Higher Law

Highly evolved people have their own conscience as pure law.
Lao Tzu

We have a lot of laws that we are supposed to adhere to in today’s society. Our “lawmakers” seem to think that it is their job to make more laws for us to follow each year. After all, if they aren’t making new laws, debating over them and voting on them, how would they justify their salaries which the tax payers pay them or the raises which they so generously give themselves? They have to do something to justify putting their hands in the till. But what gives these people the right to make our laws?

Okay, sure we give them the right by voting them into office, that’s a given. But let’s look a little deeper at this issue. Are these people wiser or more honorable? Are they more knowledgeable about what is good for you and me than we are ourselves? Is it that they have more integrity and therefore they know how we should all live our lives? Well, speaking as someone who has worked in one of our “esteemed” legislative bodies, I can tell you without any doubt, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO!

Government has no rights; it is a delegation
from several individuals for the purpose of securing their own.
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Power must never be trusted without a check.
John Adams

These people are not wiser or more intelligent. They are certainly not men of true honor, at least the majority of them aren’t. They definitely do not have the integrity of a warrior. I have rubbed elbows with governors, senators, representatives and the like, and I have been privileged to see first hand what happens behind the scenes when the sessions are out and the reporters are gone. These are not men of honor…far from it. So why then do we feel that the limits which these men give us are close to sacred? Wow, they passed another “law” and we must obey the law…no matter how asinine the law may be.

The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws;
’tis the mystic foundation of their authority…
They are often made by fools;
still oftener by men who, out of hatred to equality, fail in equity;
but always by men, vain and irresolute authors.
Montaigne

The more corrupt the State the more numerous the laws.
Tacitus

These “laws” are not sacred, people. They are made by men with questionable honor and integrity. Many times they are made with hidden agendas which you and I will never be privy to. I happen to set in on several “meetings” between a railroad lobby and state representatives in which secret deals were made under the table. Money changed hands, all by “legal” means of course, in exchange for specific votes on specific laws. Were these laws for the good of the people? What do you think…

Government is an association of men
who do violence to the rest of us.
Tolstoy

You are probably thinking about now, what does any of this have to do with the warrior lifestyle? Well, I’m glad you asked. As a warrior, you have to consider what is right in all your actions. Legal does not necessarily equal right, and illegal does not necessarily equal wrong. There may be times when the warrior has to decide between what is right and what is legal. Yes, sometimes the warrior has to do things which may be against the law. Conversely, there are many things which are considered legal according to our laws, which the warrior will consider dishonorable according to the code he lives by.

Government is essentially immoral.
Herbert Spencer

This may sound strange to many of you, but it is reality for the warrior. An example that many people can relate to would be the issue of abortion. (Please don’t turn this blog into a debate over abortion, this is just an example.) Abortion is legal in this country, but there are millions of Christians in our country who would not consider abortion an ethical option for themselves. It goes against their principles. In the same way, there are many things which are legal which go against the principles which the warrior lives by.

Never do anything against conscience
even if the state demands it.
Einstein

Moreover, the warrior must do things which are illegal at times in order to hold fast to his integrity and honor. For example, did you know that it is illegal in Colorado to give aid to a runaway? I once had a student who ran away from home because she was being sexually abused. She called me, as her teacher, in the middle of the night, cold and hungry, and asked for help. I helped her and gave her food and shelter, even though it was against the law. Having worked with the local social service office, I knew better than to call them right away, I had to think about what was best for this student.

Later, it was discovered that I gave her food and shelter for a couple of days until I decided what I should have her do. Social services, the local police, her parents, and the school administration all turned on me like a pack of wolves. They wanted me jailed. Charges mysteriously went away though when I contacted her well known parents and told them I knew what was happening in the home. Hummmmm imagine that…a discretionary law dropped because of an inconvenient truth. These “sacred” laws are very flexible for the right people, as we see over and over in our country.

