lives, and the lives of others around them, and still be
reprimanded and fired for their actions. We live in a society where an armed
criminal can break into your home to rob and kill you, and if you shoot him
and paralyze him, he can sue you for protecting yourself.
These facts clearly signify that our world has changed. The mental
patients are now in charge of the asylum. There is an ancient Indian proverb
which states, “If you live in the river you should make friends with the
crocodile.” You must understand all of the possible dangers that you could
face in today’s world, not merely the ones that you learn about in your
martial arts class.
When you train for self-defense today, you have to consider dangers
such as corrupt police, court costs, law suits, and even going to jail,. These
are all very real dangers for you and your family. Our legal system is no
longer a system which weighs what is just. It has become a monstrous
bureaucracy which is all about making money. True justice is a thing of the
past. If you get hauled into court, your life is on the line and it is a crap
shoot. Even if you are in the right and are acquitted, it will still cost you
thousands of dollars in lawyer fees to defend yourself.
 The wise warrior needs to consider these things. Do some research on
how our system really works. Learn what the police and courts looks for
that indicates that you acted in self-defense and that your actions were
justified. Research, not only how criminals and predators think, but also
how the police think and how their system works. What you find will be
scary and will make you think differently about self-defense.
There are several enlightening books on the market which give you
insight into how to successfully deal with the police. I can tell you straight
up that you shouldn’t trust the police to protect you or your rights; don’t
place your safety or the safety of your family in anyone’s hands but your
own. Understand that most people don’t care about you.
It is up to you to make sure that you and your family are safe – in
every way. This is what total self-defense is all about. The word “total”
leaves nothing out. Self-defense shouldn’t simply focus only on one type of
threat. If there are several kinds of danger lurking in your path and you only
train to address one of those kinds of danger, are you truly prepared to
protect yourself or your family? Think about that. You have to know your
rights and how the system works.
Our system of government is corrupt and it has been for many, many
years, but it is getting worse. It is easy for the warrior to focus on martial
arts, meditation, and physical fitness. These are things that he finds
interesting, fun, and exciting to practice and explore. But your duty extends
much further than martial arts training. You have to consider many other
factors when it comes to keeping your family safe, and some of these will
not be as exciting, interesting or fun as studying martial arts.
Politicians and government bureaucrats can turn your life into a
nightmare and utterly destroy you as easily as some thug in a back alley. A
criminal is a criminal; they merely differ in their approach. Total self-
defense has to incorporate a vast array of knowledge. You need to educate
yourself concerning the financial world as well as the criminal justice
system. The IRS can turn your family upside down with a simple audit,
even if you have tried your best to conform to their laws and regulations.
By now you should be starting to understand that there is much more
involved in keeping your family safe, than simply knowing how to fight and
defend yourself physically, and even in the physical arena there are many
other aspects to consider. One important part of total self-defense, as far as
your physical/mental skills are concerned, is learning de-escalation
techniques. This is a vital part of total self-defense, especially if there are
witnesses around you at the time of the conflict. Let’s looks at an example.
If you are in a bar and some ruffian decides to target you, you
shouldn’t just use him for a punching bag to teach him a lesson. This could
cause you a lot of trouble. What you want to do is to do everything in your
power to de-escalate the situation, while making sure that the many
witnesses in the bar can clearly see that you don’t want to fight, and are
trying your best to settle things peaceably. You do this with your dialog,
your gestures, the tone of your voice, etc. And you should do this sincerely;
you should truly not want to fight if you can avoid it.
You do this for two reasons. First, you do it because it is the right thing
to do. You never want to hurt someone if you can avoid it. Second, you are
covering your butt. If things do come to blows, you will have a room full of
witnesses that will testify that you didn’t want to fight and that you tried
your best to walk away peaceably, but were forced to defend yourself. As
Baltasar Gracian stated, “Let cold deliberation take the place of sudden
outburst.”
Of course you don’t always have the chance to de-escalate things. If
someone walks up and tries to take a cheap shot at you, for whatever
reason, you have to react immediately. I am not talking about a situation
like that. That is a totally different kind of situation. But, if you have a
chance to de-escalate things, do so. Don’t let your pride or emotions cause
you more problems. Think rationally and remember your objective, which
is to keep yourself and your family safe.
Self-defense is not about pride or proving how tough you are. It is
about one thing and one thing only, keeping yourself and your family safe –
in every way. If you want to prove how tough you are, enter some full-
contact fighting contest. Don’t try to prove how tough you are in a situation
