The Bushido Code
The Code of Bushido was developed for a warrior society driven by class and gender distinctions. This "code of honor" was designed to bring a level of discipline and stability to that society. Today we live in a very different world but the code still has meaning, and can help to make us better people as we work towards "perfection of character."
The Code of Bushido was developed for a warrior society driven by class and gender distinctions. This "code of honor" was designed to bring a level of discipline and stability to that society. Today we live in a very different world but the code still has meaning, and can help to make us better people as we work towards "perfection of character."
Meiyo
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Honour
In the Code of Bushido, honor stands in an interesting place. It cannot be separated from the other six codes and without it the other six have little power. By adding morality, honor enhances and helps us understand the other codes, and helps us to determine how to handle conflicts in life. Honor encourages us to return kindness for kindness and to treat all people with respect regardless of social standing. Too often in today's world people such as wait-staff or store clerks are treated with rudeness by those who consider themselves better educated and superior. Unlike in feudal Japan however, where class and gender distinctions were the rule, an honorable person today would never consider treating someone differently because of his or her job, gender, or place in society. Instead, it is the duty of the honorable person to treat all people with respect and to speak out against injustice. Honor is a term that is hard to define and is often misunderstood. Many associate honor with revenge and the idea of "death before dishonor." Many people have gotten into fights in attempts to "defend their honor." The culture of dueling often left men dead after seemingly mild insults, and that culture still exists in today's gangs; or as we saw recently, in today's hockey rinks. What many don't see is that these people aren't fighting over honor. Instead, they are only saving face. They do not see the distinction between honor and face and feel as if their honor has been taken from them. Honor, however, cannot be taken from you by an insult. It can be thrown away by believing the insults and taking revenge but it can never be taken away from you. Instead, honor is within you and is demonstrated in how you respond to others. |
There is a story of a master swordsman who sat calmly through a barrage of insults from potential robbers. The swordsman avoided a fight by expertly catching four flies with his chopsticks and then getting up and walking away. Traditional misunderstandings of honor would see this man insulted and would say that he should get revenge. In fact, nothing that the robbers could say would take away the swordsman's skill or honor. Fighting them would not make this swordsman more skilled or honorable. It was more honorable for this swordsman to walk away.
True honor involves benevolence and politeness towards all people, the courage to do what is right, loyalty to all who have helped us, justice but not revenge, and veracity without causing harm. Six of the Codes of Bushido are inherent in the concept of honor and without honor these other six are meaningless. Imagine veracity without honor: one can be too truthful and cause great damage. Courage without honor can lead us to harm ourselves or others unnecessarily. Loyalty without honor can lead us to follow blindly those who are harmful to us or to others. Honor is clearly the hardest of the seven codes to define and yet it is the most essential. To be honorable, one must decide what is the "right thing to do" and then do it. To be honorable one must demonstrate politeness, courage, benevolence, justice, loyalty, and veracity- The Code of Bushido.
True honor involves benevolence and politeness towards all people, the courage to do what is right, loyalty to all who have helped us, justice but not revenge, and veracity without causing harm. Six of the Codes of Bushido are inherent in the concept of honor and without honor these other six are meaningless. Imagine veracity without honor: one can be too truthful and cause great damage. Courage without honor can lead us to harm ourselves or others unnecessarily. Loyalty without honor can lead us to follow blindly those who are harmful to us or to others. Honor is clearly the hardest of the seven codes to define and yet it is the most essential. To be honorable, one must decide what is the "right thing to do" and then do it. To be honorable one must demonstrate politeness, courage, benevolence, justice, loyalty, and veracity- The Code of Bushido.
Innate to every human being on this planet is a sense of right and wrong. Some call it "conscience." Regardless of how one chooses to label this instinctive awareness of right action and the converse, this awareness serves to keep each and every one of us on the path of moral righteousness if we so choose to recognize it. The most common reasons for abandoning to uphold this human virtue are greed and selfishness. Once again, the outcome of any situation (or our lives, in general) will come down to the choices we make on a daily basis. Staying in close contact with our conscience and instinctive base of morality will prevent us from straying and committing acts which we will inevitably regret, possibly causing harm to others. To follow the path of Bushido is to support righteousness at all costs...and at all times without compromise. |
Sometimes, making a hard choice requires a great deal of courage. Situations which require us to make these choices don't necessarily come when we are called upon to save someone's life or commit a heroic act of such degree that will gain us notoriety. Most of time, it is the simplest of situations which force us to make a choice between taking a chance to do the right thing or remain in the shadows of our own pride, embarrassment or fear and merely observe with regret. Bushido dictates that we must act to support goodness and right action regardless of our level of comfort with the intervention. Sometimes, the lives or well-being of others will depend on our ability to rise with courage at any given moment, usually when we least expect it. |
If there is one aspect of human expression that is most lacking in the world today, then it has to be compassion. We have become so accustomed to living in a selfish way that we are inured to the pain and suffering of others around us, not realizing that their pain is ultimately tied to our pain and that someday soon enough, we will inherit the effects of living our lives so selfishly in ways that we least expect. This should not only be approached from a karmic sense whereby we assume that if we don't act with compassion then someday we will be overlooked when we are in need. Rather, we should constantly show compassion to all manner of life and try whenever possible to take care of those less fortunate than ourselves as opposed to shunning and marginalizing them because of ego, shame or prejudice. Every living thing has a heart and soul...and most of us can relate to pain and rejection. As our earthly population grows, driving most of us to become more marginalized, greedy, defensive and selfish, let Bushido guide you to stand apart and act out of generosity and kindness. Setting a good example is a by-product of Bushido and most likely would have become the eighth virtue, had the masters not understood that all those strong enough (and smart enough) to apply The Code to their own lives would invariably understand how contagious even a small amount of decent and respectable human behavior can be to others. Spread the virus of good virtue today.
