Ken Nubo

There are many kick ass people that lived throughout history, but nobody, and I mean nobody, beats Miyamoto Musashi, a Japanese samurai. After reading five biographies of him and re-reading “The Book of Five Rings” (also written by him), I came to the conclusion that he is a mighty bad ass. More then Hemingway, Napoleon or even SAS soldiers and yes, even more bad ass then ninjas.

Here’s a guy who killed a grown man at 14. The roin (masterless samurai who Miyamoto killed) was killed with a wooden stick. He left home at age 16 to join the army and fought 2 wars.

Afterwards he was like, “Blah …” and became an ascetic, spending the rest of his life traveling around Japan alone with little belongings to challenge people into duels. A conservative estimate that he was in 60 duels (which he all won).

He killed swordmans from famous schools. He killed another highly skilled samurai by the name of Sasaki Kojiro. He was so passionate about perfecting his swordsmanship that he forgot to have sex — even near the end of his life.

Afterward he won his most famed battle against Sasaki (killing him with a wooden sword) he wondered around, studied zen and wrote The Book of Five Rings before he died … in a mountain. Alone. He was a loner but he was damn good at what he was doing — being a warrior.

Here is his 21 precepts of the lone warrior (Dokkodo, meaning The Way to Be Followed Alone). Some of the precepts are good. Find what you think is useful and apply it to your daily life. Discard what doesn’t apply.

1. “Accept everything just the way it is.”
2. “Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.”
3. “Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.”
4. “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.”
5. “Be detached from desire your whole life long.”
6. “Do not regret what you have done.”
7. “Never be jealous.”
8. “Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.”
9. “Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself or others.”
10. “Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.”
11. “In all things have no preferences.”
12. “Be indifferent to where you live.”
13. “Do not pursue the taste of good food.”
14. “Do no hold on to possessions you no longer need.”
15. “Do not act following customary beliefs.”
16. “Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.”
17. “Do not fear death.”
18. “Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.”
19. “Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.”
20. “You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.”
21. “Never stray from the Way.”

Everything I make a decision I sub-consciously use the 21 precepts as my guide. I found a big improve over the good decisions, hope you do the same.