that may cost you and your family financially, emotionally, and physically.
Putting some idiot in his place may feel good temporarily, but that good
feeling will soon turn to regret if it costs you thousands of dollars and
several years in prison.
I am just skimming the surface, concerning this topic. There are many,
many other topics where the issue of total self-defense should be considered
by the wise man. Things such as your choice of friends, drinking too much
in public, drug use, home protection, speaking your mind in the workplace,
etc. all can jeopardize, in one way or another, the overall safety of you and
your family, and should be taken into consideration as part of your overall
self-defense.
Another aspect of total self-defense is that of being prepared for
emergencies. You should have emergency plans for your family in case of
natural disasters such as fires, floods, tornadoes, etc. In addition, you should
also be prepared for the consequences of other kinds of disasters that could
disrupt your food supply, your access to clean water, the power to your
home, or fuel for your vehicles. These are all things that most people take
for granted, but these are all very real threats.
There are many books out there which give you a lot of information on
the many different aspects of survival, and I highly recommend that you
find a good one and do some research on the subject. You don’t wait until
you are assaulted to start thinking about your martial arts skills, and you
shouldn’t wait until your house is on fire to think about what steps to take to
get your family out safely. Take the time to prepare in advance. Total self-
defense incorporates all of this plus martial arts training as well.
Martial arts training is definitely a part of the warrior lifestyle and, in
my opinion, should be a part of everybody’s life in today’s society.
Everyone needs to know, at least some basic self-defense strategies and
techniques. There are a lot of really bad people in this world, and it is a part
of preparedness to know how these people think and how to keep yourself
safe from the many predators that roam our streets and neighborhoods.
Many people wrongfully see martial arts as teaching violence or all
about fighting. This is not the case. Depending on the style and the
instructor, martial arts teach much of what I discuss in Modern Bushido.
But, like I said, it depends on the instructor and the style. It can be difficult
to find a martial arts dojo that teaches both character training and actual,
useful self-defense techniques in the same class, or in some cases, at all.
There are many kinds of martial arts and each have their own
techniques, philosophy, and overall views of what martial arts should be.
Some are merely interested in sports or tournament applications, and others
only focus on mixed martial arts competitions. Others are mainly teaching
an ancient art form. While each of these have their place, and there is
nothing inherently wrong with any of them, in my opinion, the true warrior
should focus his attention on a martial art which teaches real-life
applications – true, usable self-defense.
 What I mean by usable self-defense is a martial art that teaches you
techniques and strategies that will keep you safe on the street. Learning a
martial art for the sake of learning an art is fine. These martial arts teach the
art of ancient weapons, katas, and pre-prescribed techniques. This is very
interesting and fun to learn, but a lot of what is taught in these type classes
is not really useful on the streets for personal self-defense.
For example, how many people are going to be walking the streets
carrying a sword or a naginata? Learning such things is mainly for
entertainment, tournaments, or just plain fun. For actual self-defense
applications I believe that the true warrior needs to concentrate more on
realistic martial arts training. This kind of training teaches real-life
applications and prepares the student for what he is most likely to run into
in today’s world.
Realistic self-defense classes are more interested in teaching
techniques which truly work, as opposed to teaching traditional techniques.
Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not saying that traditional techniques
don’t work. My black belt is in Shotokan, a traditional style of karate. What
I am suggesting is that it is fine to learn traditional martial arts styles, but
you will want to spend some time training in some modern, realistic martial
arts as well.
No matter what style of martial arts you decide is best for you, you
will want to make sure that it addresses three major areas: self-defense
techniques, de-escalation techniques, and mental preparedness. Of course a
good martial arts instructor is going to teach you much more than just these
three skill sets, but you want to make sure that you find someone who is, at
a minimum, an expert in these three. Let’s look at each of these three areas
of self-defense.
First, it should go without saying that any martial arts training should
teach you good self-defense techniques. These include things such as
punches, kicks, joint locks, pressure points, and using different weapons,
just to name a few. These techniques should be uncomplicated and easy to
learn. For realistic self-defense, you don’t need to know how to do some
jumping, spinning roundhouse kick. If someone tries to sell you on using
something like that for self-defense, he does not know what he is talking
about and you should find a different instructor.
When it comes to personal self-defense, you want to learn simple,
useable techniques, not fancy Hollywood stunts. Also, learning to use
traditional weapons is of little use, as far as self-defense applications are
concerned. It is much more useful for you to learn how to use modern
