The Tenth Tenet

original posting:  30 July 2007

* have no heart for approaching the path of love*

The tenth of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

Ok. Go ahead. Make your jokes that this is my favorite. Make your snide, although funny and quite accurate asides about how I was waiting just to get to this one. You done, no? need more time? Its ok. Go ahead. I will wait. What? You are done now? Ok. Can I continue.

It is true that it is very easy for someone who spent his entire life unaccompanied and preferring to be alone as opposed to having a wife, or mistress or even a plaything, Musashi is definitely one to be able to say this with some authority.

What does it mean to approach the path of love. I would say the world spends the greater part of their life, if it doesn't happen early enough, trying to find someone to spend the rest of it with. I am not talking marriage, I am talking having that constant companion to share the wiles, struggles, pain and joys of this life.

It would seem that Musashi is strongly cautioning against trying to find love. Why? What does he have against love and what does he know that we should follow such a tenet?

Wasted time. Wasted energy. A venture that, in the end, has very few real rewards. If you spend five hours every day pursuing doing more of this exercise, or doing these courses, you will have a tangible, palapable and sure evidence of your efforts. If you approach the path of love… what do you get for your efforts? What was that? Something insubstantial and fickly, fleeting and that fades with memory? Oh, that is what I thought you said. Exactly. Outside of a few highs with most terrible lows, most people will remember only a few highlights of their love life, capped by either a marriage or the day they decided to never date again. And for what? Nothing that can be capitalized or used later in life. Just wasted time. Wasted energy. And most likely, a whole slew of psychological problems that in essence lessen you as a person and make you less enjoyable to be around.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is trying to keep us from this one pursuit that so many take up, yet has let so many down a path of hurt, pain, waste and torture. Save yourself the trouble, Musashi says. Just plain, 'have no heart' for trying

The Ninth Tenet

original posting:  29 July 2007

* do not complain or feel bitterly about yourself or others*

The ninth of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

Complaining. Bitterness. These seem to be specialties that are served in grande masse in this life and by those that live it.

What is complaining? Commentary about something that one will do nothing about? This is often the case with people that have little ambition or ability to change what is going on that they feel they should complain about. There are some that can finely walk the line of stating something and complaining about it. Why is it so hard to do? Emotion. Being able to distance oneself from the emotion of something, and thereby being able to act upon it rationally and with clear intent and motive is the mark of someone who, in most instance, will not simply let fate walk on, dragging them along for the ride.

Being so concerned with others is another area this tenet hits upon. Wasting all the time and energy needing to know about others, their life and lifestyle, their comings and goings and complaining about what they do that you don't like and being bitter about the things they have that you don't and so on and so forth. Why? What is the purpose?

In this way, I believe the Musashi is trying to keep of from walking a path that will cause us to be bitter and to fill our days with useless fretting and complaining. He himself would be apt at just solving whatever problem he had, with a quiet mind and stable mentality, offering little in the way of commentary, outside of simple statements of facts, and only where he was concerned. As with everything you can infer about Musashi, he preferred to direct his energies into things more useful and productive, such as a better way of killing someone.

The Eighth Tenet

original posting:  28 July 2007

* do not lament parting on any road whatsoever*

The eighth of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

This is a tenet that I see is so hard for anyone to grasp. Sure there are the diehard hardliners who don't care about anyone but themselves. That said, there is the rest of the world. We lament the passing of kindred spirits, lovers, friends and family. We sicken ourselves over a breakup with a lover, spouse, acquaintance or friend. Tears are shed, clothes are rent, the heavens fall and our lives are shattered and broken.

I have said it before and it bears repeating: Musashi was a loner, a consummate renegade, masterless samurai who cared little for having anything, friends, possessions, money or the company of a woman. But there is much that can be learned by this tenet.

Life has it's own cycle. There is the endless birthing and dying. There is the cycle of psychology and sociology at play in every single relationship we have, whether it be plutonic, sexual or any varying degree in between. People meet, there is excitement, there is fury and passion, there is settlement and comfort, there is regret and indecision, there is maybe a bit of distance and reevaluation, and in a lot of instances, there is separation and movement away. This is life, that is life and in most peoples lives, that is just what happens.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is trying to show us that we must accept that we will, throughout this life, part with many people for any of the varied reasons that I just touched on above. Whatever the reason, it is going to happen, and multiple times. Wasting the emotion, time, energy and effort in treating each and every occurrence as if it was the first time only adds to the burden of this already burdened life. Accept that life goes on, do not dwell on any single moment of pain or sadness or loss from parting, and I believe that happiness would be the reward

The Seventh Tenet

original posting:  26 July 2007

* do not envy another's good or evil*

The seventh of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

Envy. The green eyed monster. Countless fashion magazines and a world of idealism have created untold psychological problems, ranging from inferiority complexes to bulimia and anorexia. Why? Because they envy what they see.

