The Book of Five Rings

Why I read this book

While relaxing with Ghosts of Tsushima, I realized I haven’t really read anything about Shintoism, or Japan for that matter.

Looking for a Japanese Tao te Ching, I kept stumbling upon references to The Book of Five Rings, which sounded more like a Japanese The Art of War. The book sounded interesting and was short, so I picked it up.

Should you read this book?

Depends. Can you stretch your imagination?

If The Art of War is to grand strategy, The Five Rings is to individual combat. While intended as practical guides for their respective domains, they both possess a deeper wisdom that, when read metaphorically, can be applied to business or other areas of everyday life. Roughly speaking, if The Art of War informs a business’s competitive strategy, The Five Rings informs an individual’s strategy in interpersonal conflict.

Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Five Rings, is the definitive Samurai warrior and an undefeated duelist who racked up 61 wins in his lifetime and is no doubt a battle-hardened individual. But his book doesn’t read like it was written by a brute. It is a surprisingly calm read that often comes across as very Taoist-like in its references to the Way (Musashi was a Buddhist). This said, The Five Rings is still a book about martial arts and how to kill your opponent. Some people may have trouble translating short sword, long sword, parries, stabbing and the like into metaphors for everyday life. If you’re one of those people, this book isn’t for you.

While there is a lot of wisdom in these pages (e.g., always take the initiative, be decisive yet adaptable, commit fully, substance over style, and use your surroundings to your advantage), it is good to remember Musashi was writing strategy for duels, the ultimate zero-sum game. If attempting to apply his teachings to interpersonal conflict, it’s worth remembering not all games are zero-sum, and often have more than one round.

Commonplace

The true Way of the Martial Arts is to train so that these skills are useful at any time, and to teach these skills so that they will be useful in all things.

As a student, you should practice without end.

With the one, know the ten thousand.

If you do not attain the True Way, a small warp of the mind will later become a large one.

In the way of this style, it is correct for even the beginner to hold a sword and short sword in either hand and train in the Way. When you put your life on the line, you want all your weapons to be of use. Your real intent should not be to die with weapons uselessly worn at your waist. Moreover, when you hold a single weapon with both hands it is difficult for the right and left hands to move freely. For this reason, I would have you learn to hold a sword with one hand.

Concerning the Way—Confucians, Buddhists, tea masters, masters of ceremonial practices, Noh dramatists, and such—none of this are within the Way of the Warrior. Even though their Ways are not ours, if you know the Way broadly, not one of them will be misunderstood.

These days, in all of the arts—including that of the bow—there are many flowers but little fruit. Such arts will not be found useful when the essential moment arrives and will have few advantages.

But with weapons, just as with other things, you should not make distinctions or preferences. Going too far is the same as not going far enough.

In a battle of martial arts, victory is in knowing the rhythms of your various opponents, in using a rhythm your opponent will be unable to grasp, and in developing a rhythm of emptiness rather than one of wisdom.

For those who would study my martial art, there are rules for putting it into practice: 

1. Think without dishonesty. 
2. Forge yourself in the Way.
3. Touch upon all of the arts.
4. Know the Ways of all occupations.
5. Know the advantages and disadvantages of everything.
6. Develop a discerning eye in all matters.
7. Understand what cannot be seen with the eye. 
8. Pay attention to even small things.
9. Do not involve yourself with the impractical.

Keep the mind in the exact center, not allowing it to become sidetracked; let it sway peacefully, not allowing it to stop doing so for even a moment.

Do not let your mind stand still even when you are in repose, but do not let it speed up even when you are involved in quick actions. The mind should not be distracted by the body, nor the body distracted by the mind.

Do not let the mind become clouded inside; keep it broad, and place your wisdom in that broad place.

In using the eyes, do so in a large and encompassing way.

It is essential that your eyes do not move and that you be able to see on both sides.

In all events, grasp your sword with the intent of cutting the man down.

In all things, whether it be the sword or the hand, immobility is undesirable. Immobility means a dead hand, mobility means a living hand.

The Yin-Yang Foot means never moving just one foot. With Yin-Yang, you step right and left, right and left, whether striking, pulling back, or parrying a blow. I repeat: you should never step with just one foot.

It is wrong to be inflexible. You should make great efforts in this.

This is the most important strike, that of No Thought-No Concept.

It is essential to discern your opponents position.

The difference between being sticky and being entangled is that stickiness Is strong and entanglement is weak.

If you keep your mind on stabbing your opponent’s face, he will pull his face and body back. If you can make him do this, you will have various advantages for victory… In the midst of the fight, if you are intent on making your opponent flinch, you will have already obtained the victory.

Above all, be intent on driving you opponents in to on direction like a school of fish.