weapons such as firearms and knives. The one exception to this rule is
learning how to fight with a staff. There are many times when you could
have access to a makeshift staff in today’s world, so knowing how to use
anything from a bo staff to a hanbo would be useful training, and classified
under “good to know.”
In addition, a good self-defense class will include lessons on the
anatomy of the human body. The more you know about the human body
and how it is designed, the better able you are to understand how to take it
apart. You need to know how the different joints work, where pressure
points are located, which areas to attack and which not to, and which spots
are dangerous and could kill someone. This is all a part of learning about
the physical aspect of self-defense.
The second area that any good martial arts instructor should teach you
is de-escalation techniques. I touched on de-escalation techniques earlier in
this chapter, but it is an important subject, so I will expand on it more here.
De-escalation techniques basically teach the student how to put out a fire
before it starts. The applications of these techniques are many, but they
aren’t taught in many dojos today.
Too many martial arts instructors only teach students how to kick and
punch, basically, how to fight. This is shortsighted instruction. Sun Tzu
wrote, “To subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills.” This
is what de-escalation techniques are all about – winning without fighting. If
your instructor does not teach de-escalation techniques, and give you ample
time to practice these techniques in real-life scenario training, you should
either find a new instructor or get some independent training. Yes, it is this
important!
A vital part of de-escalation training is understanding how predators
think and how their minds work. My book, Wicked Wisdom: Explorations
into the Dark Side, is a good source for this information. It delves into how
criminals and predators think, and also gives you a lot of information about
de-escalation techniques. If you understand how these people think, it is
much easier to understand how to deal with them. Like George Washington
said, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of
preserving peace.”
 The last area of any good martial arts instruction is mental
preparedness. This area is closely related to learning de-escalation
techniques. In fact, they can be seen as overlapping. Mental preparedness is
a major part of realistic martial arts training. You can know every technique
perfectly, but if your mind panics when someone attacks you, your
techniques are almost worthless. This is where mental preparedness comes
into play. You have to learn how to control your mind in high-stress, high-
adrenaline situations.
It is one thing to spar with a friendly partner, in a safe and controlled
setting, but it is another thing altogether when you are assaulted by a
muscle-bound thug who truly wants to hurt you. You have to learn how to
remain calm and rational in these kinds of situations. Realistic martial art
training teaches you this skill.
Learning how to successfully defend your family should not be seen as
an option to the warrior – it is one of your main duties. It is for this reason
that I think it is much more important to learn modern, realistic martial arts
techniques, than to study traditional arts. I also think that every warrior
should learn to not only use modern weapons, but to become proficient in
their use during self-defense situations.
Again, I am not against learning traditional martial arts styles. If you
are interested in traditional martial arts, by all means take classes and learn
what you are interested in learning. All I am trying to get across to you is
that if you do decide to learn traditional martial arts, you should supplement
that training with some realistic training as well. In fact, the more you learn,
the better off you will be, as far as your own personal self-defense is
concerned. You can never have too much knowledge.
There is a Native American saying which states, “The hunter can make
many mistakes, the hunted, only one.” Predators are the hunters. They can
makes many mistakes and still live to try again, unless one of their mistakes
lands them in jail or dead. You, on the other hand, are the hunted. You can’t
afford to make a mistake if you are attacked by one of these predators.
Being unprepared or untrained could mean death for you, if your path
crosses paths with a dangerous predator.
It is for this reason that you should take your martial arts training and
your overall total self-defense skills, seriously. You should look at your
martial arts training as a matter of life or death, not simply as another fun
activity that you participate in two or three times a week. You have to be as
prepared as possible for whatever the winds of life blow your way. Good,
realistic, martial art training is a huge part of being prepared.
This chapter is just a very quick summary on the subject of total self-
defense. There are many books dedicated to this subject and I would highly
recommend that you do some research on each of the various aspects of
total self-defense preparedness. It is always better to be over prepared for
the unexpected, than it is to find yourself facing a bad situation which you
are not prepared to handle.
Total self-defense means that you are capable of defending yourself
against whatever may threaten your life, or your way of life. This topic
encompasses a wide variety of situations, far too many to be covered in this
short chapter. It will serve you well to prepare yourself as well as you
possibly can for the possible dangers that you could face. Remember the
ancient saying, “Only a warrior chooses pacifism; others are condemned to
it.” Give yourself the choice.
 Meditations on Total Self-Defense
 

