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Living the Way of the Samurai Warrior in Everyday Life - My first blog

The Seven Principles of Bushido
Known to be an elite group of military nobility, the Japanese Samurai were perhaps most revered for their codes of honor and principles, known as Bushido; which governed the Samurai's way of life and might also be loosely related to the European concept of chivalry.
          In the world where the romantic idea of chivalry or abiding by the code of ethics has eroded to make way for inauthentic lifestyle by self-gratification and a faulty moral compass, the Bushido way of life can offer more than a simple insight and serve as a remainder of how we can direct our lives for better.
These are the principles of Bushido, to help the modern 'spiritual warrior' to build a robust inner life, while creating  more meaningful and authentic relationships with others around us.

* Integrity


Everything starts with your integrity. it is the moral fibre that holds all the other pieces together. Integrity is synonymous with rectitude, upstanding, righteousness, and decency. The degree to which we live with integrity is reflected in anything we say or do. People around us can sense our integrity even though it is an inner trait.
Yes, integrity is something that we do solely for our own sake, firstly and mostly. It is for your own growth as a spiritual being. You can't fake integrity. For the noble samurai, integrity or rectitude was principally the ability to make wise discernment or judgement. Integrity gives us the discernment in thought, speech and action.


* Courage


Courage is obviously one of those first associations we make with the warriors-both those in battlefield and those in spirit. Living without fear is most certainly an illusion. If you are completely fearless, you are not alive or have a very short lifespan. Nobody can be completely fearless, because in its pure form, fear is an evolutionary survival tool. Courage is a beautiful energy that initiates a lot of changes and decisive movement that takes us far and forward in our life. It takes the courage that we summon in our hearts when we step out into the world and make that important move.


* Compassion


Compassion, together with courage, is one of the most important virtues of the 21st-century spiritual warrior. It is a very noble virtue and one that Bushido, or the way of warrior, that holds up high in importance and value. Without nurturing compassion, you can't sail very far in the ocean of life. Compassion is in fact nurtured through a very simple first step-loving-kindness towards oneself. Lacking compassion is like living in a dried water bed. The warrior understands the power of being connected with life and other sentient beings, and so he understands the importance of compassion.


* Respect


Respect and/or politeness, in the world of Bushido can be seen as a little bit parallel to compassion, in the sense that it stems from a sympathetic regard for the feeling of others. Like compassion, to respect other you need to first respect and value yourself. Respect for others without respecting yourself is only a faint shadow of virtue. Warriors understand the power of being connected with life and sentient beings.


* Truthfulness


Truthfulness is also akin to the virtue of integrity. To have integrity, also means, among other things. to be truthful in your words and actions. Truthfulness starts with being truthful to oneself. Standing in your own truth and guarding your authenticity and sovereignty and that of others is tantamount to living the warrior way of life. Truthfulness is the heart of the warrior. It is both the spear, the shield and the armor.


* Honor/Sovereignty


Honor is one of the highest virtues because it captivates and motivates the soul of the warrior to fight with valor and to summon up the courage from the heart. Honor is a goal as much as it is a way of being. Sovereignty, in the context of spiritual growth, is to cut loose of  any shackles or dependencies that are stealing away your power; your birthright to be free and to be who you authentically are.


* Loyalty


Loyalty is placing ties, your efforts, commitments and resolutions where it matters most for your own freedom and spiritual development, and those of others. Once again, it is rooted in the practice of being loyal to one's own feelings and intuitions first. For the Samurai culture of Bushido, both honor and loyalty were highly regarded. For the spirit warrior of the twenty-first century, loyalty means above anything else, alignment and building strength in bonds of trust. When you start living from your own truth, with honor and integrity, you can become loyal to your own purpose and sovereignty.
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