Ronin (浪人): The Masterless One
In feudal Japan, the Ronin carried shame. Yet Musashi made it the prerequisite for everything he became.
Mushin Journal
An archive of reflections on Japanese philosophy. For those who want to think less, see more, and act with deliberate precision. Read slowly. Apply relentlessly.
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Fudōshin (不動心)
The Immovable Mind.
Drowning in a Puddle
The Danger of Small Perspectives.
Shu-Ha-Ri (守破離)
The Map of Mastery.
Bleed In The Dark
The Violence of True Endurance.
Winning Without Fighting
A boastful young samurai demanded a duel. The old man gave him exactly what he asked for.
Knowing Is Not Enough.
Musashi's Framework on the True Mind
Jiriki (自力): The Strength That Is Your Own
Why Musashi wouldn't pray for victory.
Mayoi (迷い)
Pain is paid twice; first in thought, then in truth.
Blame No One. Especially Yourself.
The distinction between responsibility and self blame that the Western tradition never made sharply enough.
Zanshin · 残心
Tighten the helmet. The fight is never over in the moment you believe it to be.
The mind like water: Musashi on why fixation kills
He beat one rival by arriving late, and the next by arriving early.