The Warrior's Scroll

Interceptor

Master Don Juan
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PROLOGUE:
http://www.coffeespy.com/hostedimages/coffeespymain/ComicPanels/WWH1_Meditating.JPG

(It is a cold night in these woods. The sounds of crickets and owls and Nature surrounds the men gathered here tonight.Torches are lit, and the smell of smoke fills the forest around them. These men , soldiers, Warriors, come seaching for Wisdom, and they feel Ready. An eerie calmness comes over the gathering. All fall silent...

Interceptor sits down, and quietly assumes seiza posture, and begins speaking to his men.)


Many men live their lives wandering aimlessly.
Without direction.

Through their fear and/or ignorance, they wind up in places or with people they could have avoided, and in circumstances that often bring them harm.
With so many people looking for themselves, and searching for love and affection, it's no wonder that the 'lost' continually find each other in the darkness.
Unfortunately, with few scruples, nor respect, one person often ends up hurting the other. Sometimes it is both.
They may become Co Dependent. Siphoning the life essence from each other.
Until they have a lifeless husk of a relationship to stare at in horror.


Time is passed. Love is lost. Self Respect is gone. And hearts are scarred deeply.
The Wounds are carried everywhere they go.
They cannot escape them...

And a lack of direction STILL prevails.

The feeling that LOVE and AFFECTION is SCARCE imbues everything around them. It colors all their interactions, thoughts, beliefs, decisions....


These Men need strong character.

The Pursuit of High Character is the ONLY thing that will SAVE these men from that abyss, and the vicous cycles they find themselves in.


Part of being a Man, and a TRUE Warrior is finding comfort while alone.
And exhibiting Calmness in combat and Grace under pressure.


Part of being a Man and a TRUE Warrior is having the Courage to FACE and CONFRONT your FEARS and IGNORANCE, and IRRATIONAL BELIEFS, and deal with them ANYWAY.

"To Seek and to Close with the Enemy."


Decisiveness.
Leadership
Confidence
Courage
Tremendous Emotional Strength and Emotional Reserves
Compassion
Patience
Resolve
Direction
Self Discipline

These are all traits that the mature Masculine man MUST possess.

Lest he be swept away by the tide of Life, at the mercy of the waves that pull him farther and farther and still farther from the shore....

Without Self Reflection, a Man cannot fully BECOME. He cannot SELF REALIZE.

For he knows hot WHO HE IS!

You, my Brother, reading this..are a part of something Larger than you realize.


Wandering in the night, searching for something..anything ..that will point you to the Light..that will point you to the WAY.

You cannot confront and DEFEAT the "enemy' if you have NO TOOLS to fight him with. If you have NO TRAINING to use. No TACTICS or a STRATEGY to APPLY.
Much less..if you live in fear, WITHOUT Courage. Without Hope. Without understanding your Worth and Place in this Universe.


"There is no Better help than Self Help."

You will continue to hold yourself BACK.

And you will continue to be a LIABILITY.

I cannot trust you!!


(the Men gasp and are stunned.)


Your loved ones cannot trust you.

YOU cannot trust yourself!

YOU are dangerous! To me, to your loved ones, to all who come into contact with you!


Because you haven't the courage to step up to the plate and declare yourself READY to BECOME a MAN.

How can YOU Provide SECURITY and PROTECTION when you cannot provide it for yourself????
How can you be a LEADER? Be decisive? Give advice and comfort to those in NEED??
How can you be Compassionate to others, when you are not compassionate to your own self?

Simple.

YOU CANNOT!

(the men start to look around and grumble, dismayed at the harsh statements)

"Mental calmness, not skill , is the true sign of the matured Samurai."

Bokuden

You must find a path to Inner Peace and Harmony.

Yet , almost ironically, the most deep reaching method is through Combat, through a Trial by Fire.

Many of you have often complained about the lack of a Initiation Ceremony, marking the end of your Adolescense, and the marking of you BECOMING a MAN.
You look to this Initiation Ceremony to MAKE you a Man.

But you will not find yourself there.
Nor your Manhood.
And in these modern times, in tightly packed, high tech, fast paced society....you will not find these ancient tribal ceremonies.

This is what you have been seeking, haven't you?

A Clear "signal" to you?

Like the salmon, knowing it is time to mate, with primal resolve and unstoppable fortitude, he goes againt the current to fulfill his Mission.

You, especially the yong men readin gthis, have been searching for the right moment for this, the right time for that, the right signal to go, or the right signal to stay.

