Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Precept 13:
Do not pursue the taste of good food
“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated
masterpieces—just good food from fresh ingredients.” —
Julia Child
Monk:
As a young man working construction, the hours were often long and
the work was always hard. When I say construction I don’t mean that
I worked on a steel girder supervising others, I mean I was on the
ground with a shovel in my hand more often than not. Some days if I
was deemed “on my game” I earned the privilege to go ahead and
run the Bobcat, a small front-loader. We were paid every two weeks,
but it didn’t really cover the bills. The money was always short by the
end of week two. That summer the best meals that I ate were the
ones that I made in my apartment’s small kitchen. I had a bag of
frozen vegetables, a bag of rice, and two fresh trout that my father
gave me. I metered out the rice, the two fish, and the vegetables.
That day was Tuesday and I had to make it all last until Friday.
Those evenings I found myself eating my meager meals and not
being horribly particular about them; I was happy enough just to
have had the food. In fact I remember sitting in the hot apartment on
a used couch rolling the skin of the fish around little balls of rice I had
formed and eating the skin so as not to miss any food. In other
words, I was just eating what I had so that I wouldn’t starve—nothing
close to pursuing the taste of good food. Heck, it was the only food I
had.

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Sustenance is core to human existence, so food is something that’s
addressed by a variety of different sources, both secular and
religious. For example, St. Benedict (480 – 543 AD) wrote 73
conventions for his monastic brothers to follow. These rules, called
“The Holy Rule of St. Benedict,” cover subjects as diverse as when a
brother should or should not speak to an admonition not to strike
each other (unless of course the abbot has given the brother
authority to strike another member of the order). Like Musashi,
Benedict had a word or two on food:
“Above all things, however, over-indulgence must be
avoided and a monk must never be overtaken by
indigestion; for there is nothing so opposed to the
Christian character as over-indulgence according to Our
Lord’s words, ‘See to it that your hearts be not burdened
with over-indulgence’ (Luke 21:34). Young boys shall not
receive the same amount of food as their elders, but less;
and frugality shall be observed in all circumstances.
Except for the sick who are very weak, let all abstain
entirely from eating the flesh of four-footed animals.”
Two men from different cultures, backgrounds, and times who clearly
never crossed paths came to similar conclusions. Interesting, huh?
When this commonality of thought arises from such divergent
sources, it requires a review, an audit as to why and how these
similar recommendations were made. Now Musashi was far pithier
than Benedict (whose quote runs far, far longer than the excerpt I
listed above, 231 words to Musashi’s 8), and what is said is often as
important as what is not said, however, when it comes to the heart of
the matter it is clear that these two men saw food in a similar light.
They both believed that food was sustenance. It was to be utilized as
nourishment, not sought after solely for enjoyment. I am quite
confident that these men took small pleasure in whatever came their
way whenever skillfully prepared food was available, such as during
liturgical feasts in Benedict’s time, but they didn’t go out of their way
to search for it. Both men were honed by hunger. Musashi lived for a
few years in a cave and so did Benedict. Both men scavenged,

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accepted charity, and maybe indulged in other ways of getting food
as well.
For those who have lived a Spartan existence, hunger gives a new
appreciation to food. Having food is far different than not having
food; only oxygen and water rate higher on the needs list of human
existence. And although it appears obvious, this concept is rarely
thought about or addressed. Hunger re-contextualizes a person’s
relationship to food, as food is suddenly about survival and not just
enjoyment. And, it does so for the rest of the person’s life. Musashi
and Benedict want you to keep food in perspective.
Don’t get focused on food for food’s sake, but rather enjoy what you
have. Make the most of the food you have, and then use that food
for the bigger things in life.