19/11/2025
🧘The Path of Self-Reliance — From Musashi to the Buddha
In a world filled with noise,
the noise of society,
the noise of comparison,
and the noise of fear,
there is only one voice, the quietest, but the truest...
and that voice comes from
“within ourselves.”
That voice is the voice of self-reliance.
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⚔️ Miyamoto Musashi – Standing Alone on the Path of the Sword
Musashi was not just a swordsman,
but a thinker walking alone in the storms of life.
He believed:
“Those who rely on external things are controlled by them.”
Therefore, he chose his own path.
🗡 One Sword, One Mind
In The Book of Five Rings, he wrote:✒️
“Do not hope for things beyond your control.”
This is the heart of Musashi's self-reliance.
It is not a rejection of the world,
but an understanding that
"True victory" isn't in knocking down your enemy,
but in severing...
the "hesitation" in your heart.
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💼 Rich de Voss – A believer in the power of belief
Rich de Voss views self-reliance in terms of mental strength.
He believes that any success in this world begins with the belief that:
👊 "We can do it."
He doesn't wait for others to give him an opportunity,
but rather creates it himself,
just like how he founded from a small room into a global empire.
Rich de Voss is thus a symbol of self-reliance,
in the "making it happen" way,
much like Musashi, who practiced with his sword daily.
Only his "weapon" is...
belief in human potential.
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👑 His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great – Self-reliance for a Balanced Life
He taught the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy,
which is not just an economic principle, but a way of life.
🌸 "Sufficiency is not poverty,
but the knowledge of contentment." And know how to keep your mind grounded in reason.”
This is self-reliance that is not isolated.
It's not being strong enough to stand alone,
but being strong enough to “not harm others.”
King Rama IX stood in the middle
between the world of the warrior and the world of Dharma,
teaching Thais that
“True stability begins with a stable mind.”
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🪷 The Buddha – Relying on Oneself for Liberation
The Buddha said:
🌼“Oneself is one's own refuge.
Who else can be relied upon?”
But His “self-reliance”
is not about building a shield to protect the world,
but about...
Opening one's mind to see the world as it truly is (at the global political level).
Those who know themselves, see themselves,
and understand their own impermanence
are unafraid of anything.
This is the highest form of self-reliance
—
because when one does not even rely on
“self,”
nothing can cause one to fear.
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🔱 The Straight Line of Self-Reliance
If we draw a line from Musashi to the Buddha, we see the gradual evolution of the human mind.
relied on himself to “conquer the world.”
relied on himself to “create the world.”
relied on himself to “live with the world.”
relied on himself to “escape the world.”
All of these teach the same thing, in different ways: “Don't run away from yourself.”
Because when we deeply understand ourselves,
we no longer need to rely on anyone for meaning.
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🔻 “Those who can rely on themselves
will never be taken away by anyone's words.”
And that is the common truth of...
Warriors,
Creators,
Leaders,
and Bodhisattvas
on the same path
The path of self-reliance to overcome the global system
