Musashi’s Dokkōdō and How It Changed The Way I Look At Life Philosophy
Accept everything just the way it is.
Dokkōdō roughly translates to “the way of walking alone.” Miyamoto Musashi’s book Dokkōdō contains 21 precepts of a way to live life. If you haven’t heard of Miyamoto Musashi, I would recommend picking up The Book of Five Ringsor a book that interprets the meanings of *Dokkōdō* to help you understand it on a deeper level.
The other day, I was in a mood to think a little about life philosophy and how to live life. Whenever something feels off in my life, usually it’s the time where I start to get into my deepest thinking to discover something within that I didn’t know was there.
One of the main reasons, I love reading old books and philosophy is because most things that they wrote about hundreds or even thousands of years ago are still applicable to life today. This is how I believe we get closer to discovering universal truths in our existence.
There are some precepts that Musashi wrote that I do not agree with. The precepts are based on living a loner which I do not intend to do. However, it’s worth noting that there is also an importance in learning to be alone. Have you ever met someone who cannot seem to spend a moment alone with their thoughts? Maybe you’re that person.
In today’s age, being alone in a room does not qualify as being isolated either. We have the internet, cell phones, and social media. Communication to a consciousness that is not ours is a few clicks away. This may sound dark but I remember my mother once told me a little while after my dad passed away, “We are born alone and most of us die alone.” My mother didn’t mean that in a way that means that no one will be by her side when she dies. However, it’s worth noting that death for you is an experience that only you experience. It’s not an experience that someone else can experience with you. It’s your consciousness, ending or moving onto wherever it moves onto next but this is an experience that is unique to you and you alone.
“Accept everything just the way it is.”
Acceptance is a foundation of Musashi’s philosophy and other philosophies such as stoicism.
Without accepting the way things are, we focus our energy on things that are not productive. Our past actions certainly do play a role in our future actions but that doesn’t mean they have to.
Accepting everything the way it is and moving towards the path of your choosing is a path not many people get to walk down.
People get stressed out about the state of the political world, the online world, and things that are happening in their own neighborhood. What is the point of getting stressed out about it if you are going to do nothing about it?
Does hoping something happens make it happen? Or does doing something about it make it happen?
This is where the choice comes into play. If you’re not going to do anything about the mental weight you are carrying, attempt to let it go. This is easier said than done. Our minds like to hold onto things that we perceive as dangerous, even if it’s out of our control.
Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation. It means acknowledging the reality in full and then taking informed decisions and effective action. If there is no action to be taken, then you must accept that.
Acceptance can also help us understand others. Instead of trying to force them into whatever view or direction you want, you may work to understand them better. The old saying, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink” is always a true statement. You can prompt people to ask questions about themselves but most of the time, someones mind is made up about something. Work to understand why and ask them why to understand.
“Do not fear death.”
There are few certainties in life but death is one of them. Sure, there are biohackers out there trying to become immortal but death is an inevitability. It’s a law of nature that we cannot control and must accept.
I cannot remember the day when I became aware of my mortality but it is something I have come to not fear. The only fear of death that I have is not getting done what I want in my life before I die and leaving a small legacy behind.
Death, on its own, does not scare me. It’s something we all go through even if we try not to think about it.
Maybe we should think about death more. It may give us more of a spark on those days where we are feeling down.
To me, death is a reminder that no matter what happens to me or what hell I go through, it will end eventually. Nothing lasts forever.
“Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.”
Since Musashi was a ronin who traveled by himself, he had to travel light. He only carried the most effective weapons with him.
Today, many of us have what is called *shiny object syndrome.* Every time a new app or gadget comes out, people flood to it like it is going to be the thing that saves them.
Some people spend $50 on a subscription for a calendar app even if it’s only slightly more effective than the free calendar app on their phone.
Much of our economy is built on people hoarding things well beyond their use. You can only wear 1 set of clothes at a time, so how many sets of clothes do you need?
Identify what is useful in your life and go with that. If you’re a writer, you do not need a special app to help you write a novel. You only need a word processor and you’re ready to go. Many people believe that the tool is greater than they are. You will never be great until you are greater than the tool.
There’s much more to Musashi’s Dokkōdō that applies to our daily lives. Mastering life is not an easy task and it is something that you have to work on every day. Even working on it every day, you may not get there. Does that mean you shouldn’t try? Absolutely not!
I created a guide to help you dig deeper into understanding the philosophy of Musashi. Get the guide here.