Happy Fourth of July!
A warrior is free. In budo, one of the highest teaching is shinmu fusatsu (真武不殺) or that “true budo does not kill.” This might seem like a misnomer because most think that warriors train to kill. However, in reality the greatest teaching a student learns is how to not kill. Training is about exercising free will and we learn that hurting others is a choice. The word free in Japanese is jiyu (自由) and usually pertains to one’s will and being unrestricted in one’s choices. Freedom in Japanese is jiyujizai (自由自在) meaning “the right to act, speak, or think as one wants without restraint.” The word free is often mistakenly used in place of the word freedom, but the difference is that we may or may not have freedom, but we always have free will. We can go around yelling, “I am free” but that doesn’t give us the freedom to do as we please. Interestingly both words have the kanji (自由) which mean “one’s self” and “reason.” Being free and having freedom both come with some obligation and so as Voltaire said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” In the world of budo, choices have consequences and so the warrior must learn to control themselves. A warrior chooses their actions wisely based upon what the best course of action is given the situation and we call this decorum. That is why the Japanese say, “Yaiba ni tsuyoki mono wa rei ni suguru” which means that “the greatest warriors surpass all others in etiquette and decorum.” In budo, we can choose to destroy another person, but that doesn’t mean that we should or that we have the right to. Thus, being a warrior means having the ability to choose what it is we do and so the only free will we have is the control we have over ourselves and that is the reason why a warrior is truly free.
Today’s goal: Remember, think before you act. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.