People live their lives… unless such a life is one of privilege. Always wanting something. Sometimes this is constructive, such as the single mother who wants something better for her children. But the overwhelming majority of people seem to envy what others have. They make no motion to attain their own version of what they covet, but are instead perfectly content in their coveting of others, things, or ideals.

Where is the ambition to attain? Where is the drive to enjoy the fruits of your own labor. When envy takes hold, much of that is undermined and completely put aside in favor of this needless, fruitless want.

Another area this tenet touches on is whether it is good or evil, is of no consequence.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is trying to show us that we should strive to have what we want for our own solidly defined personal reasons. To sit back and envy others, for their ideals, professions, possession, etc, is to live a life of want, wasted energy and useless lamenting

The Sixth Tenet

original posting:  26 July 2007

* do not regret things about your own personal life*

The sixth of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

Regret.  It takes so much out of life… does it not? It makes past memories shadow, it makes former pleasures seem like a waste of time, it makes a life in the past tense dull, full of pitiful indulgence and lacking in many respects. 

I think there is a lot here that can be noted. I don't believe musashi is saying so much to just plain not give a damn about what you do in life… but, as he did, live a life with purpose, to the point where you have nothing to regret. Sure, someone may have to leave you, or someone may die, or some other similar bad thing, financial, et al, but the point is to always do what you should to get closer to your inner being, to get closer to the version of you that you can be truly happy with. Reaching those later stages of your life and just having regrets only points to not being mature enough, wise enough, or any other such description early on.  But… that is the one drawback of youth, we always think we know enough, are smart enough, and are in control enough to 'forge that path.' Time shows us that we aren't. We are most often our own enemy, doing things that we simply cannot recover from.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is trying to give us direction… something that most people in America lack. Sure, they can cuss you out. Sure they can tell you what to do with YOUR life, YOUR money, YOUR everything. But they cannot seem to find the inner control, inner strength and inner calm to give their own life purpose, so that they may speak of their life in past tense, and have nothing but accomplishment, happy and sad memories, and fondness… instead of this bitter tasting regret

The Fifth Tenet

original posting:  25 July 2007

* do not ever think in acquisitive terms*

The fifth of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

Acquisitive terms. Terms of accusation. How many people do you know who are exactly this way? Everything they think… everything they do and how they act are all based off of their own belief and disposition that everyone is guilty, or they shadow everything, not in light of the reality of the situation, but with the past… their past.

People are almost always plotting something. Scheming something. Doing something in this way. It poisons the mind, it blackens the soul, and I believe it makes you less of a person as you are generally less appealing to be around than, say, a person who is lighthearted, laidback and would rather not occupy their every thought talking about others and thinking everyone's business is their own.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is trying to keep us from walking down a path that leads to our own destruction, whether physically, mentally or spiritually

The Fourth Tenet

original posting:  24 July 2007

* consider yourself lightly; consider the world deeply*

The fourth of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

There is a lot to think about in just this short tenet. To consider yourself lightly, you have to be self aware. Self aware. Aware of who you are, where you are in life, your importance to the people and places around you… et, ad nauseum. That is a lot to ask today in a society that seems to reinforce the identity dilemma that we all face growing up. Girls wanting to be stick thin supermodels, guys wanting to be jocks and rock stars. Very few people grow up wanting to be… themselves. Isn't that a strange? We grow up wanting to be someone else.

There may be those that know themselves, find their ambitions, hobbies and everything in between and know exactly where they want to take their lives. This is good… but most often times… they are very much a bore. Taking everything so seriously that they cannot enjoy themselves, and those around them cannot enjoy their company either.

The world is all around us. And where we are when we are born into it, for the most part, dictates how we will spend the rest of our lives. Whether as coked out drug fiends in the inner cities of New York, to a rich boy with nothing to want living in the Hamptons.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is trying to show us that everything is not as serious as we ourselves make it out to be… and that the world is just not some obscure, abstract and out there entity, but something that surrounds us, and if we misjudge or do not look at with a word to the wise… we may end up just another victim of this 'cold, cruel world.'