If you do not chase in directly toward the place where your opponents have gathered, you will not make progress. And, if you start thinking about the direction from which your opponents will come, your mind will be waiting and you will have the same result.

Surpass today what you were yesterday, go beyond those of poor skill tomorrow, and exceed those who are skillful later.

See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice, and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training.

In distinguishing the conditions of the place (of combat), the sun should be at your back… [if you can’t put it at your back], you should try to put it to your right side. It is the same even if you are in a room: the light should be behind you or to your right.

For looking down on your opponent, you should consider taking your stance in a slightly elevated place. In a room you should think of the seat of honor as the elevated place.

As for chasing your opponent about in battle, it is essential that you chase him to your left, that you get the difficult terrain to his rear, and that you then drive him, above all, toward those difficult places.

It is important that you be intent to use the advantages of the place, and so gain the victory with the place itself.

You want to attack first and drive your opponent before you if possible.

Pressing Down the Pillow means not letting your opponent’s head up. In the Way of Martial Arts combat, it is wrong to let your opponent lead you around or push you into a defensive position.

Sustain your action over your opponent so that anything he does comes to nothing. 

Even in solitary combat, it is essential that you discern your opponent’s style, see though the character of his allies, detect his strengths and weaknesses, understand how to take him by surprise, know well the scale of his rhythm along with the rhythm of his space and time intervals, and take the initiative.

In all things, when your opponent sets up a tactic, respond to it immediately according to its own principles and, stepping on his actions, defeat him.

You should be intent on not giving your opponent a second chance. This is therefore, the mind of taking the initiative in everything.

It is essential that you grasp the sign of your opponent’s collapse and rush him with certainty so that he will be unable to recover. Your rushing attack must be instantaneous and strong, and you must cut him down with such vigor that he cannot recover.

Even in martial arts confrontations involving large numbers, you will be failing in something important if you think of your opponents as strong.

Thinking you have come to a stalemate, you should know enough to discard the situation immediately and gain the victory by some other method.

It is essential to agitate your opponents. It is essential that you attack violently when you opponents are not expecting it. … show leisureliness in the beginning, then suddenly attack vigorously.

You do not give a great yell at the same time you strike with your sword.

From the very beginning, you are intent on intimidating them and crushing them completely.

If you opponent is inferior to you , or his rhythm has broken, or if he appears as though he is going to retreat, it is essential that you crush him immediately, without letting him catch his breath or even letting him glance at you. It is your primary consideration to not let hm recover even a little.

If you use a technique on your opponent and it is not successful the first time, it will have no effect to attack him once more with the same move. 

Attack suddenly with a different technique, and if that has no effect, you should use yet a different one. Thus, if your opponent is thinking “mountains,” attack with “seas”; and if he is thinking “seas,” attack with mountains.

It is important that you suddenly adjust your own mind, destroy your opponent’s spirit, and make sure that he has been defeated in the very bottom of his heart.

With Renewal, whenever you think that you and your opponent are just grating along, you should change your mind on the spot and take the victory by using another tactic.

Yet, can it be the true Way if it has been made into a salable item? Moreover, the other martial arts in the world only give fine attention to swordsmanship: teaching ways of handling the sword, body postures, or hand positions. Can you understand how to win by these things?

When your opponent rushes in close, the longer your sword, the less efficient it becomes. Accordingly, you will be unable to handle your sword freely, it becoming only so much baggage, and you will be at a disadvantage to a man brandishing a small short sword.

When you cross swords with an opponent, no matter who he is, do not think about cutting forcefully or weakly. Simply, when you consider cutting someone down, do not use a forceful frame of mind. Not, of course, a weak one. Think only so far as your opponent’s dying.

Aiming at unguarded moments can be considered the same as being constantly on the defensive.

In the Way of victory through the Martial Arts, you are intent on taking the initiative—always the initiative—in all things.

If you fix the eye with a detailed, narrow focus, you will miss the large picture, create for yourself a confused mind, and be stripped of a sure victory.

A warrior learns the Way of the Martial Arts with certainty, makes strong efforts in other martial accomplishments, and is not the least bit in the dark about the Way of conducting himself as a warrior. He has no confusion in his mind and is never lazy at any moment of the day. He polishes the two hearts of his mind and will, and sharpens the two eyes of broad observation and focused vision. He is not the least bit clouded, but rather clears away the clouds of confusion. You should know that this is true Emptiness.

While you are yet ignorant of true Emptiness, you may think through your own certain Way, relying on neither Buddhism nor the laws of society, and think this is good. But when you see things from the straight Way of the mind, taking in the world at large, you will see that each person will have the preferences of his own heart, and each eye will have its own distortions. This is turning your back on the True Way.