Dokkodo Quotes

The fact of the matter is that the world does not care about you or me, our hopes, our desires, or our dreams. And, the world of dreams, hopes, and desires that is constructed between our ears it is not necessarily a reflection of what is actually going on around us.

I feel confident in this assumption because between myself and my longtime students, often things happen that seem like telepathy, but it is more truthfully a relationship that has reached a maturity where words are not necessary for full communication. A quick nod in the direction of some equipment in the room and the student who has been there for years will understand it to mean, “Go get that.” The unspoken statement in that question is surmised from the context of the lesson. I don’t need to tell them precisely which piece of equipment to bring, because they already know what I am asking for. They have been around long enough to be able to add two and two together. To a beginner, it may seem like a superpower, but it is just relationship. We could and should assume the same holds true here. Not every detail needed to be spelled out.

If you are distressed by anything external the pain is not due to the things itself but your estimate of it.

This is what you’re looking for. In fact, The Book of Five Rings is often placed alongside The Art of War by Sun Tzu, On War by General Carl von Clausewitz, Infantry Attacks by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Patterns of Conflict by Colonel John Boyd. Each of these works has materially influenced military thinking, directly or indirectly influencing modern combat despite the fact that they were written decades or even centuries ago.

On his death bed, he wrote his famous Dokkodo – final principles for the students of his school.   The third principle is, “In all things, have no preferences.”   The fourth principle is, “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.”   These two, to me, elegantly defend against the downsides of naive intuition.

when you accept things as they are, it allows you to step into reality. The veil of fantasy that most of us shield ourselves with is torn into pieces and we can deal with things as they actually are, good, bad, or indifferent. The fact of the matter is that the world does not care about you or me, our hopes, our desires, or our dreams. And, the world of dreams, hopes, and desires that is constructed between our ears it is not necessarily a reflection of what is actually going on around us.

When you have a powerful urge to act on pure emotion, stop yourself and think rationally.