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From The Maze Where Realities Converge - the psychedelic encyclopedia of reality from The Ultimate Comment
The Way of The Samurai, as laid down in Hagakure: The Book of The Samurai is basically about what Heidegger called Being-towards-death, accepting the hard fact that we're all gonna die, and pretty soon. Did you know that you're probably not even gonna live 30,000 days? The Way of The Samurai is to constantly remind yourself of the inevitability of death until you have no attachment to life. In this way you conquer all fear and are able to act freely, because you realize that life is not worth worrying about. By disciplining your body and mind from this state of non-attachment, you bend all aspects of your body and mind to your will and so attain simplicity and single-mindedness. It is similar to Zen in its teaching of non-attachment, immediacy and single-mindedness through discipline.
The Way of The Samurai is to do whatever needs to be done with singleminded fanaticism. Planning should be done before you act, but when you act, you just act. Discipline can be gained by emulating role-models, by a competitive attitude and by discipline. You should always feel that you are better than everybody else and set out to prove this. Cultivate courage and pride and fanaticism. Death is far preferable to dishonour. Act as quickly as possible to bring matters to their conclusion.
There's also a lot of stuff in there about mindless loyalty and cutting your belly open because you sneezed in front of your master, but let's ignore that.
There are samurai concepts not specifically mentioned in Hagakure that are pretty interesting. Fudoshin means "the immovable mind" - not letting you attitude or resolve be swayed by anything anyone says. You'll notice that cool people generally show fudoshin. Mushin means "the mind of no mind" - when you're so absorbed in doing something that you don't even think about what you're doing. It just flows from you. Zanshin means "the mind without a remainder" - when you do something, your whole being is completely absorbed in it. You're not vaguely thinking about something else. Like Hagbard Celine said, "Never whistle while you're pissing." Some karate schools use the word 'zanshin' to refer to the sort of praeternatural awareness you see in kung fu movies. I guess this could be another aspect of the same thing - if your mind in completely absorbed in sense data, you are very aware. Shoshin means "beginner's mind" - you should not let yourself be restricted by what you've learned or practised, but rather you should look at every situation and every moment with a fresh mind. It is said that "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are only a few." Kaizen means continual improvement. No matter how good at something, you can always be better. Kaizen means that you pile practise on practise so that you constantly cut away unnecessary action, do everything better, smoother and faster. This process is neverending. Tamashii means "indomitable spirit" - all-conquering resolve and willpower that is not swayed by temporary defeat.
"If by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling."
"Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves,being thrown into the midst of a insane fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a insane earthquake,falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one's master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead"
"The Way of the Samurai is in desperateness. Ten men or more cannot kill such a man. Common sense will not accomplish great things. Simply become insane and desperate."
"The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong."
"Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams."
"Whether people be of high or low birth, rich or poor, old or young, enlightened or confused, they are all alike in that they will one day die. It is not that we don't know that we are going to die, but we grasp at straws. While knowing that we will die someday, we think that all the others will die before us and that we will be the last to go. Death seems a long way off. Is this not shallow thinking? It is worthless and is only a joke within a dream. It will not do to think in such a way and be negligent. Insofar as death is always at one's door, one should make sufficient effort and act quickly."
"There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment. Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else. No one seems to have noticed this fact. But grasping this firmly, one must pile experience upon experience. And once one has come to this understanding he will be a different person from that point on, though he may not always bear it in mind. When one understands this settling into single-mindedness well, his affairs will thin out. Loyalty is also contained within this single-mindedness."
"No matter what it is, there is nothing that cannot be done. If one manifests the determination, he can move heaven and earth as he pleases. But because man is pluckless, he cannot set his mind to it. Moving heaven and earth without putting forth effort is simply a matter of concentration."
"It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men. You are also a man. If you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon"
"It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this."
"An affected laugh shows lack of self-respect in a man and lewdness in a woman. Whether speaking formally or informally, one should look his listener in the eye. A polite greeting is done at the beginning and finished. Speaking with downcast eyes is carelessness. It is carelessness to go about with one's hands inside the slits in the sides of his hakama."
"One should always take the attitude of standing above others in martial valor, always feel that he is inferior to no one, and always cultivate his courage."
"Our bodies are given life from the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, "Form is emptiness." That all things are provided for by nothingness is the meaning of the phrase, "Emptiness is form."' One should not think that these are two separate things."
"When a man attaches discrimination to his mind, he becomes a coward."
"A man who will criticize you openly carries no connivance."
"Narutomi Hyogo said, "What is called winning is defeating one's allies. Defeating one's allies is defeating oneself, and defeating oneself is vigorously overcoming one's own body. It is as though a man were in the midst of ten thousand allies but not a one were following him. If one hasn't previously mastered his mind and body, he will not defeat the enemy."
"When faced with a crisis, if one puts some spittle on his earlobe and exhales deeply through his nose, he will overcome anything at hand. This is a secret matter."
"Purity is something that cannot be attained except by piling effort upon effort."
"Singlemindedness is all-powerful."
"If you cut a face lengthwise, urinate on it, and trample on it with straw sandals, it is said that the skin will come off. This was heard by the priest Gyojaku when he was in Kyoto. It is information to be treasured."
