You do not know
Sun 9.26.21
I wrote about the Samurai last week, recommending a couple of books, The Art of the Samurai, and The Book of Bushido. The latter is the better of the two. The Art of the Samurai is essentially a philosophical approach to the subject with comparison to the western ethical code. I am only interested in the samurai values. More on their principles below.
At the beginning of Jean-Pierre’s Melville’s film Le Samurai there is this quote attributed to the Bushido, “There is no solitude greater than a samurai’s, unless perhaps it is that of a tiger in the jungle.” Jean-Pierre made that one up; there is no such quote in the Bushido. But it’s easy to see how he saw the two as connected. I’ve written a number of pieces on each:
1. The Samurai’s Code
https://www.luhrenloup.com/the-samurais-code
2. If a Tiger . . .
https://www.luhrenloup.com/if-a-tiger
3. Samurai
https://www.luhrenloup.com/samurai
4. A Live Moment
https://www.luhrenloup.com/a-live-moment
https://www.rt.com/news/463062-india-tiger-attack-vodeo/
Check out the video attached to A Live Moment of a couple of tigers facing bikers in the forest. It is the scariest moment a person is ever likely to experience. The essay in, If a Tiger . . . Poses the question, If a tiger comes charging at you, do you think it’s evil, corrrupt, isn’t being fair? No, you sum up what strategies you can possibly have to fight it off, and then act. It’s an important question. I have been in court since February of 2019, on my own, pro se against my landlord and its agent. Being in court is the most disillusional experience; human beings do not bear close scrutiny. They will lie, cheat, steal, betray, whatever they can get away with. Actually, crooks have more honor. They have chosen not to bargain their dignity on the market square.
Passing judgment on an individual in a personal matter brings about feelings of remorse, regret, of being maltreated, abused. Victimhood will not help you win the tiger’s battle. It merely belittle’s your opponent’s skills, and tactics rather than assessing them. If you look at the picture at the top of this essay, you see an incredibly beautiful animal, self-possessed, alert, yet at ease in that readiness. It is fabulously sexy, and deliberate. Watch the two working in tandem in the video as they play with their potential victims, methodically terrorizing them in a slow seductive way.
Some thoughts from the Samurai’s code:
Be aware that you do no know what is going to happen next.
When the time comes there is no moment for reasoning.
I do not know the way to defeat others, but the way to defeat myself.
If a person’s fault is a habit of some years prior, by and large it won’t be remedied.
By bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better man.
A man who has never once erred is dangerous.
For the most part, we admire our own opinions, and become fond of arguing.
To treat a person harshly is a way of middle class lackeys.
Moreovver, it is better not to become acquainted with men about whom you have formerly had some doubt.
And lastly I leave you with:
The Tyger
by William Blake
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
The favorite post this month has been Simulation Theory