What is of supreme importance in war

is to attack the enemy’s strategy.
Sun Tzu

What folly is it to play a game in which you

can lose incomparably more than you can win.
Francesco Guicciardini

He who lacks foresight and underestimates

his enemy will surely be captured by him.
Sun Tzu

You have everything to gain

from managing your affairs secretly.
Francesco Guicciardini

Let cold deliberation take the place of sudden outburst.

Baltasar Gracian

Silence is the safest policy if you are unsure of yourself.

La Rochefoucauld

If a battle cannot be won, do not fight it.

Sun Tzu

Don’t spit in the well: you’ll be thirsty by and by.

Russian Proverb

As circumstances change,
the ways of dealing with them alter too.
Han Fei Tzu

Every man counts as an enemy,

but not every man as a friend.
 Very few can do us good, but nearly all, harm.
Baltasar Gracian

Men are so false, so insidious, so deceitful and

cunning in their wiles, so avid in their own interest,
and so oblivious to other’s interest, that you cannot
go wrong if you believe little and trust less.
Francesco Guicciardini

If you live in the river you should

make friends with the crocodile.
Indian Proverb

Prepare yourself in good fortune for the bad.

Baltasar Gracian

It is the foolish sheep that makes the wolf its confessor.

Italian Proverb

If you have doubts about someone,

your true and best security consists in having things
so arranged that he cannot hurt you even if he wants to.
Francesco Guicciardini

Embrace the snake and it will bite you.

Bulgarian Proverb

In seeking to save another, beware of drowning yourself.

Sir Francis Osborne

Never get angry except on purpose.

Japanese Maxim
 More Meditations on Total Self-Defense
 

Strength is defeated by strategy.

Philippine Proverb

To subdue an enemy without

fighting is the greatest of skills.
Sun Tzu

You must be deadly serious in training.

Gichin Funakoshi

Avoiding danger is not cowardice.

Philippine Proverb

To be prepared for war is one of the

most effective means of preserving peace.
George Washington

He does not guard himself well

who is not always on his guard.
French Proverb

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond

the possibility of defeat, and then waited for
an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
Sun Tzu

It is usually the reply that causes the fight.

Japanese Proverb

Victory is not gained through idleness.

German Proverb

Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming,

but on our own readiness to receive him;
 not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather
on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
Sun Tzu

Make yourself a sheep, and the wolf is ready.

Russian Proverb

The hunter can make many mistakes,

the hunted, only one.
Native American Maxim

In peace do not forget war.

Japanese Proverb

Tomorrow’s battle is won during today’s practice.

Samurai Maxim

Even in the sheath the knife must be sharp.

Finnish Proverb

Invincibility depends on one’s self;

