The Seven Virtues of Bushido – Courage
“A master is one who is liberated from fear.”
– Sensei Peter Urban
“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up any way.”
– John Wayne
There is much to be said about yuuki, bravery. It comes naturally after Rectitude, as one’s just and valiant intentions must be followed by action. It is saying or doing something in tandem with your ideals and principles. Let’s look at two realms of courage.
It is unlikely you woke up this morning with the desire to face adversity. Life has enough difficulties to have to endure yet another one, let alone one that needs immediate action in place of forethought. Yet, there it is, in front of you, and it needs to be dealt with. It could be a medical emergency, a child about to run into oncoming traffic, or a would-be assailant.
In either of these moments, what else could you possibly rely on but training and personal conviction?
Life is made up of small moments. It may be a moment that could be the difference between a good day or a bad one, pride or regret, success or failure, even life or death.
The colossal depth of eastern thought and martial ways should not be limited to just preparedness for physical altercation, but would be incomplete without it. Self-defense begins with protection from one’s self and ego, but what do you do when externally threatened? It’s just what Bodhidharma felt when he arrived in China, finding monks who were spiritually refined but physically weak. Let’s visit that. Strictly speaking of such self-defense, it’s a question of preservation. You need to summon the mental grit and physical explosiveness, and conquer fear and pain to endure. If you have a family, they depend on your health and survival. Such a conviction alone should be enough to see one through. To surmount pain, insecurity, and doubt in an effort to defend one’s own self or others courageously is to live the virtue.
Unfortunately, people have habits of finding reasons why not to do things. Either because it’s not their immediate concern, or believing a form of authority will handle it, or to simply avoid stress or pain, doing the right thing is dismissed. Wrongdoings are perpetrated in public view, but not acted upon. For the bushido debutee, such apathy is not an option. People who act in the face of adversity are heralded as heroes, but who’re really just doing the right thing. Paying bus fare is the right thing to do, is that heroic? Both your Sensei and your author have done things that needed doing to protect people, why is such a thing seen as extra-ordinary? Should it not be expected from everyone, to do the right thing courageously? The etymology for courage is French, cour for heart, and was used broadly in Middle English defining what was in one’s heart, mind, and thoughts…so to think one thing but not act upon it argues a lack of conviction. Rectitude is groundwork for courageous action. If the right thing is left undone, everything else is an excuse.
In a less immediate sense, courage is embracing weaknesses and endeavouring to strengthen them, to venture into the unknown and learn from mistakes.
“Show me someone who has never failed and I’ll show you someone who has never tried.”
Courage is attributed to anyone who has ever ventured into something with the spirit of learning and adventure. Failure is a part of life and learning, and a true measure of someone isn’t what they’ve accomplished, but in how many times they can return from their failures. Much like Sensei will say, “Success isn’t mandatory, but effort is, because effort over time equals success”…
The same spirit of courage exists in both the immediate and premeditated sense. Adherents of budo must embrace such a spirit in each moment, as moments are what life is made of.
Next week, we’ll look at the virtue that shares it’s essence with our world’s faiths, compassion and benevolence (jin).
Until next time,