MEDITATIONS: DOKKODO; THE WAY OF ALONENESS IX.
Principle Nine
Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others. (Miyamoto, Musashi)
The Dokkodo’s first principle, “Accept everything just the way it is,” has its echo here in the ninth. Acceptance, and its consequence, an attitude of gratitude, are the antitheses of resentment. Resentment, and its natural consequence, complaint, are at their cores secondary affects and actions. Behind resentment is rejection, and in matters concerning the way in which life ought to be lived, it is rejection for what-is in favor of what one desires. By another name, it is the denial of life and being.
But this connection between life-denial and resentment begs more questions than it answers. After all, a thing is not defined merely by its source. There is its form, its substance, and its telos. In the case of resentment, its form—its definition—is indignation in response to some state of affairs, something said, or something accomplished.
What then is indignation?
It is anger felt when one’s dignity—his self-respect—is ruined by perceived injustice or degradation. A summative phrase be “righteous anger,” though “self-righteous anger” may be more appropriate. This is no flippant judgement but a technical explanation as to why resentment is a temptation.
When one’s Will to Power encounters an insurmountable obstacle, he finds himself imprisoned within a paradox. He is simultaneously made an object, his autonomy as a subject stripped from him; at the same time, he is made a subject of that-which-is the objective. He no longer feels as though he is a human being with agency but a puppet made to play in a farcical tragedy. The apparent unfairness is what fuels his resentment and motivates him to complain.
And that was his first mistake—flouting Musashi’s forth principle, “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.”
The resentful man is probably not a tragic hero, and the world in which he lives is likely not a farce. What seems more probable is that he, the resentful man, is actually the comic relief in an otherwise tragic drama. This turns the situation on its head—or rather, it stands it on its feet. For it means that if the resentful man were to play his part happily, he might actually lighten even the darkest and heaviest scene.
By complaining, he only worsens the situation.
Complaining expends attention and intentionality, both of which are forms of finite psychic energy necessary for the pursuit of any goal. Every breath spent complaining is one breath fewer left over for the adventure, for the journey, for the pilgrimage along the Great Course. The Way is walked; no amount of talking about how the road should be paved will ever move the traveler forward. At best, it will stall his progress. At worst, the complainer will succeed in halting the progress of others—and perhaps this is his goal in opposition to the seventh principle, “Never be jealous.”
This is why resentment and complaint are never appropriate, because appropriate means proper, which means suited to the situation such that one’s human dignity may be retained. As explained, this is never the case with resentment, but it can be for the man capable of affirming that-is-which-is. It is he who works in accordance with his nature, the nature of others, and the greater Way. And it is this accord which creates a harmony that, like music, turns difficult work into joyful play.
Be grateful, not resentful, and act rather than complaining.
Miyamoto, Musashi. Dokkodo, translator unknown, 1645.