the enemy’s vulnerability on him.
Sun Tzu
 Chapter 30

Acceptance
Living in the Shadow of Death

Acceptance: The realization of a fact or truth and the process of

coming to terms with it

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “Old and young, we are all on our last
cruise.” Warriors must accept the fact that at some point, they are going to
die. The Samurai reflected on their death daily. This practice helped keep
them focused on the things in their life which really mattered and served to
remind them that every day is a special gift to be lived to the fullest. As
Dhaggi Ramanashi wrote, and was quoted in the great warrior epic,
Braveheart, “Everybody who lives dies. But not everybody who dies has
lived.”
Marcus Aurelius expressed this same thought stating, “It is not death
that a man should fear, he should fear never beginning to live.” And Dag
Hammarskjold echoed this sentiment stating, “Do not seek death. Death
will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.” This is
an excellent quote for the warrior – seek the road which makes death a
fulfillment. This actually sums up the warrior lifestyle, for it is the road
which makes death a fulfillment.
Everyone should live life to the fullest and strive to get as much out of
each and every day as humanly possible. Nobody knows when death will
suddenly appear at his door, so it is short-sided and foolish not to live each
day to the fullest. This doesn’t just mean being as active as possible in order
to get as much done as you possibly can before you die. As I said before,
you have to balance the three parts of your life – the spiritual, the mental,
and the physical.
Nobody knows how much time they have to live on this earth. Even if
you weren’t trying to live a life of excellence, this fact alone should be
enough to cause you to keep your affairs in order and live life to the fullest.
The reason so many people don’t live their life this way is because they
refuse to think about the uncertainty of life. For many, it is a depressing
thought. It wouldn’t be that way if they would spend some time reflecting
on their spirituality.
Without being clear about your spiritual beliefs or giving any thought
to spiritual things at all, death is definitely a scary, depressing thought. You
can only be at peace with the fact that your time is limited if you spend
some time meditating on your spirituality and come to peace with your
beliefs concerning God and your relationship with God. Once you have
reached this point and know what you believe and why, you will find that
you are more at peace with the subject of death and living your life to the
fullest here and now.
Warriors of old spent time reflecting on their spiritual beliefs because
they never knew when doing their duty would result in their death. Modern
warriors should follow their lead and make sure that they are at peace in
their spiritual life. Part of being prepared is being prepared for the
possibility of death. Charles Simmons wrote, “Every person ought daily to
reflect upon the uncertainty of life, and the consequences of sudden death.”
This is true. The Samurai knew this, the sages knew this, and you should
know this too.
Thinking of the consequences of death doesn’t have to be a morbid,
depressing process. Rather than thinking about how terrible or sad it will
be, think about it from the viewpoint of life is short, so you must make
every moment count. Use the fact that time goes by fast and your time on
this earth will be over faster than you can imagine, to motivate yourself to
live your life to the fullest. Spend time with your friends and family. Make
sure you keep your affairs in order. Live your life, don’t just eat, sleep and
work.
The sands in your hour glass will flow at the same rate whether you
live life to the fullest or just go through the motions. Sai Baba illustrated
this very well in the following analogy, “When you are intent upon a
journey, after you purchase your ticket and board the train – whether you sit
quietly, lie down, read or meditate, the train will take you to the destination.
So, too, at birth each living thing has received a ticket to the event of death
and is now on the journey.”
The sand in your hour glass is like the train in this analogy. It will
continue to flow, at the same rate, towards the time of your death no matter
what you do during that time. The sands of time are not affected by how
you spend your time. It doesn’t matter if you sleep, workout, work to
improve yourself, live with a positive outlook, or waste your life in a drug
induced fog, your time continues to flow (that is, unless you do something
like throw your hour glass off the top of a building and bring about your
own death).
It is up to you to decide how you will live your life. You decide how
your limited time on this earth will be spent. Don’t fear death or waste your
time putting off living until sometime in the future – live your life now!
Distich Moralia stated, “Give up fearing death; it’s at all times foolish to
miss life’s pleasures for fear of death.” If you are putting off enjoying your
life in the present, and instead you are thinking that you will start enjoying
your life after you accomplish this or after you make enough money, etc.,
you are making a big mistake.
This kind of thinking is a trap. There will always be another reason to
put off living and enjoying your life in the present – no money, a big
project, etc. This list could go on and on. You must live while you are
living. You can still take care of all the menial things that we all have in our
lives, while at the same time, living your life to the fullest. Living is living.
You don’t have to compartmentalize your life. It is okay to enjoy your life
and take time to smell the roses, even while you are struggling to make your
way in this world.
Shinso stated, “No matter what road I travel, I am going home.” Don’t
take everything so seriously that it subtracts from your enjoyment of living
your life. Although you can’t control the sands of time, you do control how
you live your life while those grains of sand are flowing through the hour
glass. Accepting the fact that the days of your life are numbered shouldn’t
take away from your excitement or enjoyment of life; this is not why the
warrior meditates on his death.
Meditating on death is merely a way to keep you focused on living life
to the fullest. If you think about the fact that you do not have all the time in
the world and that you are getting older every day, you will be more
motivated to live your life now, instead of putting off living until later. If
there are things that you want to do during your lifetime, do them now.
Don’t put off living until sometime in the future.
The other benefit is that when you understand that there are no
guarantees concerning how long you have to live on this earth, you will be
motivated to make every moment count with your friends and family. This
uncertainty should motivate you to keep your affairs in order so your family
is provided for in the event of your unexpected death.
This is exactly why the Samurai spent time daily contemplating their
death. They knew that their life was especially uncertain because of the
customs of their lifestyle. They could be commanded to commit suicide at
any time by their Lord, and they would obey, no questions asked. In
addition, there was also the very real chance of having to fight to the death
for self-defense or in a duel. They had to keep their affairs in order and be
prepared for death at any moment.
You, on the other hand, are not beholding to anyone who may
command you to commit suicide, but your life is no more guaranteed than
that of the Samurai of old. In fact, your life is just as uncertain. You never
know when you will be in a fatal car wreck, some freak accident, or caught
up in some act of terrorism. It is just as important for you to have your
affairs in order and to be prepared to meet your Maker as it was for the
Samurai warriors. Like Cicero said, “No man can be ignorant that he must
die, nor be sure that he may not this very day.”
Even a long life, is short. Before you know it you will wake up and see
new lines on your face and your body will start to feel old, and you will
think that just yesterday you were young. The years definitely go by fast.
Time is very deceptive in this way. Juvenal stated, “The short bloom of our
brief and narrow life flies fast away. While we are calling for flowers and
wine and women, old age is upon us.” Homer echoed this sentiment stating,
“Men flourish only for a moment.”
However, reflecting on how short your life may be is no excuse for
living recklessly or irresponsibly. This is a mistake that some people make
when they start to meditate on how short life actually is. They mistake
living life to the fullest, for living life selfishly and recklessly. Bias tells us
that, “We should live life as though our life would be both long and short.”
You aren’t on this earth to simply exist, but rather to live, and live
well. After all, you aren’t alive if you aren’t living. Your life is going to be
what you make it. As Christian Furchtegott Gellert wrote, “Live as you will
wish to have lived when you are dying.” Live your life with no regrets. Of
course everyone is going to have some regrets, but you should do your best
to live so that you don’t regret having wasted your allotted time during this
life.
Kok Yim Ci Yuen said, “The greatest gratification is embodied in the
knowledge on one’s deathbed that one has no regrets from his or her life,
and that one has spent one’s days with a sincere and harmonious attitude.”
Accepting your mortality doesn’t mean moping around waiting for death to
take you away; it means understanding that life is a gift and that you must
use that gift before it is too late. I will end this chapter with a quote from
Cervantes, it is actually Don Quixote’s Creed, and a good philosophy of
life, “Take a deep breath of life and consider how it should be lived.”
 Meditations on Acceptance
 

