HackerNews Readings: Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai

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martin_aonNov 5, 2017

Hagakure - Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Kind of the ethical codex for samurai warriors. Little stories about what to do and not to do which you can translate to a modern daily life.

CcecilonJan 27, 2018

Bunch of Eastern stuff...Hagakure, Book of 5 rings, art of war, tao te ching

Subtle art of not giving a fuck,
The art of happiness

But the one book I always keep...The boy scout handbook

krickonApr 3, 2015

There's an opinion that his wording is exactly correct, and concentration on avoiding death makes life unworthy by definition. Although that opinion might be incomprehensible for some cultures. I can't think of anything that would explain that opinion clearly enough, but you could read Hagakure anyway.

GustomaximusonAug 1, 2018

Side point, there is a book Hagakure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagakure) which is collected comments of a samurai during the end of this samurai/retainer period for Japan. This passage stuck with me and talks about overcoming fear of death through meditating about dying in all sorts of horrible ways. I guess you did the 21st century version;

"The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day, when one’s body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears, and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one’s master. And every day, without fail, one should consider himself as dead. This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai."

twblalockonJune 28, 2016

Hagakure was written during the Edo period (1600-1868), during which time there were very few battles fought, and samurai were mainly bureaucrats and government functionaries living on fixed pensions. The book is an attempt to maintain warrior culture in the face of the reality that samurai no longer had any occasion to fight.