THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS By Miyamoto Musashi
We have several threads that mention Musashi, but none dedicated to The Book of Five Rings. Our new sweepstakes is for a gorgeous new edition of The Book of Five Rings By Miyamoto Musashi, translated by Thomas Cleary, with 2 audio CDS read by Lloyd James (ends 6:00 p.m. PST on 12/22/2010) so I'm using that as an excuse to start one.
On the way to work today, I was toying with the idea of starting a subforum dedicated to books. I know I'm always resistant to launching new forums because it's a hassle to shuffle old threads about and it would require more maintenance. But as a publisher, I'm considering it mostly for the statement it would make.
Back to Musashi, I wrote my Provost D'Arms thesis on The Book of Five Rings. That was back in '85 I think. I'm eager to hear of anyone else who has engaged The Book of Five Rings here.
Some miscellaneous Musashi threads:
Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu (musashi)
Musashi Miyamoto Trilogy
I'll consider a book forum more seriously after the holidaze...
Takuan Soho has often been credited as Musashi's master, but that legend has been discredited for the most part. Kenji Tokitsu's Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings (also from Shambhala coincidentally) offers some serious criticisms of that legend - it's a must-read for any Musashi scholar. I even reference this in my book, Shaolin Trips on page 79. Nevertheless, I concur with you, Jimbo. Unfettered Mind is a tremendous read.
As for Lee's works, anyone who has even a passing knowledge of philosophy knows that Lee poached a lot of his ideas from his studies. I mentioned this in Shaolin Trips: Flashback, my most recent e-zine installment. Sadly, when his posthumous works were being compiled, Lee's notes were pillaged and many of the ideas were credited to Lee. I'm not sure if the compilers were trying to make look wiser than he was or if they were just ignorant of the body of philosophy Lee was exposed to in his studies. I don't think Lee would have wanted that. It's a strange legacy.