IT’S NOT THAT THE “MISSION” IS IMPORTANT. It’s being able to devote the totality of yourself to the “mission”. No fear, no ego, no doubts, no laziness. You crush it not because it’s important, but because it’s important to be able to. Of course there are times when the “mission”, whatever it might be in your life, is incredible important. That is not the time to try and develop the qualities of a “hero”.
Many imagine that if they were somehow suddenly transported into a desperate situation, that they would rise to the occasion. This will never happen, instead they will fall to the level of their preparation. . Others fantasize about finding a magic amulet, or taking a rare drug, or being bitten by a radioactive spider, and that somehow they will be transformed from the pudgy insecure bored pinball person that they are, into a “superhero.”
The magic comes in having the commitment to such a goal and overcoming the adversity that bars you from it. On the top line above we say that Musha Shugyō, is for those who value what they are over what they have.
Now, many have a life of game playing, phony smiles, and half-truths. And they present this whiny weak shield to the demands of others who are little better themselves.
Stop. Never lie. Say your truth.. No doubts, no hesitation. To live like this is the objective.
There are ways of training for this. To begin with never lie. Try it, it will bring rewards beyond your imagining. Then there are very advanced levels of training.
At a higher lever, martial artists will have a specific formal arrangement of attacks and blocks called a kata. It is good to groove the moves, but that is the least part of kata, or martial arts for that matter. The kata, and martial arts are a kind of moving, wordless, philosophy. In the kata you groove your soul, your spirit, and your will. Thus seppuku may be one of the highest forms of kata. Not as an emotional bowl movement, but as ultimate discipline. And even more, to be able to do all this with relaxed concentration, and then to be able to fight with perfect form and discipline. The final step is to make your everyday life your kata.
I talk about kata, because that is what I know. Also I know that you can make whatever you choose, into a type of martial art. It is from this reality, learned the hard way, that came the saying, that it is not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game that counts.
You can’t control, “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” but you can control how you react to them, with training and practice.
When we see this in others, our respect is aroused as is our admiration. We wish to follow such people and emulate them. To have such a person as a friend is a great achievement. For you to become such a person is the purpose of this web site.
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