The Way of the Warrior

The dream this morning was an interesting one. It begins in a bamboo forest in Japan. I see a heroic samurai warrior running with three World War II American G.I.'s. The soldiers have dirty, shredded, thread bare uniforms. They are prisoners of war. The samurai warrior is here to rescue them. Why he should be motivated to rescue these men and how is a warrior from ancient Japan here at this time, and place is an intriguing mystery.

The group is being pursed by Japanese prison guards. The samurai is cleverly leading them into an ambush. They are following his zigzag course down a narrowing gorge. At the right moment when the pursuers are tightly bunched together another ancient warrior stands up with a bow and arrow. The arrow has a burning fuse with a huge packet of gun powder. He shoots the fizzing arrow right into their midst with devastating explosive effect. The Japanese soldiers are all killed. The rescue is a smashing success!

Next, I see several hundred Japanese American soldiers standing in formation. These men have been carefully selected for the invasion of mainland Japan. It seems this is an alternate history where the atomic bomb was not used and Japan was invaded by the allies. I see a gate before the soldiers and out steps the samurai we saw earlier, however, this time he is wearing an American general's uniform. The soldiers are stunned and amazed when they see him. They were not expecting to see one of their own in a commanding role, let alone, a general to boot! An officer calls them to attention. The dream ends here.

Several curious questions now arise from this narrative. Was the samurai a time traveller? Was he a genuine authentic samurai? Perhaps this was a bit of psychological warfare? Maybe he was a modern Japanese American soldier posing as an ancient warrior to mess with the heads of the enemy. The only drawback to this argument is the use of the bow and arrow that dispatched the pursuing Japanese guards. That would have been too risky a nod to historical accuracy in my book. I want to believe the man was what he appeared to be; he is a samurai.

I have something of a theory of what motivated the actions of the samurai in my dream. I think it may be linked to bushido, which is the moral code of the samurai, and loosely translates as to "the way of the warrior". This code is somewhat analogous to the old western concept of chivalry. Warrior values grew out of centuries of warfare and were shaped, and influenced by Confucianism, Shintoism and Zen Buddhism. Bushido, at it's core, is about maintaining a good reputation, acting honourably and dying a good death. It also expands to include a number of other concepts like reckless bravery, family pride and devotion to master and man that borders on selfless, senseless single minded obsession.

I have a suspicion that what we see with this samurai is that his actions are a repudiation of the actions of his contemporaries and their modern militaristic nationalist interpretation of the old warrior way. I honestly think, he thinks, the "new" way is a perversion of the old way.  I believe our samurai warrior lived during the Edo period, which was an era of relative peace from the 17th to 19th centuries. The bushido literature of this time features a warrior class thinking about how to apply warrior values, principles and experience to life after a reflection on the long years of war.

I think something snapped in our hero when he saw how the American prisoners of war were being treated. Japan during WWII denied the mistreatment of prisoners and claimed they were being well treated by virtue of bushido generosity. The broadcast interviews with prisoners were not propaganda but were done out of sympathy with the enemy and were bushido code inspired. It could be that our samurai warrior saw it all as hypocrisy and it spurred him to act. His convictions and interpretation of bushido run counter to the established norms of WWII era Japan. I think, he believes, his brand of bushido to be the more true and honest, and closer to the ideal than theirs, and as a true samurai warrior he took action without regard to success, or failure to correct an injustice.

Now what might all this be saying about my unconscious? There is a reoccurring theme in my life of being a man of convictions and fierce loyalty. Every close friend I ever had I found myself being selflessly loyal to. I also have moments when I can get fanatical with my beliefs. I have many things in common with this warrior. I know I have similar drives, compulsions and obsessions with him.  I suspect karmic themes are at play here.  I think there are things I have done in past lives that effect how I think and behave now.  What to do with these insights now that I have them? I should try to learn from them and seek to be a better man at a higher vibration with hope of better a incarnation in the next life. Something tells me I need to be doing more work in this present life at perfecting myself. I will sleep on this some more and ponder what it is all about.