“Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied.” ― Henry George
Monk:
Over the centuries countless sages have advocated detachment from desire in an attempt to raise humanity above our baser instincts. For example, the Desert Fathers were the earliest recorded Christian monastic order. Living in the Egyptian desert around 270 AD, their goal was to separate themselves from worldly yearnings so as to focus more clearly on the divine. This, of course, conjures up the images of gray-bearded holy men living in caves or on mountaintops disassociated from the world. In reality that sort of thing doesn’t happen very much. These early monastics may have set themselves apart from desire as much as possible, but they still had a community. The Desert Fathers did spend large amounts of time in solitude but they also spent time visiting one another, counseling each another and, of course, celebrating communal worship.
Their existence was solitary, but far from lonely.
As you can see there is a distinction here. Being detached from desires is clearly a good thing, but being detached from the community of your fellow man is not. That mistake should never be made. Being hard to read or emotionally inaccessible is not a detachment from desire, it is a weak man or woman’s imitation of detachment. The idea of being
the loner, one who walks a solitary path, is inaccessible, has no relationships, and sports an unbreakable exterior shell is anathema. Humans are social animals, so self-selected outcasts aren’t strong; they simply wear masks that hide their internal weaknesses.
Being a loner may be an immature way of expressing yourself, but it is a popular one. Many songs targeted at teenagers, especially young men, have the “I walk alone”
teen angst theme. It sells a lot of records, but this is true of far more than music. The icon of the lone warrior has been made pervasive in movies and books as well. Inigo Montoya, Lone Wolf McQuade, The Man with No Name, The Bride (Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill), all legends of cinema. The singular man or woman, the avenger, the bringer of justice, the outsider who is smart, strong, and in control, this is an idea that has gone viral in the vernacular of today’s youth.
Nevertheless, these men and women are all cartoons. They are symbols and should not be mistaken for complete, well- rounded, or real individuals. To have very few desires is a characteristic of personal control few people ever experience. However, in attempting to express that ideal we must be wary of cutting ourselves off from humanity. The human experience is a communal one, it always has been, and always will be one of grouping and self-selection.
That covers the detachment part of Musashi’s precept, but let’s focus on the desire half of the equation too for bit. The word desire is almost always used with a sexual undertone in the west. The word denotes juiciness, an emotion that if given half a chance would break its lease, just simmering under the topic. Listen to these two statements: (1) “I really want this job,” and (2) “I really desire this job.” One statement is of the gut, while the other one is of the loins.
Musashi is admonishing us to control both and I must say that I agree with his sentiment.
Musashi himself clearly had agendas, most of which were self-serving. He must have had wants and desires too. But, the discipline that he demonstrated early on and carried throughout his life showed that he had a great deal of control over his wants and desires. In fact, Musashi was almost machine-like in his endeavors, fighting, and killing for whatever side happened to suit his needs at the time with no discernible allegiance to faith, family, or friends.
Nevertheless, Musashi distinguished himself from the aforementioned icons of the dangerous loner, the wild-west gunslinger, or masterless ronin who wandered the land needing little in the way of possessions. Musashi’s human contact was utilitarian. In real life Musashi gathered disciples and passed on his fighting style, his artwork, and his writings. In fact, he did just what the Desert Fathers did, but in a different way.
We would do well to follow this example. By controlling our desires we escape the random path, more easily chart the course of our life to meet whatever destiny we have in mind. It’s a great precept, and of course, a challenging one.
Warrior:
To be detached from desire, or any strong feelings of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen, aligns with the philosophic approach of stoicism that Musashi seemed to embrace and definitely encouraged others to follow. It’s not surprising, as many self-made men on the battlefield had to confront obstacles and struggle to overcome them, leading to a more stoic philosophy for living. Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 AD), the Roman Emperor who is considered one of the most important stoic philosophers, had similar beliefs on desire. In his opinion, to desire was to be permanently disappointed and disturbed, since everything we desire in this world is empty, corrupt,
and paltry. Aurelius believed death was desirable because it would mark and end to all desires. Both men seemed to believe in stoic ideas revolving around the denial of emotion.
I’m not certain that I agree with being detached from desire as much as I believe in the importance of controlling one’s emotions. I’m not totally convinced that all desire is negative and leads to a permanent state of disappointment, but I do believe that desire has led many down the wrong path with disappointing results when not controlled. For the warrior, controlling emotions, especially those such as fear and panic, is extremely important. Fear can cause a person to freeze and be unable to act, resulting in death for themselves or members of their team. When people panic, they make mistakes, also often resulting in death. I understand that this is not what Musashi was writing about with the above precept on desire, but I feel it is a much more important concept that he should have addressed.
