He had come to see the Way of the Sword in a new light. Musashi’s opinion of his path evolves throughout his journey: You should be looking for your own path and what brings meaning to your life.Īnd it doesn’t have to stay the same. People talk about combining the Way of Learning with the Way of the Samurai, but when properly combined, they aren’t two - they’re one. He explains how different paths are in reality the same: This passage comes from another important character in the book, Takuan. Temporal digressions don’t make a difference as long as the overall direction is correct. Being on the Path means walking on the right direction, doing what you know you need to do. And your circumstances don’t matter either. You shouldn’t evaluate whether you’re on the Path or not by looking at your current situation.

It’s part of the Path to never reach its end. There is always room for improvement, but that’s ok. I know because I make progress every day and I am satisfied with my life. I’m not sure I’d be able to put mine in words, but I know I’m on it.

It was vitally important for him to live like a samurai and to die like one.ĭon’t be discouraged if you don’t know what’s your path. To Musashi’s way of thinking, there was one way of life for ordinary people, another for the warrior. Early in the book he decides to follow the Way of the Sword: The problem was how to imbue his life with meaning.įor Musashi, meaning comes from being a samurai. He well knew that to live was more than merely to survive. This quote from the book encompasses its meaning: It makes a lot of sense for how I see the world and my life. This can feel like an abstract concept to understand, but after reading the book I get what it means. Continuous learning and self-discipline will get us where we want, only if we follow the Path. We are all walking our own path, and it is our actions that lead us to the place we want to reach. One of the most prominent ideas mentioned throughout the book is the Path and the Way. Without further ado, let’s get into what I learned reading Musashi.

Musashi 1 eiji yoshikawa