MEDITATIONS: DOKKODO; THE WAY OF ALONENESS III.
Principle Three
Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling. (Miyamoto, Musashi)
If a modern man is fortunate enough to train in a traditional or historical martial art that has not had its heart gutted, he will immediately understand the truth of this third principle. For in real combat—not sport with its prescribed settings, conditions, opponents, and tools—intention and faith play pivotal roles. Whether a technique works or does not work often hinges on a hesitation. The man who second guesses his throw loses his opportunity for a clean execution. Likewise, the man whose feet pitter-patter on the ground cannot generate sufficient fight-stopping power, nor can he resist such force if it’s pitted against him.
Partial feelings are for play. For commitments, things on which one bets life and limb, there can be no substitute for integrity of conviction. And even in regard to playing, this holds true. He who plays passionately plays seriously—here Bruce Lee harmonizes with Nietzsche’s Zarathustra, who would only view worthy of reading what was written in the author’s blood. This is why Musashi specifies, “under any circumstances.” Assuming this interjection is not a liberal addition in translation, one can understand he means there should be no exceptions to this rule.
Indeed, there ought to be no exceptions; because, when a feeling is partial, the individual experiencing that partial emotion is internally conflicted. That is the reason for the partiality in the first place. There is a war within the individual, a disunity—a dis-integration. This is the inverse of Jung’s individuated-self which unites the panoply of unconscious wills (i.e. drives or instincts) together with the aim and light of consciousness.
In such a disunified state, one cannot hope to advance along any given road. He’ll always be stopping, about-facing, and beginning anew, initiating yet another distance-less journey. He will go nowhere, and if he can go nowhere, if he cannot advance along his own way, how can he hope to travel in accordance with the Way?
Therefore, one should never depend on a decision made with a wavering spirit. Better he not even begin until the matter has been internally settled. If he waits and arrives at a single decision, even though he started late, no matter how much or how little progress he makes, he will at the very least progress along the Path. He who advances in haste, unsure about his direction, is more than likely to run the wrong way.
Miyamoto, Musashi. Dokkodo, translator unknown, 1645.