The warrior trains so that he or she won’t freeze and be affected by panic in the time of emergency. Through scenario training, we find that stress inoculation reduces response time and freezing when faced with life and death situations. To survive, the warrior learns to keep emotions in check and remain calm and steadfast regardless of circumstances. It’s not that the warrior doesn’t feel fear, but rather that the warrior controls it and does what is required in the face of fear. No matter how much external events fluctuate, no matter what the threat or emergency, the warrior controls his or her emotions so that the situation at hand can be dealt with appropriately.
This is obviously the ideal and not something that is always attained by everyone who draws a sword or carries a gun.[10]
I wonder if Musashi’s advice to be detached from desire your whole life is a way to train to control all emotions.
Maybe being detached from desire is Musashi’s way of controlling emotions hence controlling oneself. Maybe it was a precursor to controlling fear and panic. And maybe I’m just reaching for something that wasn’t really there in Musashi’s original thoughts and writing. I don’t know for sure…
What I do know is this. Controlling emotions, especially those of fear and panic, is a crucial skill for the warrior.
Training can help one develop this, and being detached from desire may be a mental discipline and form of training to assist with the development of this skill. So while I don’t necessarily agree that all desire is negative, I do believe that regularly detaching yourself from desire is a mental training that helps with discipline and may help with the controlling of other emotions. This control is a worthy goal for any warrior.
Teacher:
In the West, people tend to think only of things of a sexual nature when the word desire is used, however Musashi was a Buddhist. However devout he was or was not I cannot say, but he was raised in that culture and as such was undoubtedly influenced by the Buddhist tenets. In Buddhism, desire is more-or-less a want of anything, not just sex. The basic idea is that desire leads to suffering when we start to feel sorry for ourselves over what we do not have. In this sense, the suffering is the product of our own desire for things we are unable to attain, and as such, it is our own action of desire that brought about our suffering. There is also the factor of the way we can seem to be owned by the things that we are attached to.
That said, I still have to disagree with this precept.
It was a desire for flight that brought about the airplane. If everyone were content with what is, then the airplane would not have come to be. Automobiles, same thing. You name it:
internet, smartphones, satellite televisions, home computers, videogames, touch-screens, typewriters, mechanical pencils, toothbrushes with those little tongue- scraper thingies on the back, the Hubble Space Telescope, microwave ovens, microwave popcorn, toaster ovens, fire extinguishers, sliced bread, pressure cookers, MP3 players—
everything you see around you is the result of the desire someone or some group of people had to make it happen.
Additionally, in the martial arts, a person has to want. That is, they have to desire to reach that next rank, or learn that kata, perform the next technique, or they will never be successful. I tell students all of the time that I can teach them applications until I fall over dead, but they have to supply the heart. They have to have that will, that desire, that inner spark that drives them to be the best that they can be.
The people who lack desire tend to be a lot less successful in the things that they attempt. Those who have that desire are very often the leaders of their field. You don’t have to wonder if they are successful, because even people outside of their chosen field know the names of these people. You do not have to be a fan of boxing to have heard of Muhammad Ali, or a fan of martial arts or action movies to know who Chuck Norris is. It isn’t necessary to follow basketball to know of Michael Jordan. Without anything above a superficial knowledge of their field, I bet you know about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg.
These people are seen as specially gifted. But in reality they had two things that set them apart in each case—work ethic and a desire to be the best. They wanted to do what they
did, but they were also willing to put in more time and to work harder to be better than their competition.
Desire is that spark that sets these people apart.
Uncontrolled lust, sure, that is a bad thing. But desire, properly defined, is not. In the proper sense, desire is the very motivation that drives successful people to do what they do.
And even though it seems that only a few are gifted with this, the truth is that anyone can do what these people have done. We tell ourselves we cannot, and that becomes a limitation. It is self-imposed, but it is a limitation nonetheless. We also let others tell us that we are not good enough, not smart enough, not good-looking enough, and we start to believe it.
But if we shut out the negative voices, we can start to see progress and move ahead toward what we desire. And if we are being honest here, no one really wants to be mediocre.
It is quite natural for people to want to be the best at whatever it is that they do. It is rather uncommon that they follow through on this want, but the desire still exists, waiting to be used.
When desire is understood to be more than something sexual, and when it is understood to be the very spark that ignites the fire of ingenuity and innovation, it can be seen as a very good thing and something that we really depend on.
Insurance Executive:
There is desire and there is desire so overwhelming, so all- consuming, so over-attached to the thing on which it’s focused, it becomes physically, mentally, and spiritually dangerous to the one desiring.
