Seek What the Masters Sought

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of wise men, seek what they sought. Basho

Too many people idolize the martial artists or great philosophers of the past. They put them on pedestals almost like they were gods. They want to be like them; they are almost obsessed with them. You shouldn’t focus so much on the person, but on what that person tried to teach. What was it that these masters sought and what did they want to teach others? What thoughts did these wise men have and why?

Warriors do not try to imitate someone else. They shouldn’t try to be exactly like Bruce Lee or Lao Tzu. What they should do is seek the perfection that the great men of the past sought. Seek the perfection of your martial arts skills. Seek the perfection of your character.

Seek wisdom, discipline, knowledge, and honor. Dedicate yourself to seeking what they sought, not to the man himself or any specific philosophy. Men are just men, no matter how great they were; seek the Source. Seek what they sought.

If we were able to actually sit down and engage in a conversation with the great teachers of the past, I believe that they would tell us this exact same thing. They would say, “I am nothing special. You should seek wisdom and knowledge. Do not seek to be my disciple.”

Great teachers will teach their students how to think, not just what to think. It is with this knowledge that we should read the wisdom of the elders. Wisdom is not about repeating quotes and clichés, but about internalizing true knowledge and using your mind. Bohdi Sanders ~ excerpt from, BUSHIDO: The Way of the Warrior, available from Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937884201 or from The Wisdom Warrior website at: https://thewisdomwarrior.com.