My Brothers,
There is often NO "signal".
Do not wait for a signal, for it may never come.
Your truest signal, the only one you can truly trust is your own.
The one in your heart.

The sound they say comes from 'The Silent Flute".
This is your Inner Wisdom speaking with you. Communicating with you.
Align yourself with this.
Become One with it, embrace it.

And you will find the Groundedness and Presence you seek.

You will have Guides if you wish.
But they cannot help you if you will not let them help you.


The truth is that this Initiating Ceremony you have been seeking to make you a Man, to MARK as a transcending and passing into Manhood has been under your very noses all this time.

(the men start to look at each other confused)

Your Initiating Ceremony is YOUR LIFE!!

Your DAY TO DAY LIFE!!!
Every day is a ceremony of Life.
A celebration of Living!

Another Opportunity to Live to grow and to learn, to Give LOVE and RECEIVE it!
To Protect and serve those in need! And to provide comfort and peace to those who seek it.


To Fight another day! To face yet another Opponent who crosses your path!

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/wp-content/2006/12/1.jpg

To live as the Eternal Champion.


Your Life IS your "ceremony".

(the men , wide eyed with overflowing thoughts begin to realize and make breakthroughs by the minute)


Give the proper Respect to your Life, and you will find GRATITUDE!

And in this Gratitude, you will gain a deeper understading and appreciation for the things in your life.
Good food, good company, good parents, good home, good life....
yes, a good woman too. Good friends and relatives of course...

For the secret to getting more of what you want is to be grateful and appreciative of what you have!

To be appreciative of things you DO want in your life!

That Emptiness you feel in your heart when alone will be eased by giving thanks for the good things you DO have in your Life!!
Don't you see??!

Bushi no nasake
The Tenderness of the Warrior

http://home.iae.nl/users/mhx/sf2/samurai.jpg

For to be truly Strong, a Warrior must have tenderness and compassion for all things.

This is the true Way of Harmony.
He understands the fraility of all living things, thus, by understanding Death..he has more compassion and reverance for LIFE!




He lives by Priniples.
He guides himself by this Code.

He finds his Alignment with himself and the Universe by strictly following this code I will give you now.

With this Code you will find what you seek. Maybe now, maybe later.

But it is in there.

This will be your guiding Principle. Your Code to follow , when you are in the dark and feel despair, danger, and loneliness.
It will aid you.
It will follow you.
It will Be with you...

For it is easy to live in the "mountain' and find Inner Peace, but it takes true determination and discipline to MAINTAIN that same Inner Peace in the modern society today.

That is the true test of the Warrior.

To maintain that composure and peace in the midst of daily obligations and chaos.

No more groping in the Dark...

Your Life will now be illuminated by the Light that comes from your Inner Self.
 
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Interceptor

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I will share with you now the Warrior Principles to observe and uphold.


How you follow up with them is up to you. It is also up to you to interpret them as deeply as you can. Search for every angle until it is exhausted.


The Following are actual codes; Essential Traits and Affirmations of the Martial Way.
(Bushido codes, and interpretations by Ross Heaven)
(Gratitide for long gone Warriors who have lived this knowledge and passed it on to us.)



- I have no parents,
I make the Heaven and Earth my Parents

-I have no Home,
I make the Tan T'ien my Home.

-I have no Divine Power,
I make Honesty my Divine Power.

-I have no Eyes,
I make the Flash of Lightning my Eyes.

-I have no Ears,
I make Sensibility my Ears.

-I have no Means,
I make Docility my means.

-I have no Magic Power,
I make Personality my Magic Power.

-I have no Body,
I make Stoicsm my Body.

-I have no Design,
I make seizing the Opportunity by the Forelock my Design.

-I have no Miracles,
I make Righteous Laws my Miracles.

-I have no Principles,
I make Adaptability to ALL Circumstances my Principle.

The Following are Areas/Principles that All true Warriors MUST Pay attention to:

JIN: To cultivate a sympathetic understanding of people.

GI: To embody and preserve meticulous ethics.

CHU: To evince loyalty to one's Master.
(this is a metaphor, you will not have a Master, but you do have an Inner Self and a Higher Power to witness and acknowledge)

KO: To esteem and look after one's parents.

REI: To show respect for others.

CHI: To enhance wisdom by broadening one's knowledge.

SHIN: To be truthful at all times.

TEI: To care for the aged and those of humble station.

Areas of AWARENESS:


RIN: The knowledge of SELF and the true nature of Being.

