Building a good mental foundation is crucial to become a productive member of society. This foundation needs to be well developed for the modern warrior. Many years of a Samurai’s life was devoted to building a strong mental foundation in personal life to improve their outlook on worldly matters. This started with mental and physical education.
Education started from a young age in the form of small disciplines and traditions in and around the house and village. This extended in more detail, importance and relevance as the young warrior grew in age. Lessons of life during the different Samurai warring periods were often harsh and merciless. This meant that the warrior's mind foundation needed to be very strong and the actions resolute.
This brings to mind one of my favorite quotes:
“Aspire to be like Mt. Fuji, with such a broad and solid foundation that the strongest earthquake cannot move you, and so tall that the greatest enterprises of common men seem insignificant from your lofty perspective. With your mind as high as Mt Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things happening near to you.” ~ Miyamoto Musashi
We must understand that in the modern age this is also true. The world we live in today has many challenges. With a surge in information overload and the world growing more unstable we need to return to having a strong foundation and good outlook. This can only happen if we focus on disciplines and traditions, and how we can apply it to help us live better in the modern world.
If the disciplines of old prepared a Shinobi Samurai to go to war then the mindful application of the same disciplines to modern times should be more than enough to help us through many of today's problems. The obstacle in today's age of information is that wisdom seems to only be one “click” away. Modern society quotes ancient wisdom without considering the true meaning of the words. Almost in a “quick fix quote” manner.
This “quick fix quote” method goes against the correct use of wisdom. Wisdom handed down in the form of quotes and methods need to be deeply considered and the results of actions discerned in order to be effectively used in your daily life. Much emphasis should be placed on "right mindedness". In short " right mindedness" explains the way of being true in your thoughts and action while following the principles of heaven and understanding the nature of humans. A strong mental foundation is built from this concept that will never fade.
Following wisdom is not a mere act of reading words and blindly applying it from your own perspective. By listening to "right minded" teachers your mind will become strong and your path will become clear.
