Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Warrior:
I believe Musashi’s precept, “Do not let yourself be guided by the
feeling of lust or love,” comes from a pragmatic stance more than the
Puritanical moralism such as may be found within the Christian
conservatism in modern America. I believe this because of the
pragmatism found within the rest of his writings.
It is interesting that the United States military has specific crimes
related to activities guided by lust or love. The first is Adultery.
Holding service members to a higher ethical standard than people in
civilian life, adultery is a criminal offense under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice (UCMJ). The reason the military is strict about
adultery is because such conduct is considered prejudicial to good
order, to discipline, and could bring embarrassment and discredit to
the Armed Forces. This is also why adultery in the military is
prosecuted under Article 134, which is known as the “General
Article,” as it forbids any conduct that brings dishonor upon the
armed forces, or conduct which is harmful to good order or
discipline.
The military also uses Article 134 to prosecute cases of fraternization
and Article 92 which prohibits unprofessional relationships. This
again is an attempt to prohibit actions of lust or love that have a
reasonable potential to adversely affect the military by eroding
morale, good order, discipline, respect for authority, unit cohesion, or
by compromising the military mission itself. Notice that the military
uses pragmatic reasoning to substantiate these crimes. While
Puritans hold strict standards regarding all matters of sexuality
based on their interpretation of the Bible and relationship with God,

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the military’s standards are based on good order, discipline, unit
cohesion, and the mission. I could easily see Musashi drafting a
similar Article if he were to govern a large body of troops.
It doesn’t matter if I look at my own past, or read through the history
books, to realize that so much of what men do, and I mean men as
in the male of the species, because of lust and love. Sure, women
act on these emotions too, but men are much more prone to act
without thinking due to these feelings. I can think of many instances
where I let myself be guided by lust or love when I would have been
much better off following Musashi’s advice, however I will be the first
to acknowledge and admit that there has been much good done
because of love. Maybe not lust so much, but indeed love can be a
powerful motivator for good. But I don’t believe that is what Musashi
was thinking when he wrote this.
Musashi was providing guidance to young men, like myself, who
foolishly acted out of the feelings of lust or love. And because I
remember the trouble I got myself into, sadly more than a few times,
I have to agree with this precept for those kinds of situations and
circumstances. Love and lust have turned many men into fools; men
that would have been much better off had they refused to be guided
by such feelings. Fortunately, most of us who grow older come to the
same realization as Musashi, and stop allowing our actions to be
guided by these emotions.