Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Warrior:
With this precept, Musashi is aligned with the warrior ethos from
history to modern pop culture, and it reminds me of both Yamamoto
Tsunetomo (1659 – 1719) and Billy Jack (cult hero in a series of four
movies from 1967 to 1977). In the world of the warrior, death has
always been paramount. The death of enemies as well as the
reflection on one’s own death... Before examining the concept of

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fearing or not fearing death we should look at some similar
references.
In the first chapter of Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s Hagakure, which is
often called the Book of the Samurai (William Scott Wilson
translation), we find, “The Way of the samurai is found in death.”
Yamamoto continues by advising to set one’s heart right every
morning and evening, to live as though your body is already dead, in
order to gain the freedom in the Way, and thus succeed in your
calling.
While not identical, I feel the same sentiment regarding living is
found in the courtroom scene from the film The Trial of Billy Jack
(1974). In this scene, Billy Jack (played by actor/director Tom
Laughlin) refers to death as his constant companion, who eats with
him, walks with him, and even sleeps with him. Billy Jack then tells
the courtroom that each and every one of us has death as a constant
companion, and that he sits with each of us every second of our lives
but we are too terrified to think about it. Then, one of the most
important concepts of the movie is expressed when Billy Jack states,
“But once you do (think about death), it will completely change your
entire outlook on life.” When asked, “how so?” Billy Jack replies,
“You ask yourself even in the most serious crisis, ‘how important
would this really be if I were suddenly told that I just have one more
week to live?’ So you learn to take nothing too seriously. On the
other hand, you ask yourself ‘if this were my last act on earth, is this
what I really want to do?’ So you learn on the one hand to be
detached from the temporary things in this world, and on the other
hand you learn to appreciate every little thing in it all the more.”
Viewing Musashi as a functional psychopath, he likely wouldn’t fear
death due to his personality disorder, and therefore, it would be quite
easy for him to admonish others to not fear death as well. However,
that does us little good when trying to apply his precepts to our own
lives. It’s too flippant for a psychopath to state, “Do not fear death.” It
is more beneficial for us to acknowledge our fear of death, to
understand it, to respect it, and as Billy Jack advised, to think about

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it. In this way, it can be liberating and we can maybe gain the
freedom Yamamoto wrote about.
Understanding, and more importantly accepting, that we will die will
allow us to be detached from the temporary things in this world and
to appreciate them even more as Billy Jack suggested. But it also
enables us to become greater warriors. Not only can we better face
combat with the acceptance that we will die, if not in this battle, at
another time, thus freeing ourselves to do what is needed to survive
and win, but we can become more righteous in those battles we
choose to fight. The understanding and acceptance of death,
combined with the appreciation of life, enables us to overcome our
ego and only enter combat for those reasons honorable and
justifiable to our own moral code.
I agree with Musashi that we shouldn’t fear death. We should think
about it, understand it, respect it and accept it. This might not reflect
Musashi’s thoughts when he wrote these words, but it’s how I think
we should read and apply them today.