“Sieges weathered, fight together, friends forever.” Maria V. Snyder
The best martial artist know that there is no cause without camaraderie. The journey of a martial artist is fraught with trial and tribulation. Because our journey is our own, it is easy to think that it is a singular adventure. However, nothing can be farther from the truth. The martial arts might seem to be a singular pursuit, but it is not something that we can do alone. No matter who we are or how great we think we are, we all need people to help us get to where we are going. Teachers need students, students need teachers and students need one another. Without others, our journey is just an exercise in egoism because no one can tsukiyonobanbakarijanai (月夜の晩ばかりじゃない) or “Sleep with one eye open.” Having someone to depend on enables the journey to be just a little bit easier. The Dalai Lama referred to this as interdependence and commented on this by saying, “We human beings are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities.” In Japanese, this interdependence is referred to as sougoizon (相互依存). My favorite example of interdependence comes from a scene in the 1958 movie The Loyal 47 Ronin. This specific scene does not appear in many of the other remakes, but it is one which I think typifies the interdependence of samurai honor. In this scene, the 47 ronin are trying to secretly move their weapons cache. While examining his papers, a high-ranking samurai of another clan catches the main character Oishi Kuranosuke in a lie. When he is caught in his deception, Oishi immediately apologizes and explains the situation. Hearing about Oishi and the other ronin’s plight and their plan to kill the rival lord and regain their honor, the samurai in charge lets them go and gives them safe passage through his territory. Hearing the verdict and overcome with emotion, Oishi responds, “Fellow samurai must support each other. We are never so keenly grateful for the kindness of others as when we have fallen on hard times.” Without this samurai’s help, there would be no story of the 47 Ronin. In Japanese, yuujou (友情) means “friendship” or “camaraderie.” Every martial artist is on the same path of self-discovery and self-development. This path can be hard and lonely as we live and die by our own merits. The bumps and bruises of following the Way tend to add up and can take their toll, but our journey is made just a little bit more bearable when we have people who support us. Every day in training, we need people to train with who will throw us down and we in turn need to throw them down too. This shared reciprocity creates a special bond that develops between people who have a common goal - following the Way. The best warriors know that nothing is accomplished alone, and no one gets to where they are going by themselves and that is why there is no cause without camaraderie.
Today’s goal: Remember, nothing is as valuable as friendship.
Watch this video to better understand camaraderie