A Good Place to Die, is the best place to Live
Every time I go to a great place; where I am in peace; this thought comes to my mind — this is a good place to die. Not that I am suicidal just filled with Inner Peace.
And advice to self — Choose a place to live where you will be comfortable dying in.
Hmm difficult to follow now; but maybe another day.
And to take it a notch further — more advice to self.
And choose a way to live, thinking of what you would want to have done on your death bed.
What life would you like to have lived ?
What work would you like to have done?
What relationship would you like to have nurtured?
What things other than work and relations would you have wanted to be done ?
Live like you are about to die soon; Live like the way of the Samurai in the thing that concerns you most. Don’t make drastic changes. Take small steps. Usually the first small step is the hardest and mostly it will be enough; as the greatest journeys starts with the smallest step. And the first step makes the distance shorter and the next step easier and so on.
The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one’s body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one’s master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead. This is the substance of the way of the samurai.
If you have not seen the film, it is violent and stupid and silly and all together great. Because if it is meaningful and rational and devoid of any mistake, it ceases to be art.
The No Sword Technique of the Unfettered Mind
You may read a lot of books from Dale Carnegie to David J. Schwartz ; but the idea to develop after some time; when you have gone beyond the stages of your dream, your goals is to embrace the “No Goal” or “All Goal” technique; where you break free from the limits of your dreams and goals and fears of success or failure — where the mind is truly limitless and you expand like the flowing water into whatever you are capable of.
To speak in terms of your own martial art, when you first notice the sword that is moving to strike you, if you think of meeting that sword just as it is, your mind will stop at the sword in just that position, your own movements will be undone, and you will be cut down by your opponent. This is what stopping means.
Although you see the sword that moves to strike you, if your mind is not detained by it and you meet the rhythm of the advancing sword; if you do not think of striking your opponent and no thoughts or judgments remain; if the instant you see the swinging sword your mind is not the least bit detained and you move straight in and wrench the sword away from him; the sword that was going to cut you down will become your own, and, contrarily, will be the sword that cuts down your opponent.
This is what you, in your style, call “No-Sword.”
Basically Thought sometimes or more often becomes the problem and No Thought becomes the best thought
Where the Sword or Thought is not the pure sword, but the baggage or rusty ideas, fear or ego that you carry around. The pure sword or pure thought is nothing , yet everything; and that’s the Zen of this.
