Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai Review
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I was looking around for a time for a book on ethics that directly spoke to the issues of those in the professional warrior class. Why? Well for those of us in the corporate world, those that have any depth of experience that is, that there are issues of ethics popping up quite frequently.
The company that you work for likely presents you with a set of values the day that you start working for them, which is OK, that is if you do not think for yourself. While those values may suffice for many, it is important to remember that it is at the end of the day your choice to believe in those stated values and follow them, it is a part of the work contract that you have with your employer.
I for one, am one of those people who do think about the ramifications and consequences of what it is that I do, and what values I do follow, I have to. I am, what some call a Corporate Samurai, and have studied the subject as deeply and thoughtfully as I can. When it comes to ethics, the values of some company's managers that say that they follow these values does not match the truth of their actions. It sometimes becomes very clear that not all follow what they say they do from a values or ethics standpoint.
So what happens when you find out your beloved company's values are merely words on a piece of paper, and that your manager doesn't really believe in them? What do you do? How are you really supposed to deal with the challenges of your work life?
In that case, I recommend reading up on the ethics of those who had to literally take heads as a part of their code of honor.
Why? They lived in harsh times, and where conduct and honor, (professionalism would be the modern day equivalent), were the measure of a man. (Women also followed the Code of the Samurai but this is not a dissertation on supporting or denigrating feminism). It was a standard of behavior, and a code of conduct that even to this day is still revered as a standard of excellence.
I took my time and measured it against every other single military code of conduct that has existed through out time, and could find no equal, except in religious and spiritual texts that spoke on matters of ethics.
While some advocate religious or spiritual texts for principles and guidance for their careers, and some of those are quite good, I am not knocking them. However it was clear at least to me that works for some people but not all people in all situations.
Think analogously about how ethics plays out in your life and how it is measured, are they your ethics, your code of honor, or are they borrowed from your company or from somewhere else?
It is your life, you do with it, as you will.
Richard Platt
(former) Intel - Global Innovation Program Manager and Senior Instructor for Innovation Methods
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai Feature
- ISBN13: 9784770029164
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- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai Overview
Hagakure ("In the Shadow of Leaves"') is a manual for the samurai classes consisting of a series of short anecdotes and reflections that give both insight and instruction--in the philosophy and code of behavior that foster the true spirit of Bushido--the Way of the Warrior. It is not a book of philosophy as most would understand the word: it is a collection of thoughts and sayings recorded over a period of seven years, and as such covers a wide variety of subjects, often in no particular sequence.
The work represents an attitude far removed from our modern pragmatism and materialism, and posesses an intuitive rather than rational appeal in its assertion that Bushido is a Way of Dying, and that only a samurai retainer prepared and willing to die at any moment can be totally true to his lord. While Hagakure was for many years a secret text known only to the warrior vassals of the Hizen fief to which the author belonged, it later came to be recognized as a classic exposition of samurai thought and came to influence many subsequent generations, including Yukio Mishima.
This translation offers 300 selections that constitute the core texts of the 1,300 present in the original.
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