There is nothing wrong with desire. It could be argued that wanting and wishing are powerful motives to help us do the
very best for our family, our friends, and ourselves. I desire to be promoted at work because it would provide me with fresh stimulation, better my family’s financial situation, and enable me to contribute to more of the causes I believe in. I desire to pass my next martial arts belt exam because it will show me that I’m on the right track, encourage me to continue do my best, and allow me to train with advanced students who will challenge me. I desire to be the best partner to my husband because I want our marriage to continue to be the joy that it is. Lastly, I desire to give my best to my fitness, intellectual and creative pursuits, and my spiritual life. I believe these kinds of desires are healthy and beneficial.
But to be over attached to any of them can be ruinous. For example, if my desire to be promoted at work drives me to backstab, claim credit for work or ideas that aren’t mine, or in any other way falsify myself to that end, I risk losing the employee I want to be. Likewise, if my desire to earn the next belt in the martial arts leads me to “kiss up” to my instructor, ridicule other students, claim credit for work around the school I didn’t do, or falsify whatever else I deem necessary to make myself recognized, I risk losing the very martial artist I want to be. If in my desire to be the best partner to my husband, I purposely demean his efforts to do the same for me, or I compete on some level to make it appear I’m the only one putting in the effort for our marriage, I risk losing my partner in life and I risk losing the person I want to be for him. Lastly, if in my effort to be the best I can be, I falsify my achievements to others, I risk lying to myself and ultimately living a life based on falsehood.
When desire becomes all-encompassing and I hurt others in my mindless zeal to achieve these things, I lose my compassion, honesty, integrity, and my power. What is my power? It’s a combination of my self-control, dignity, love for others, restraint, and sense of civility. These powerful
qualities can be lost when a desire is so demanding it destroys everything I want to achieve and the reasons I wanted to achieve them—the betterment of my family, my friends, and myself.
To be overly attached is to live in fear that what I desire will never happen. Then fear only makes me desire it more. In other words, by fearing I won’t attain what I want, I will want it more, only to fear not attaining it.
The solution? Follow the middle path. Musashi’s disciplined life and spiritual path were set in a culture and time vastly remote from ours today, so detachment from desire might have been possible then, though I have my doubts. Or, might he have written the precept as a goal one should strive for; it’s value being in the struggle. Perhaps he saw this striving to follow the precept the same way that people who meditate strive to continually bring their wandering minds back to the present.
Businessman:
Being detached from desire might be admirable in those who seek an ascetic lifestyle, but for most of us the world simply doesn’t work that way. Think about it. What motivates us to get out of bed every morning, navigate rush hour traffic, show up at work on time, and devote our time and energies toward our career? Even if we work for a non- profit institution or charitable foundation, there must be something self-serving in what we do. Otherwise, why do it?
Is your job merely a way to pay the bills or is there something more? Do you derive a sense of accomplishment or self-worth from what you do? Are you trying to change the world, perhaps succeeding? Are you in it to build your personal brand, for the acclaim, the promotions? Does international travel, a corner office, or a healthy per diem
check turn your crank? Or, are you more of a people-person, someone who thrives in a group setting? Do you find that mentoring and coaching others gives you a sense of fulfillment far greater than anything you could accomplish by yourself? Ask a million people and we will likely get a million different reasons, such things are deeply personal, but everybody has one of them… Whatever drives us, it’s a pretty safe bet that were it not for some sense of desire we wouldn’t show up at the office every morning, especially if we’re not the owner or chief executive officer of the company and maybe not even then. After all, they call it work because it takes effort. It’s not always fun…
So, why do we do stuff if it’s not pleasurable then? There’s a fundamental hypothesis that underlies modern economic theory, the supposition that people tend to act in their own enlightened self-interest.[11] Perhaps not all people behave that way at all times, drug addicts and those on a weekend bender come to mind by way of example, but this assumption tends to hold true for the preponderance of people in the world. In a free market this collection of individual desires translates into collective benefit for all, as those who want to buy are able to acquire goods or services from those who want to sell in a mutually beneficial trade that brings value to both parties. But, what if nobody wanted to make anything to sell? What if there was no marketplace in which to buy? Without desire, there’s no drive. Without drive there’s no accomplishment.
One of the key reasons that communism failed in the old Soviet Union was that people lost the will to work. They might have shown up at the factory or office place, but they didn’t get much done while there were there. After all, going the extra mile (kilometer) wasn’t rewarded; it paid the same to sit around and gossip or play cards as it did to work your fingers to the bone. Clearly there were many other factors that played important roles, such as budget-busting Cold