Old and young, we are all on our last cruise.

Robert Louis Stevenson

When you are intent upon a journey, after you purchase

your ticket and board the train – whether you sit quietly,
lie down, read or meditate, the train will take you to the
destination. So, too, at birth each living thing has received
a ticket to the event of death and is now on the journey.
Sai Baba

Take a deep breath of life and

consider how it should be lived.
Don Quixote’s Creed

None dies except in appearance. In fact what is called birth

is the passage from essence to substance, and what is called
death is on the contrary the passage from substance to
essence. Nothing is born and nothing dies in reality,
but all first appears and then becomes invisible.
Apollonius of Tyana

So live your life that the fear of death

can never enter your heart.
Tecumseh

The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.

I will not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
Jack London

Do you not know that disease and death must overtake us,
no matter what we are doing?…What do you wish to be
doing when it overtakes you?…If you have anything better to
be doing when you are so overtaken, get to work on that.
Epictetus

It is not death that a man should fear,

he should fear never beginning to live.
Marcus Aurelius

Live as you will wish to have lived when you are dying.
Christian Furchtegott Gellert

We should live as though our life

would be both long and short.
Bias

Do not seek death. Death will find you.

But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.
Dag Hammarskjold

Every person ought daily to reflect

upon the uncertainty of life, and
the consequences of sudden death.
Charles Simmons

Everybody who lives dies.

But not everybody who dies has lived.
Dhaggi Ramanashi
 Chapter 31

The Fool
The Antithesis of the Warrior

Fool: Somebody considered lacking a good sense of judgment; an

unintelligent person; a ridiculous person.

