Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy
by Miyamoto Musashi

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Book Reviews of Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy

Book Review: strengths and limitations of the Japanese psyche
Summary: 3 Stars

The book is essentially a treatise on the Way of the
warrior, the strategy that should be employed in combat:

It is said
the warrior's is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have
a taste for both Ways. Even if a man has no natural ability he can be
a warrior by sticking assiduously to both divisions of the
Way. Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance
of death. Although not only warriors but priests, women, peasants and
lowlier folk have been known to die readily in the cause of duty or
out of shame, this is a different thing. The warrior is different in
that studying the Way of strategy is based on overcoming men. By
victory gained in crossing swords with individuals, or enjoining
battle with large numbers, we can attain power and fame for ourselves
or for our lord. This is the virtue of This
is the Way for men who want to learn my strategy:

Do not think
dishonestly. The Way is in training. Become acquainted with every
art. Know the Ways of all professions. Distinguish between gain and
loss in worldly matters. Develop intuitive judgment and understanding
for everything. Perceive those things which cannot be seen. Pay
attention even to trifles. Do nothing which is of no
must study fully other martial arts and not deviate even a little from
the Way of the warrior. With your spirit settled, accumulate practice
day by day, and hour by hour. Polish the twofold spirit heart and
mind, and sharpen the twofold gaze perception and sight. When your
spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment
clear away, there is the true void.

Until you realise the true Way,
whether in Buddhism or in common sense, you may think that things are
correct and in order. However, if we look at things objectively, from
the viewpoint of laws of the world, we see various doctrines departing
from the true Way. Know well this spirit, and with forthrightness as
the foundation and the true spirit as the Way. Enact strategy broadly,
correctly and openly.

Then you will come to think of things in a
wide sense and, taking the void as the Way, you will see the Way as
void.

In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence,
principle has existence, the Way has existence, spirit is
nothingness.

Essentially, he has two extremely simple messages: be
humble and study what other people do. This is a thoroughly Japanese
philosophy and the recipe for both their success in the 80's and their
demise in the 90's. It is really tactical thinking more than it is
strategic. The Japanese system calls for precisely duplicating what
already exists, for learning what is already known. The American
system demands innovation, the end run around the status quo. If you
want a metaphor for the two systems, two images come inescapably to
mind: David vs. Goliath and the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where
Indiana Jones shoots the enormous scimitar wielding Arab. You can
just picture Musashi studying Goliath's moves or the Arab's
techniques, being reactive and imitative, while the American picks up
a gun or a sling and uses technological innovation to triumph.

Now
imagine if you will thousands of American businessmen riding the train
to work in the morning with this book clutched in their hands, eagerly
seeking clues to the Japanese economic miracle in the pages of a 17th
century sword fighting manual. Pretty amusing, eh? It's quite a
lovely little book and it is helpful for understanding the strengths
and limitations of the Japanese psyche. But if you approach it
seeking profound and vital truths to apply in your own life, you are
more than likely going to be disappointed.

GRADE: C+

Summary of Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy

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