10 best rules of life, according to a Japanese Buddhist teacher

Miyamoto Mushashi He was a famous samurai warrior in the feudal era of Japan.. He was the author of a very famous work titled The book of five rings. He is also well known for writing a list of rules of life two weeks before he died.

As a good oriental warrior, for Miyamoto the fight was much more than a combat. The samurai They placed enormous value on personal evolution. This was precisely the means to become good combatants. Miyamoto’s rules of life have survived time, just as the classics do and inspire us in many different ways.

They contain the wisdom of those who have lived with courage and based on noble causes. We have synthesized these precepts into ten guidelines that can invite us to interesting reflection.

1. Acceptance, the first of the rules of life

The first of the rules of life is to accept life itself, as it is. Acceptance does not mean resignation, but the ability to assume what surrounds us and happens with humility and also with objectivity. Life is what it is and an attitude depends on each of us: that of learning from the circumstances that we have not chosen, but with which we have to live.

The consequence of not accepting reality is suffering permanent. This gives rise to an internal battle that is always lost. Accepting, on the other hand, leads to learning from each situation.

Likewise, and As a curiosity, it should be noted that this is undoubtedly one of the rules of life that has most inspired psychology. Studies such as the one carried out at the University of Nevada by Dr. Steven Hays, show us the influence of this philosophy on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

2. Think little about yourself and a lot about others

Who stops to think too much in itself ends up confusing. It builds a wall in front of the world and feeds its insecurities. More than thinking about yourself, the right thing to do is to allow yourself to be.

True happiness is being able to serve others.. There is nothing that compares to the satisfaction of doing good. He who is generous shows that he is also powerful. This is ultimately what allows you to appreciate yourself.

3. Learn to let go of desire

Desire, understood as longing for what one does not have, only leads to dissatisfaction. eternal. Having is like a bottomless barrel. The more you have, the more you want and it becomes increasingly difficult to satisfy yourself.

Miyamoto, like many Easterners, struggled to eradicate desire. He who longs much, becomes frustrated much. True power is in the ability to give up. He who needs little, with little he is happy.

4. Avoid giving room for regret

Regret causes a lot of suffering. The worst thing is that it is a useless feeling. This is how Miyamoto sees it in the rules of life. He insists that we should not see error as a condemnation, but rather as a characteristic associated with our nature.

Every action we take teaches us something. It also changes us in some ways. If we acted badly, it leaves us with a great lesson. That is why nothing experienced is negligible. The important thing is to know how to learn from it, to enrich our background.

5. Eliminate complaints and resentment

Complaints only contribute to placing us in immobility. Nothing is gained from that gaze that focuses only on what does not seem right, on what hinders or hurts. Also torment those around us. It doesn’t make any sense because instead of moving towards action, it ends up paralyzing.

According to Miyamoto’s rules of life, complaints and resentment poison those who feel them. They are useless. On the contrary, they begin to damage other feelings that are positive like a plague.

6. Put aside the objects you don’t need

Objects influence our emotions and our way of seeing life. If we become too attached to them, they end up exerting control over us. They make our conscience less free.

This especially applies to things that we no longer need and that, despite this, we keep. Finally they make us more insecure and rigid people. That’s why the rules of life insist on getting rid of the useless.

7. Don’t blindly follow the beliefs of others

One of the most relevant rules of life is to learn to think for ourselves, maintain confidence in our judgment.. Trust in the common sense that one possesses. Respect your own convictions and your own values. Otherwise, a person becomes very manipulable.

No one needs to be told what is right or what is wrong.. We all have the ability to decide this for ourselves. Blindly following others only leads to betraying ourselves at some point.

8. Always preserve your honor

Honor is an almost forgotten word. It has to do with self-love. By not allowing ourselves to fall into behaviors that are in dissonance with the values ​​that we defend, in which we believe. They would constitute a kind of compass, giving rise to pride when respected against temptations.

Honor is the most precious asset of any person. Someone honorable inspires respect and consideration. It attracts the goodwill and consideration of others, even enemies. This is how honor gives value to life; a value that is very intimate and personal.

9. Love should not be invaded by attachment

Emotions, in general, are impulsive responses. If they are reasoned, they become feelings. These are deeper and more weighted. They are associated with values ​​and not needs.

Love is an extraordinary feeling. However, sometimes we call love a blind and fleeting emotion. This occurs when what inspires love is the appetite for something or attachment.. In those cases it harms, rather than benefits.

10. Do not fear death

It’s a fact, we are mortal. Life ends and this is a natural reality. We should not fear our own death or that of those we love. So, We overcome the fear of death by living life intensely.

Miyamoto’s rules of life have survived time because of the great wisdom they contain and also because of everything they inspire. They call for realism, humility and inner peace. They want us to focus on the essence and not on the apparent and inconsequential.

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