I have devoted quite a bit of time discussing the traits of the true
warrior, but sometimes it is helpful to our understanding to see the opposite
side of the coin – the traits of the fool. The actions of the fool are usually
the opposite of those of the true warrior. Someone who is a fool is
considered to be somebody who lacks good sense or good judgment. He
lacks the character traits of the superior man, and he embraces many traits
which the warrior strives to eliminate from his life.
The foolish man doesn’t quite comprehend the law of karma. The law
of karma is the total effect of a person’s actions and conduct during his life.
Karma is basically the law of reciprocity. This means that whatever you do
comes back to you in one form or another. The unwise man doesn’t
understand this, and thus wonders why he continually has bad luck
throughout his lifetime.
He fosters the internal enemies – feelings of anger, hate, revenge,
greed, jealousy, malice, and prejudice, without ever stopping to think about
whether his way of life is right or wrong. The concept of right and wrong
can never become fully established in his life because it is constantly being
overshadowed by selfish thoughts of comfort, desires and profit. Justice
takes a back seat to his own comfort or selfish desires. The book of
Proverbs puts it well, stating, “Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.”
 Although this type of man doesn’t deserve true honor, he often plays
the role of the charlatan, claiming honors and titles for himself which he
doesn’t deserve. John Crowne does a good job of telling us why this is so,
stating, “A fool, indeed, has great need of a title; it teaches men to call him
count or duke, and thus forget his proper name of fool.” How often do we
see this in today’s world! Just think of the corrupt, unethical politician who
is always called the “Honorable Mr. Jones.” Honorable indeed! Sakya
Pandit taught, “Though a wicked man appears good in his conduct, it is but
hypocrisy.” How well this applies to many of our politicians and leaders!
Every human being feels emotions such as anger or hate at one time or
another, but the foolish man harbors these feelings and nourishes them,
until they many times manifest in inappropriate and low actions. Fools are
rash and allow their emotions to guide their actions, never stopping to
consider that their emotions are irrational or that their actions will have
lasting consequences for them down the road. Baltasar Gracian wrote,
“Fools always rush in, for all fools are rash.” Rash actions are rarely wise,
rational decisions. The foolish man never stops to consider this fact, as
rational thought is a foreign concept to him the majority of the time.
Although his thoughts and actions are many times shameful, his pride
is without limits. Alexander Pope wrote, “Pride is the never-failing vice of
fools, and this point has proven to be true throughout the ages.” No matter
how undeserving of honor or honors, the fool’s pride never wavers. He
thinks of himself way more highly than he should, while at the same time
looking at the true man of honor with contempt.
The idea of emulating the wise man, or the warrior lifestyle, never
crosses his mind, with the exception of doing so for some ulterior,
dishonorable purpose. He is not interested in truly being a man of honor,
but rather in appearing to be a man of honor in order to increase his profits
or position. To him, this is what passes as wisdom. The concept of holding
himself to a higher standard because of his principles is sheer lunacy in his
eyes.
He cannot perceive the benefit of holding himself to a higher standard
if it doesn’t increase his bottom line in some way. He sees the true man of
honor as the fool because he simply doesn’t have the capacity to understand
the true meaning of honor. William Blake wrote, “A fool sees not the same
tree that a wise man sees.” How true this is!
 There is a Chinese proverb that states, “Summer insects are not
equipped to talk about ice; a frog in a well is not equipped to discuss the
ocean.” In the same way, the fool cannot comprehend the warrior lifestyle.
He has no concept of the many traits discussed in Modern Bushido; they are
simply foreign concepts to him. Confucius made this point perfectly saying,
“The superior man stands in awe of the words of the sages. The inferior
man does not stand in awe of them; he is disrespectful to important people;
he mocks the words of the sages.”
He mocks the very teachings that would help him transform his life.
There is very little wisdom found in him at all, yet he talks as if he is the
most intelligent man on the planet. This inferior man revels in hearing his
own opinions and always has to interject his two cents worth into every
conversation. Benjamin Franklin stated, “Half wits talk much but say little,”
thus describing the foolish man perfectly.
Plato taught us that, “Wise men talk because they have something to
say; fools because they have to say something.” The sages throughout the
ages have echoed this very sentiment about the inferior man. The book of
Proverbs states, “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in
airing his own opinions.” And Chuang Tzu taught, “Fools regard
themselves as already awake.” They think they are smarter than other
people.
You will find that many of the fool’s opinions are generalizations, and
as William Blake stated, “To generalize is to be an idiot.” It is by his own
words that the fool reveals himself. Aesop taught us that, “Clothes may
disguise a fool, but his words will give him away.” Aesop went on to say,
“The smaller the mind the greater the conceit.” As you can clearly see, the
inferior man doesn’t give much thought to his words, he merely spouts
whatever thoughts cross his mind, and they reveal him to be what he really
is – a fool.
The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that, “Hypocrisy, arrogance, vanity,
anger, harshness, ignorance; these characterize a man with foolish traits.”
These are obviously all traits which are completely opposite of the noble
traits that the true warrior strives to develop in his life. The foolish man
embraces these traits with the same vigor and passion as the warrior
embraces the character traits discussed in Modern Bushido.
The Buddhist monk Bodhidharma stated, “Good and bad are distinct.
Cause and effect are clear…But fools do not believe and fall straight into a
hell of endless darkness without even knowing it…They are like blind
people who do not believe there is such a thing as light. Even if you explain
it to them, they still do not believe, because they are blind.” It is basically
impossible to explain the warrior lifestyle to the inferior man; he simply
can’t understand why anyone would live in such a way.
Nagarjuna stated, “Counsel given to fools excites but does not pacify.
He who pours milk for a snake is only increasing its venom.” Even if you
do try to teach the way of the warrior to the fool, he will not change his
lifestyle. Oh, he may get all excited about what you say and act as if he is
going to change his life, but he rarely changes his true colors.
There is an ancient Irish proverb which states, “Don’t give cherries to
a pig; don’t give advice to a fool.” The reason for this is that it is a waste of
your wisdom; fools rarely will act on good advice, choosing instead to go
their own way, no matter how misguided that may be. It is best to hope that
the fool learns from his own mistakes, although this too is rarely the case.
As the Dayak proverb states, “No amount of rosewater can give a crow
white feathers.”
This outlook towards the fool is universally found throughout the
world. In Japan they say, “There is no medicine to cure a fool.” In China,
the saying is, “Rotten wood cannot be carved.” No matter how you put it,
the meaning is the same: fools will not listen to sound advice.
Dr. Frank Crane wrote, “Every generation a new crop of fools comes
on. They think they can beat the orderly universe. They conceive
themselves to be above the eternal laws. They snatch good from Nature’s
store, and run…And one by one they all come back to Nature’s counter, and
pay – pay in tears, in agony, in despair; pay as fools before them have
paid…Nature keeps books pitilessly. Your credit with her is good, but she
collects; there is no land you can flee to and escape her bailiffs…She never
forgets; she sees to it that you pay her every cent you owe, with interest.”
This is a sad, but true commentary on the foolish man. He has all the
same wisdom available to him as other men, but ignores it, choosing instead
to go his own misguided way. He perceives himself to be different than all
of those who went before him, and pays no heed to the wisdom of the
elders. This man is not capable of learning from the past, but instead only
has the capability to learn by making his own mistakes, many of which are
permanent.
 These men are hotheaded and reckless. To teach the fool the martial
arts, is to create a dangerous menace to society, as he uses what he knows
only for his own personal gain, without regard to anyone else. The masters
knew this fact and refused to teach martial arts to men of low character, but
things are different in today’s society. Today, everything appears to revolve
around money.
As you can plainly see, the fool is indeed the antithesis of the warrior.
The warrior lifestyle is something that he could never fully comprehend. It
is a way of life that he could never live. Strive to live as a wise man and
leave the characteristics of the fool behind and be a man of true honor and
integrity.
 Meditations on the Antithesis of the
Warrior
 

