THE “DO”

 by Phillip Starr

The “Way.” It is rather obscure, even at its beginning. The first awkward steps seem shrouded in mist and the heights toward which it leads are rather opaque and cloud-covered. And that's really for the best; to see too clearly what lies ahead would be much too intimidating. The sobering realizations come about only in retrospect...the traveler has left behind his familiar and comfy place and started a journey more challenging and rewarding than he ever could have imagined. As he travels further, he sees that although his Way is to a “destination” that remains unfathomable but still intensely attractive to him.

Although this Way isn't a particular place to which one must be transported, it is very rare to find a follower who's able to travel its length without ever leaving home. It is a journey of the mind and spirit and ultimately, the soul. The character for this way is pronounced “doe” in Japanese and “dao” (sometimes spelled “tao”) in Chinese. The strokes for “principal, main” are joined with those of the radical for “movement.” Thus, “do” is “an important road.” Usually, it is intended to mean “a way, a path”; a way to follow in harmony with the vicissitudes the universe provides, a path along which to discover for oneself the essentials of a worthwhile life.

Traces of the Way in this sense are very old; it took form the first time an individual engaged in some activity with a consciousness beyond the utilitarian and past the restrictions of the ego. True, it may produce art...it may be of practical value but the attainment of the Way is in the PROCESS. It is the doing of a thing not for its own sake but because the doing releases us from certain constraints of the limited self; narcissism, self-centeredness, preoccupations with the fears, worries, and doubts that diminish us in daily life. It draws us into the realm of self-realization, cultivation, and aims at self-perfection.

The Way is open to all who have the desire and resolve to walk it. Those who do may select from a variety of disciplines, for the Do extrapolates from the specific to the general. Tea ceremony, flower arranging, tea ceremony – each is a route of the Way. We have chosen the martial route. And while the particular form the Way takes doesn't matter, the route we have taken brings us into the most immediate confrontation with the elementary struggles of reality such as life and death, pain and comfort, temporal matters and matters of the soul. It requires moral stamina along with visceral and emotional courage. It demnds a social conscience as well as physical endurance. Each of these qualities will be sorely tested on the journey and they may be purified (tempered) and fortified in the process. But they must already be present in the traveler to some degree from the outset if he expects to travel very far at all.

Such an individual must be brave and virtuous and possess a sense of commitment as well as a sensitivity to the values of the past. But he also suspects something important is missing from his life and so, he sets out along the Way despite observations by others that such a Way is outmoded, naïve, and/or idealistic. He continues, knowing that other have gone before and because of the call of the Way. He has set out on a lifetime journey because, as the character for Do shows... this is the principal road for him. It will lead him to a place very much worth the going...