A Video Introduction to Way of the Modern Warrior – Living the Samurai Ideal in the 21st Century

Hanshi Kaufman introduces his new book, Way of the Modern Warrior – Living the Samurai Ideal in the 21st Century, forthcoming from Tuttle Publishing in Fall 2012. Preorder your copy at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

For more info on author, visit http://www.hanshi.com

The Way of the Modern Warrior

The book cover design for my new book title, The Way of the Modern Warrior – Living the Samurai Ideal in the 21st Century, is now available for the world to see. The book will be released in the fall of 2012 and can currently be preordered through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Here is a little taste of what is inside the book:

No one is responsible for your fallacies—probably not even yourself.
We are all subject to the ridicules of life and the difficulties we must endure in everyday activities. How much more simple things would be if we would only focus on one specific ideal—even if it eventually appears in our minds as a wrong choice. Wrong choices are part of the growing process of self-evolution and are necessary if we learn from these errors in judgment and proceed to reestablish our prime condition. This takes a lot of guts. We are always ensnared by external entrapments, things that seem to control us: earning a livelihood, trying to provide for our families, being good to others. The list is endless. It would all fall into place if we would concern ourselves only with those things that can enhance our lives for the betterment of our own personal existence, albeit for the benefit of all concerned. Many of the detours in life that we are subject to happen because of matters that may be beyond our initial control. It is how one deals with adversity that empowers a person to move forward with themselves as the prime recipient of their own good. When you are good to yourself, you will find no difficulty in being good to others, but you must come first. When you come to understand the reasons for your actions, you will readily see that decisions may or may not be necessary at that juncture.

©SFKaufman

For more info on the author, visit http://www.hanshi.com

Updated Note: Hanshi.com website is undergoing a total face-lift and is still in the process of finalization. We here at Hanshi Warrior Press are excited about the new look and hope you will be too. Again, please bear with us as we continue to work on fine tuning the website. Thank you for your patience and support.

The Shogun’s Philosophy

Most people fail in life because they are not aware of the internal power they have or the manner in which they can increase their usage of it. The inner self is impersonal; it is not a “thing.” The true meaning of personal development is in the true acceptance of your own personal being. It has nothing to do with technique, which may be good to know, but readily interferes with desire because of its reliance on external forms to develop internal realities.

Every time you move your hands or feet, your mind or your tongue, it should be considered an attack and a non-attack simultaneously. Attack and defense are one and the same thing and can only perform according to your acceptance of their functionality. This is strictly dependent upon your devotion to it by way of personal belief and training. If you do not have this understanding, then you can only be a puppet, lacking the inner resolve to attain higher levels of consciousness.

Specific technique only enables you to perform adequately that which is necessary to maintain and protect your personal environment. It has nothing to do with your innate skill as a leader, which is completely different. There is always someone smarter, faster, stronger, more devious, and more benevolent. The shogun is what he is: a shogun and nothing else. You must understand what a shogun actually is, and you can only do this by introspection and personal definition. The existence of certain heavenly attitudes and qualities must be accepted on a personal level to maintain you on a specific level of consciousness. This is called “correct thinking.”

The shogun does not get involved with ranks or tiles, names of styles, who is best at something, or anything that would suggest comparisons with others, including competitive thinking. The personality does indeed play an important part, because without a personality, there could be no self-identification. We do not live in a mindless environment, although most people function on that level, and so we cannot exist without references. To do so would indicate a lack of self-esteem that would deny survival and accomplishment. The healthy personality does not have to brag about its accomplishments—its work is self-evident, and its only purpose is to drive its self to higher levels of consciousness within the structure of any given discipline.

Excerpt from The Shogun’s Scroll  – Wield Power and Control Your Destiny, available at all major retail book stores and the author’s homepage.

For more info on the author, visit http://www.hanshi.com

No-Thing-Ness

from The Shogun’s Scroll by Stephen F. Kaufman

What I have attempted to explain to you, my Liege, is certain to be known to you. Not wishing to be presumptuous, I have given you what I believe is the most intelligent and realistic information. I am indebted to Heaven and the grace bestowed on me by God to have been considered wise enough to explain my understanding of these things to you.

What I have discussed is without doubt what a man of your attainment certainly knows. But the wisdom does not stop there. These words are for the benefit of all men in all times, and if they would understand what the words themselves impart, they would truly control their own destinies to the degree that they can accept these truths.

A man’s position in life is always based on the degree to which he accepts the values shown to him by the Spirit of the Thing Itself. This spirit reveals to a man only that which he desires it to reveal to him, personally. Spirit is impersonal and could not care less about you until you tell it what to do on your behalf. It has no mind of its own, and again, can only reveal of itself as you desire it to reveal of itself. You may of course prevail upon it to show you the way to higher understanding.

To know you are shogun is one thing—this takes learning. To realize you are shogun is some thing—this takes meditation. But, to be shogun is no thing and this demands acceptance of the self.

For more info on author and to purchase books, visit http://www.hanshi.com and all major retail book outlets.