And the burnt fool’s bandaged finger

goes wobbling back to the fire.
Rudyard Kipling

It is the peculiar quality of a fool

to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own.
Cicero

The superior man stands in awe of the words of the sages.

The inferior man does not stand in awe of them:
he is disrespectful to important people;
he mocks the words of the sages.
Confucius

Stupidity always goes to extremes.

Baltasar Gracian

A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
William Blake

Whatever benefit one may give,

the wicked man is never grateful.
Nagarjuna

Fools have been and always will be the majority of mankind.

Denis Diderot

Any man can make mistakes,

but only an idiot persists in his error.
Cicero
Wise men talk because they have something to say;
fools because they have to say something.
Plato

Those who do not study are simply cattle in clothing.

Chinese Proverb

The recipe for perpetual ignorance is:

be satisfied with your opinions and
content with your knowledge.
Elbert Hubbard

To generalize is to be an idiot.
William Blake

Outside noisy, inside empty.

Chinese Proverb

The foolish person seeks happiness in the distance.

James Oppenheim

A fool will soon use up his money.

Japanese Proverb

A wise man guides his own course of action;

the fool follows another’s direction.
Sakya Pandit
 Conclusion
 

I hope that you have found this book to be a useful aid in your quest to
live a life of excellence. In order for the character traits discussed in
Modern Bushido to be useful in your life, you will have to make them a real
part of your life. It does no good to merely read about these traits, mentally
agree that you should integrate them into your daily life, and then forget
about them. You have to internalize the traits for them to make any
difference in your life.
As the Dhammapada states, It is you who must make the effort; the
sages can only teach.” I am not saying that I am a sage in any sense of the
word, but you have been given a lot of information from many different
sages in this book. Now it is up to you to decide whether or not you want to
take the teachings of these sages and make them a part of your life or
whether you want to continue with your life as is. Only you can make this
decision. Buddha taught, “No matter how many good words you read and
speak of, what good will they do you if you do not put them into practice
and use them?” Think about this.
Put the information that you have read in this book to use in your life.
Put it to the test and see if it isn’t a better way to live. Nobility is an attitude
not a birthright. You decide whether or not you will live a noble life. You
decide whether or not you will live the warrior lifestyle. You, and you
alone, decide whether or not you will live a life of honor and will be a true
warrior.

“One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.”

Miyamoto Musashi

Live With Honor ~

Bohdi Sanders, PhD

 
 Other Titles by Bohdi Sanders

 
Character! Honor! Integrity! Are these traits that guide your life and
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your life to the fullest!

 
The Heart and Soul of Bushido is the second book in the Warrior Wisdom
Series. Wisdom, life-changing quotes, and entertaining, practical
commentaries fill every page. This series has been recognized by four
martial arts hall of fame organizations for its inspirational and motivational
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The Warrior Lifestyle is the last installment of the award winning Warrior
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strives to live an extraordinary life of character and honor!
 
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 Martial Arts Honors
for Dr. Sanders’ Books
 

Dr. Sanders’ books have been honored by the follow organizations for their
significant contributions to the world of martial arts: