Today I reread The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, one of the world’s foremost treatises on the way of the warrior. More than three and a half centuries after his death, Musashi is still known as one of the greatest swordsmen of all time. He was also a master painter and calligrapher.

What strikes me most about the book is the depth of Musashi’s commitment to his own craft: killing in combat. He believed very strongly that, in the way of the warrior, the only thing worth focusing on is killing. The warrior does not show off, try to impress others, try to win fame, or engage in mock battles. All he does is kill, as effectively as possible. For Musashi there should be nothing else in the mind.

I am personally no warrior, though I have spent time in the military. But I continue to believe Musashi’s book holds lessons for us all.

Because Musashi does not elevate the way of the sword above other ways of being. In fact, he acknowledges that each person has his own way, and each person has his own reasons for choosing it. He chastises those who would criticize paths different from their own. But he also emphasizes the importance of absolute, unwavering commitment to one’s chosen road. In fact, to him the act of commitment almost seems more important than that which is being committed to.

So the core lesson of the book is simple: find your own way, and commit wholeheartedly to it. This is not easy to do. We live in a highly mercantile society, and unless one is careful it is very easy to adopt mercantile values for oneself. Mercantile values — which measure the worth of people and things in terms of dollars, status and connections — might be good to have if you yourself are a merchant, but they are no good at all if you are an artist (unless you happen to be a commercial artist). And yet I have known writers and artists who criticize themselves because they do not think their work to be commercially viable. This is unwise. If yours is the artist’s path, place your focus on making art, and value yourself accordingly. Do not envy the businessman. And if your path is that of the merchant, place your focus on making money, and do not envy the artist. That is what commitment means.

Do not judge others for the paths they have chosen, and do not judge them for having chosen to focus on disciplines which differ from yours. I have met people from all walks of life — martial artists, businessmen, dancers — who look down on others for whom their own disciplines do not mean everything in life. This is again unwise. There are also those who seek to make all others conform to their own ideas of how people should behave, who seek to compel others to obey their own codes of etiquette and custom. In the words of the Chinese sage Laozi: “The person who values etiquette behaves accordingly, and when he finds others not doing the same thing he rolls up his sleeves and forces them to.” These people are self-righteous moralists; in Laozi’s eyes they are the real troublemakers, the fountainhead of disorder. Avoid them for as long as you can, and follow your own way. They will come to you soon enough, since such people are incapable of minding their own business. Simply be ready to deal with them when you do encounter them, and take heart: if you meet them along the way you are probably doing something right.

And what if you cannot decide which path to follow? What if you cannot decide what you want to live for? Here is my answer: live for yourself, working to make yourself the best person you can be according to your own standards. Commit to yourself, and your path will make itself known to you. Strive for perfection; it is an impossible ideal, and thus one worth reaching for. The results of such a quest are always worth it.

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