The Third Tenet

original posting:  23 July 2007

* do not intend to rely on anything*

The third of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

This is a tenet that I am definitely applying in my life and have been for quite some time… or at least… as Musashi eloquently notes… intending to.

Do not intend to rely on anything. Relying on himself for his entire life, Musashi gives us a very direct and easy to understand tenet that most have trouble with. In our society, dependency and co-dependency are so rampant and in the norm that we come to rely on everyone and everything around us. As a whole, we are afraid to be alone, afraid to have no one and nothing. We search and search and search and take unreasonable risks and chances why? To rely on someone?

What is the adage, that everything in life changes? That nothing stays the same? If this is time tested and age old true… why would you WANT to rely on anything. It is only a matter of an undisclosed countdown until it goes away or until you can no longer rely on it… and that is the best case scenario. I won't even touch the betrayal and pain that can come from this sort of thing.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is trying to show us that our strength should come from the inside. That our happiness should be inborn. That our direction in life should come from personal ambition and not from chasing something that we want to be dependant on

The Second Tenet

original posting:  22 July 2007

* do not scheme for physical pleasure*

The second of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone".

Well… I think we all know to some degree how exactly this applies to us today. Do not scheme for physical pleasure.

Scheme. What is in a word. To scheme is to "form an elaborate or systematic plan of action" according to the dictionary. What is it that most guys say when they go out. "Man, I really hope I get laid tonight. I got this new cologne, check out these new cloths… man I am going to knock them dead tonight." They do everything they can, spend money and energy, just so they can go "get some."

Of course, Musashi spent very little time in his life in the arms of a woman. Historically, he has been counted as a loner and somewhat of a standoffish and brute. It would seem that he did not want to own the affection of anyone, quite content with the awe and admiration he found from the deeds and exploits that he was legend for.

In this way, I believe that Musashi is showing us what I believe to be an underlying truth in the tenet, is that don't scheme for something as fickle and flighty as physical pleasure. Sure, Musashi had a little bit more to say about love, but in this alone, I believe the wisdom is to not let something you want twist your actions, lifestyle or wallet for that matter. It amounts to wasted energy and usually unfulfilled dreams. Energy and time that could be spent actually bettering oneself… something Musashi seemed a strong supporter of

The First Tenet

original posting:  21 July 2007

* do not turn your back on the various ways of the world*

The first of the twenty one tenets of "The Way of Walking Alone."

Turning your back on something has many different implication. Fear.  Cowardice.  Disrespect.  Dishonor. Shame.  Disownment. As you can see… there are very few good reasons to turn you back on something, someone or some place.

In the timeframe that this was written in, a "way" was something defined as a path, a lifestyle, a training discipline, an art… so on and so forth. Basically, anything that you could devote yourself to could be defined as a way.

Turning your back on the various ways of the world could be seen as intentional ignorance. Refusing to accept that there are other 'ways' is also a trait closely associated with close minded individuals that few that there are only a few ways about something. "There is only one way to fight, only one way to draw, only one great strategy for football." All these mentalities show turning your back on the various ways of the world.

Throughout history, diversification of tactics and different approaches to all things artistic and material have caused whatever it was being expanded upon to flourish.  We have many different pieces of art, from drawing, paintings, sculpture, engravings and reliefs because of groups of individuals that did not let their mind be fastened to one particular type of art. 

In this way, I believe that Musashi is showing us that by embracing, or at the very least, accepting that there are other ways, expands us as individuals and broadens our experience in life.

The Way of Walking Alone

original posting:  4 July 2007

these are not mine... but i see many parallels in my own philosophies as are in here. and if you know who came up with these... i will definately think a little more highly of you.
* do not turn your back on the various ways of the world
* do not scheme for physical pleasure
* do not intend to rely on anything
* consider yourself lightly; consider the world deeply
* do not ever think in acquisitive terms
* do not regret things about your own personal life
* do not envy another's good or evil
* do not lament parting on any road whatsoever
* do not complain or feel bitterly about yourself or others
* have no heart for approaching the path of love
* do not have preferences
* do not harbor hopes for you own personal home
* do not have a liking for delicious food for yourself
* do not carry antiques handed down from generation to generation
* do not fast so that it affects you physically
* while military equipment is another matter, do not be fond of material things
* while on the Way, do not begrudge death
* do not be intent on possessiong valuables or a fief in old age
* respect the gods and buddhas, but do not rely on them
* though you give up your life, do not give up your honor
* never depart from the Way of the Martial Arts
"The Way Of Walking Alone"  -  Miyamoto Mushashi, 12 May 1645