KAI: Awareness of our motivations ( our real purpose or mission) beyond those of our socialization into a particular role or position.

JIN: Intuition or greater attunement to ourselves and the world around us.

TOH: Insight into our lives and our true needs.

PYO: Personal Power.

ZEN: Self protection through spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental skills and insight through greater awareness. (the latter known as Zazen)

SHA: The ability to heal ourselves through the release of old behavior patterns that can lead to self harm, and self limitation as well as damage to others, our environment, and, through unskillful actions, to the world in general.

RETSU: Freedom.

SAI: Self actualization through realization of a power that is already ours.



Now it is up to you to further investigate thes tenets , and decide what to do with them.
The choice lies, and always will be , with you.

Your future lies in your hands,

The PATH in the Pursuit of High Character will lead you there....
 

Director

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This is incredible stuff - thank you so much, Interceptor, for this post. I got to the end and just had the urge to ask how - how are we to walk this road? It can seem so difficult to stay tuned in to that deeper sense of self in day-to-day existence, the daily grind. But I know that the answer to that question is already present in your post, and more importantly, present deep down in the core of who I am.
 

reset

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Wow, great stuff man.
 

KontrollerX

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Thank you interceptor.

That is some of the best stuff I've read in a longtime on Sosuave or anywhere online for that matter.

"how are we to walk this road?"

Well you've got to remember that even physical walking starts with just a few footsteps.

So basically take these lessons interceptor has provided us in little steps mastering each one until gradually all of them are a part of who you are in your daily life.

Life after all is more of a marathon than a race so there is no rushing this process.
 
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Tao walker 2005

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brilliant!
how to start?
... 1) release all non-essential personal possessions (or at least some to start)
... 2) spend time in meditation every day - sitting is boring, but learn to do it
... 3) master your urges by persevering through the pain of withdrawl
 

Wodan

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great post, ill be honest though i used to meditate lots and it made me more introverted i found it good for finding myself and so on but it made me quieter which for some people including myself is the main problem
 

Interceptor

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You are not the sum of your material possessions


Do not go looking for your Identity in a car, or your clothes, or your TV...


Always look between the lines, and look for truth that you may not have considered previously...
Just because you know something....does not mean you know about EVERYTHING

And even though you may have formed a conclusion, there is always some piece of knowledge that can open up a whole Universe to you.


You are responsible for your life..
..even though you may have made poor decisions in the past, you are still more than the sum of those decisions...

...you can change direction at any time.

KNOW THIS.
 

Director

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Bump.

A question for you, Interceptor - which disciplines of martial arts use these Bushido codes as foundations of their teachings - is it all of them, or is this knowledge more specific to certain types of martial arts?
 

Interceptor

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Bushido is distinctly a Japanese term.
Bushido arose from early Zen, Buddhist, and Confucian teachings brought from monks from China into Japan.
And then metamorphosized into more specific Warrior codes for the Samurai.



The term is related to codes to live by, ideals and principles for the Samurai.
They of course can be adapted by anybody regrdless of martial art they practice in.

The areas of self reflection in the thread are mainly from Ninjutsu.

The arts themselves are mostly independent of the Code,but it is the Code that breathes life into them and the warrior executing them in action.






Strategy is the craft of the warrior. Commanders must enact the craft, and troopers should know this Way. There is no warrior in the world today who really understands the Way of strategy.... It is said the warrior's is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways.
Students of the Ichi school Way of strategy should train from the start with the sword and long sword in either hand. This is a truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn.

In strategy your spiritual bearing must not be any different from normal. Both in fighting and in everday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased.

If the enemy thinks of the mountains, attack like the sea; and if he thinks of the sea, attack like the mountains.

If we watch men of other schools discussing theory, and concentrating on techniques with the hands, even though they seem skillfull to watch, they have not the slightest true spirit.


Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645)
A Book of Five Rings (pg. 37, 45, 53, 80, 83)
 

Mistic

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Interceptor said:
If the enemy thinks of the mountains, attack like the sea; and if he thinks of the sea, attack like the mountains.
If the enemy thinks you're a d!ck, act like a pvssy. If your enemy thinks you're a pvssy, act like a d!ck? jk
 
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Deadly_Assassin

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awesome post Sir!
 

DevanE

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This is truly an amazing post. I wonder sometimes how we don't appreciate a lot of the things we are truly blessed with in this world. 2 thumbs up Interceptor!!!! :up:
 

Ryoku

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Bump for inspiring post.

Really exceptional man, really really good.
 
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