The Dokkodo: Musashi’s Love Letter to Man
I’ve had a few questions from you all about Miyamoto Musashi (the author of the tagline above on my blog’s masthead)
Musashi is the author of several works of philosophy, such as The Book of Five Rings, and the Dokkodo, “The Way to be Followed Alone”. The full text is here. Musashi was a ronin, or masterless samurai, in the early 17th Century in Japan (The Edo Period). The term ronin captures merely one facet of his life. He was also an accomplished calligrapher, sculpter, painter, farmer, and philosopher. He trained constantly, in many disciplines (both martial and otherwise). Most of this training was done alone.
Days before dying, he gave us the Dokkodo. This is the original.
Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in a few words.
- Apocrypha