Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Warrior:
Despite the Aristotle quote, “Jealousy is both reasonable and
belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the
base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while
the other does not allow his neighbor to have them through envy,” I
agree with Musashi’s precept, “Never be jealous.” Maybe it is
because I agree with one of my favorite science fiction authors,
Robert A. Heinlein (1907 – 1988), who said, “A competent and self-
confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is
invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.”
Okay, maybe Heinlein was off when he said it was a symptom of
neurotic insecurity, but I do believe that jealousy is never useful, and
therefore “never be jealous” falls within the same rules Musashi
wrote about in Go Rin No Sho that I mentioned in the last precept,
“Do not regret what you have done.” I’ll remind you that, depending
on how it’s translated Musashi wrote, “Do nothing which is of no
use,” or “Do not involve yourself with the impractical.” I agree with

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Musashi’s “Do nothing which is of no use,” and therefore agree with
him when he wrote, “Never be jealous.”
Some feelings and emotions can be used. A warrior learns to use
pain. It allows us to know we have trained hard, or it tells us
something is wrong. Warriors feel fear and use it to keep themselves
sharp, and as a reminder use caution at times. The courageous
warrior isn’t one who doesn’t feel fear, but rather one who feels it and
acts anyway. But, unlike other emotions jealousy never helps. It is
never useful.
To enter battle, a warrior must be secure with him or herself, as well
as those he or she is entering battle alongside. When you are
comfortable with yourself and have high self-esteem, you don’t feel
jealous of other’s circumstances or relationships. This is one of the
primary reasons I agree with Musashi. If you are jealous, you are not
secure with yourself. Jealousy indicates insecurity, and insecurity will
lessen the competency and effectiveness of the warrior.
[13]
Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919), certainly a warrior, once said,
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” When you focus on comparisons,
and feel there is something else that’s better, jealousy ensues.
Therefore, the warrior shouldn’t focus on comparisons, but rather
should focus on his or her own positives and endeavors at self-
betterment. Yes, curbing the emotion of jealousy may be difficult, but
it is necessary for the warrior to move forward. Whenever feelings of
jealousy start to arise, one must immediately shift their focus to their
strengths and unique qualities to avoid the irrational thinking that
comes with the feeling of being jealous. With practice, this shift
become easier, and with an increased self-worth and self-esteem, it
becomes less necessary.
Jealousy may be inherent in every human being. It might be natural
for people to feel jealous when others do better than them. However,
it is a feeling of insecurity and lack of confidence in oneself. Because
a warrior can’t afford the feelings of insecurity or lack confidence, the
warrior must focus on him or herself and never be jealous.

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