Miyamoto Musashi was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, philosopher, ronin, and a writer.
He wrote Dokkōdō or “21 Precepts on Self-Discipline to Guide Future Generations“ (also known as “The Path of Aloneness”. “The Way to be Followed Alone”, or “The Way of Self-Reliance“) a week before his death in 1645.
It’s a short work, full of meaning, containing general rules and guidelines for life. Musashi wrote it in preparation of his death and dedicated it to his favorite disciple. It’s 21 lines long, and each line addresses a different aspect of life.
The Dokkodo
The 21 Precepts of Dokkodo:
1. Accept everything just the way it is.
- Some things just cannot be changed and must be accepted just as they are.
- There’s no point living in denial about your current circumstances or your past.
- Don’t have a very rigid worldview. You need to be flexible in your understanding – don’t try to change the interpretation of something to fit a pre-existing structure.
- Beware cognitive dissonance.
The phrase that I use the most to myself in my head is one word: accept.
Stoicism
First, see clearly. Next, act correctly. Finally, endure and accept the world as it is.
If you cannot change something, it is best to accept it cheerfully rather than adding to one's misfortune by grieving over it.
You can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. What is not a good option is to sit around wishing you would change it but not changing it, wishing you would leave it but not leaving it, and not accepting it.
Always resignation and acceptance. Always prudence and honour and duty.
It takes courage to accept life fully, to say yes to our life, yes to our karma, yes to our mind, emotions and whatever else unfolds.
If we try to adapt our mind to the regular sequence of changes and accept the inevitable with good grace, our life will proceed quite smoothly and harmoniously.
Focus on what nature demands, as if you were governed by that alone. Then do that, and accept it, unless your nature as a living being would be degraded by it.