Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Warrior:
I feel the most important part of this precept is the last five words,
and in fact it probably should have been written simply as, “You must
preserve your honor.” I think this is the root of the precept, and it is
something I agree with wholeheartedly. As warriors, honor is
paramount and something we definitely must preserve.
Honor is a concept found in all warrior groups. From the samurai’s
bushido to the knight’s code of chivalry to the code of the West in
America’s frontier, honor has been central to warriorship. I agree with
Forrest Morgan, who wrote in Living The Martial Way that, “Warriors
are honorable because it’s a practical requirement of their
profession. They are honorable because it’s the most powerful way
to live. Most of all, warriors are honorable because to be otherwise is
cowardly!”
Musashi’s precept reminds me of my father talking to me when I was
a boy. He always told me that my word and my name were the only
things that couldn’t be taken from me, so I better make sure I always
kept my word and made my name one to be proud of. Since my
father served twenty-two years in the military, two of which were in

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Vietnam, it’s not surprising that this basic lesson he insisted upon
consists of the elements of honor found in all warrior cultures.
If we look at the samurai culture, we can find this morality of telling
the truth and never going back on your word in the phrase bushi no
ichi-gon. According to Boye Lafayette De Mente, in The Japanese
Samurai Code: Classic Strategies for Success, bushi means
“samurai or warrior” and ichi-gon means “one word; a single word.”
When used together this phrase means that the word of the samurai
is as good as gold (to use a Western idiom).
I also think my father told me when I was young and Musashi wrote
this for the younger generation because they both knew that young
men often give their word freely and without much thought. It is easy
to give one’s word, and even easier to regret it, but a warrior is
expected to honor it regardless. Therefore, it is wise counsel to
advise others to take care when giving their word as my father did
with me, and as Musashi does with this precept on preserving honor.
To a warrior, honor consists of recognizing obligations and having
the courage to do what is right. When you give your word, you
obligate yourself to ensure something is done. A warrior doesn’t give
his or her word lightly, because it means something. When you have
the courage to do what is right, you will have a name to be proud of.
Therefore, to be honorable, you must know the difference between
right and wrong and only take on obligations that are just or right. So
while they didn’t use the same words, I do believe Musashi’s precept
of insisting you preserve your honor and my father telling me to
make sure I kept my word and make my name one to be proud of
were essentially both aimed at keeping obligations and doing the
right things to ensure justice. And I agree that these principles of
honor are crucial to warriorship.
However, this doesn’t mean that all warriors are saints. We all fail in
our obligations or ignore justice at times. But just because we have
been dishonorable in the past, does not mean we should give up our
quest to be honorable in the present and future. It’s an ongoing
practice, just like the rest of our training. We must be conscious of

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when we give our word and of those obligations we accept. And
when we do give our word and accept an obligation, we must first
ensure that it is just and right, and then we must make sure we
follow through to its completion. This is how we practice being
honorable.
It is much easier to read about, or write about, than to actually live by
these principles, and that is why the warrior class has always been a
smaller group than the general populace. It might not be easy, but if
you are a warrior you must preserve your honor.