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REI
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Respect, Courtesy and Gratitude
Hold in esteem everyone and everything. Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A samurai is courteous even to his enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more than animals. A samurai is not only respected for his strength in battle, but also for his dealings with other men. The true inner strength of a Samurai becomes apparent during difficult times. Right action--a most essential quality Most think of respect as how it is applied to those older than us. However, respect--as it is viewed in Bushido--is very similar to how it was viewed by almost every highly developed and spiritual culture throughout human history. Respect covers not only a reverence for those who hold authority or seniority over you, but it covers a humility toward all manner of life on this planet--and not only the type of life which happens to support our existence. |
Once again, we must relinquish our desire to dominate and be selfish. Not only do we have to defer to and honor our elders, we must do the same for other men, women and children and set good examples of humility, which actually requires more strength and restraint than aggression or dominance--primal behavior born out of insecurity.
A practitioner of Bushido has nothing to prove, nor has any fear of being lessened by others. Always be courteous, humble and respectful, regardless of the situation.
The only exception would be when we must defend someone or something close or important to us. The best part of practicing this virtue is the reward it brings to the heart of the practitioner. However, don't do it for any possible reward; do it because it is the right thing to do.
A practitioner of Bushido has nothing to prove, nor has any fear of being lessened by others. Always be courteous, humble and respectful, regardless of the situation.
The only exception would be when we must defend someone or something close or important to us. The best part of practicing this virtue is the reward it brings to the heart of the practitioner. However, don't do it for any possible reward; do it because it is the right thing to do.
Truth is the cornerstone of any human relationship and interaction. It is the foundation of how we view the world and how we are viewed by it. It is strong and undeniable, yet is the most easily manipulated, fragile and potentially damaging of all the virtues. This is because the simplest false impression can go a long way and create an alternate reality that when revealed as fiction, can potentially create profound levels of destruction and pain. Honesty is most often compromised by greed and selfishness. Sincerity and truth reside on a steep hillside that must be constantly supported and upheld by each and every one of us. Once we compromise our commitment to honesty, then that hillside becomes a slippery slope and little "white lies" eventually lead to compulsive misrepresentations necessary to support previous untruths and so on. The choice to represent oneself or situation truthfully may initially be painful, embarrassing or scary, but those momentary feelings will be nothing compared to the pain that could be caused down the line when a long-believed lie has been exposed. The "straight and narrow" is known as such because it is that which does not waver and does not make accommodations for any kind of color or compromise--truth is black and white and sincerity lies within speaking from the heart with complete integrity of expression. Indeed, truth can be painful, but it is ultimately preferred and always most respected. More importantly, it is the only way of expression and communication for someone on the path of Bushido.
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We often look at domesticated animals--dogs in particular--when we wish to observe and understand loyalty. And there is good reason for this. Dogs want love and companionship. They will endure years of abuse and even death by the master of their own choosing just to earn the master's trust and love. Abused animals may not understand why they are abused, but they endure it because they made a decision to stand by their masters, regardless of how painful that commitment proves to be. This has been observed whether or not there is any kind of food dependence or reward involved. However, loyalty, as it applies to Bushido, requires immense understanding as well as commitment. Loyalty, duty and honor are closely connected and are three of the most difficult virtues to master. This is because one has to be completely selfless and unwaveringly responsible in order to fulfill their demands. Many have argued that often the temptation to compromise honesty has been overwhelming during occasions when honor and loyalty had to be defended, usually on behalf of someone else to whom a deep pledge has been made. However, temptations to compromise any given virtue usually arise when self-preservation or guilt are knowingly (or even sometimes unwittingly) taken into consideration. The most common reasons for ceasing to uphold human virtues are greed and selfishness. Suffice to say, there is no compromise that can be justified in the end and each one of us will ultimately know and have to live with our choices in the end. Military applications aside, loyalty, devotion and duty represent clear and non-negotiable commitments either to a person, a place, a thing, a cause, a belief or even a simple promise. They represent bonds that can only be broken by a weakened resolve, a negative shift in priority...or a simple choice. Once again, light is shed upon our individual choices. The Bushido Code is nothing but emptiness until we give it form and purpose. It only means something to one individual life and that of no one else. It only exists if it exists in our choices and more importantly, through our actions. However, it resides in each of us. If you feel the dormancy in your soul, then let your loyalty to your own human evolution awaken its relevance to your life and begin practice of The Code. One good choice will lead to another...and another. Soon you will find that your inner understanding of truth and right living will be indistinguishable from the self-realized image you see in the mirror. Gently remove the ego and live beyond yourself today...and you will find that it will be the greatest gift you could ever give yourself...and the rest of the world.
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