Mentality

By Sonny Go

This was written with the aim to spread the teachings of the way of the warrior.
Every person has four major aspects of being. They are the body, mind, heart, and soul. In this essay, the focus shall be on the mind and how it is important to the other three aspects.
The way our minds work is the very foundation of our existence. Without the mind, we wouldn't even exist.
But with our minds, we are also stuck in our own existence. There is no way for us to move forward. It is a state where overall progress stays down at zero.
Humans, in general, are limited by what they know and what they feel. As they go on with their lives, the basic framework of their existence stays the same; made of only basics and is without any significant improvements. This may be disputed, but people have to remember that they themselves, or at least the majority, have this frustrating difficulty of getting through their problems. Such obstacles serve as blockades that hinder them from going any further. They have to stop first and figure out, with some degree of difficulty, how to get past it. Some don't even go beyond it and end their journeys prematurely. This is the sad fact about humanity.
It all goes back to a person's mentality. How he lives, how he relates to the world, and how he does things is dictated by his state of mind. It will depend on the composition of his mind to dictate his future courses of action. As how a house is built and what it is made of that determines its quality, so is the same with our minds. There are things in a person's mind that determines his character.
But that's the thing. As these things continue to roam in a person's mind, his limit will eventually be reached. As every human has his limits, so does his mind. Without any more room to allow these things to grow any further, they burst out of the seams and the person himself suffers a sort of breakdown. This is true for everyone. Some people have reached this breaking point before, so they can understand what this means. Fixations, in the end, impede progress.
But these fixations that impede progress can range from mere obsessions to this myriad of emotions that trouble our personal and collective unconscious. Problems tend to be the most commonly destructive composition that submits people into helplessness. It is like hacking a computer. At some point, the defenses will be taken apart and the core will be attacked to the point of catastrophic anomalous failure.
These fixations that are mentioned thus far are more of those that can be said as sicknesses. The main point here is that as long as these "sicknesses" continue to plague our minds, we can never progress properly through this life. They are psychological afflictions. These sicknesses are what we know as negative aspects of emotion. Greed, lust, envy, anger, depression, self-pity, and so on are diseases that can eventually turn against us. Feeling weak can become an Achilles' heel, which can either be exploited or, in time, self-destruct. In the end, the person who has this will be at the losing end.
Along with emotional impairment also comes how people percieve the world in a fixated manner. As with the hopes and fears can be unique to each individual, the pattern is basically the same. The fear of pain and death, regardless of their implications, and the way of thinking that always points back to "Me, myself, and I". Although normal, as it has already been said, fixation is affliction. If you are fixated to yourself, then you will think of nothing but yourself. If you are fixated to the fear of pain or death, then you will think of nothing but self-preservation. As you can plainly see and analyze, this can lead to certain scenarios that can be detrimental to one's honor.
Evidently, these are traits that can be observed in the majority of people. This is what makes this pretty hard to control. This is something that can never really be prevented. Because of this, it can be said that this is the mentality of the common man.
As with a person's mentality, the only way around it is to move forward and develop. Evolution is the key to the ultimate cure of this affliction. That cure is enlightenment. But we must understand that the essence of development is growth, not perfection. It's about the journey, not the destination.
Growth is not achieved with time alone. It is achieved by training, education, and meditation. Strengths must be honed and weaknesses must be turned into strengths. Every aspect of a person's being must be equally strong in order to achieve enlightenment. This is the way of Bushido.
As with the study of the Way, the mind holds a very solid role in one's growth. The mind is your sword. It must be kept keen and sharp at all times, otherwise, you will be cut down prematurely by the dredges of life. One must cleanse his mind of these fixations and sicknesses in order to get as good grasp on accomplishing the Way. A clear mind is a sharp sword.
The process of achieving a clear mind is no easy task. It is a lifelong journey that takes complete dedication. The process involves every aspect of living. It is one small step, but also a crucial one. With no fear, doubt, or distraction, there is nothing that can get in your way. You will become strong and every obstacle will be met with confidence.
Knowing the principle of the original mind, those who have mastered the Way use reason and justice as a forge to temper the mind daily, getting rid of impurities to turn it into a pure, clear, unopposed mind-sword, which cuts through the thought-root of selfish greed and conquers all thoughts, so that the Way-farers ride on top of everything, untroubled by anything, beginningless and endless.
But ordinary people take deceptions for realities, creating attitudes biased by fixation on appearances, thus starting up thoughts of craving, anger, and misunderstanding. Having produced all sorts of psychological afflictions and lost the original mind, they find that their minds are distracted and unfocused, giving in to whatever thoughts arise. As a result of this, they suffer from handicapped mentalities that make them hurt. They have no psychological bouyancy; they are gloomy and depressed, living aimlessly and without self-understanding, fixating their attention on things that don't really matter. This is called the mentality of the common man.
- Suzuki Shosan (1467-1568) Former Samurai, Zen Master

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