~The Book of the Void[i]
This is the two-sword[ii] way of strategy; it is the way of two-heavens recorded here in the: Book of the Void. The spirit of the void is discovered where there is nothing…it is not included in the human being’s a priori knowledge…the void is nothingness. By knowing things that exist, you may come to the knowledge of that which does not exist…this is the void.
People in this world look at things in error, thinking that what they do not understand must be the void…this is not the true void; it is bewilderment. Even those who seek the way of strategy by studying as warriors think that whatever they cannot understand in their craft is the void, but they are also in error, for this is not the true void.
To attain the two-sword way of strategy the individual must study martial discipline and the arts of combat without deviating even a little from the way of two heavens. Allow the spirit to become settled by the accumulation of practice day by day, hour by hour. Polish the twofold spirit of heart and mind, sharpen the twofold gaze of perception and sight; when the spirit is un-occluded, when the clouds of bewilderment have cleared away…there is the true void.
You must come to the realization of the way within yourself, whether through religious study and discipline or by common sense; until you do, you may think that the world around you is well ordered and correct. However, when you come to see the world objectively, you will find that all its laws and doctrines depart from the way, for they are constructed by human beings who are prone to error.
You must discover the spirit of error within yourself, and divest yourself from it with alacrity and forthright effort, making this disciplined way the foundation of the path you are walking; enact this strategy broadly and openly, leave nothing unexamined, and the spirit of truth will blossom within you.
When you have arrived at this place you will think of things in a wide sense and, taking the void as the way, you will see the way as void. In the void is virtue and no evil; wisdom has existence, principle has existence, the way has existence and the spirit returns to nothingness.
Recorded by Teruro Magonojo on behalf of Kensei , Shinmen Takezo Musashi , of Miyamoto village in the Okayama Prefecture of Japan, on the twelfth day, of the fifth month, in the second year of Shoho…1645 of the common era (CE)...tranliteration by BigSugar Buddha.
[i] Go Rin no Sho, The Book of Five Rings, Chapter Five; by Shinmen Musashi
Feedbooks: http://www.feedbooks.com
Internet Archives: https://dn720006.ca.archive.org/0/items/english-collections-k-z/The%20Book%20of%20Five%20Rings%20-%20Miyamoto%2C%20Musashi.pdf
[ii] No
Ti Ichi, two swords or, two heavens way of strategy.
No comments:
Post a Comment