Don’t oppose forces, use them.
R. Buckminster Fuller

There are many examples where the code of the warrior and the law of the land do not mesh. What is important to the warrior is not necessarily these “laws” but rather the issue of right and wrong. The warrior lives by his own code of ethics. He determines what is permissible and not permissible for himself. This code of honor is the highest law of the land for the warrior. He must live by his code of honor regardless of what the politicians say. At the same time, the warrior must be careful when the time comes that he has to break the law…self defense includes all areas, even defense against prosecution.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Voltaire

The warrior sets his own laws. Now, I am not saying that we should totally disregard our laws and do whatever we wish, although if everyone lived the warrior lifestyle, laws would not be needed. But as we all know, very few people live the lifestyle of the warrior and therefore we have to have laws for people who refuse to govern themselves. Why is the warrior different? Because the warrior holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else could possibly expect from him.

Wise people, even though all laws were abolished,
would still lead the same life.
Aristophanes

The superior man is governed by decorum;
The inferior man is ruled by law.
Chinese Proverb

The warrior doesn’t need laws to keep him in line. His own sense of right and wrong, and his sense of honor and integrity keep a tighter reign on his actions than any outside law. Even if there were no laws at all, the warrior would still do the right thing. Yes, the warrior still obeys the laws of the land…until they go crosswise to the laws of his spirit. Then his code of honor trumps the law of the land. His code of honor is the “higher law.” Be your own law; be a man of character, honor and integrity. Live by the Higher Law.

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
Emerson

The just man is himself his own law.
Catacombs Inscription

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

Is Honor Black & White?

Many people believe that honor is one of those few things in life which is black and white. This belief is both true and false. True in the sense that every action can be classified as either being honorable or dishonorable. Just as a door is either open or shut, our actions are either honorable or dishonorable. It is one or the other. That is just the way it is.

Now, you may argue that a door can be shut, but just not shut all the way. And you would be right, but if a door is not shut all the way, it is still technically open. All that is left to discuss is the degree to which that door is open or closed. It may be 99% closed, but 99% closed is still open by 1%. It is the same way with honor. If an act is only partly honorable, it is a dishonorable act.

Okay, I have proved that honor is black and white, right? Not so fast…What I said is that actions can be classified as either honorable or dishonorable, but honor itself is definitely not a black or white issue. Honor is much more complicated than that. Honor is a term that many people seem to throw around, but few really understand what it actually means. A lot of people will preach that honor can be defined in black and white generalities, but that is false thinking.

A countless number of acts that appear foolish
have secret motives that are very wise and weighty.
La Rochefoucauld

These same people will say that it is always dishonorable to lie. Well, let’s examine that statement. Is it dishonorable for the cop to lie to a drug dealer when he is doing undercover work? I don’t think so. Was it dishonorable for the family, who was hiding Jews during Nazi Germany, to lie to German soldiers about the fact that they were helping these people? Of course not. So lying must not always be a dishonorable act. By the same account, truthfulness is not always an honorable act. Wait, don’t start throwing rotten tomatoes at me yet…

Think about it! If the same family I used in the example above was truthful to the Nazi soldiers, this family would have signed the death sentence for the Jews which they were hiding. Would this be an honorable act? Not in my book. But they told the truth and telling the truth is an honorable act, right? Not always…

To generalize is to be an idiot.
William Blake

Actions must be judged according to intentions.
Arab Maxim

An action is always honorable or dishonorable, right or wrong, but you cannot categorize each individual action as always being honorable or dishonorable, or always being right or wrong. See the difference? The intentions of the individual determine whether or not an act is honorable or not, not the act itself. That is right…the same exact act may be honorable in one instance and dishonorable in another. Honor is not black and white.

Our own heart, and not other men’s opinion, form our true honor.
Samuel Coleridge

You are a man; do not dishonor mankind.
Jean Jacques Rousseau

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

The Man in the Right

Not to long ago I was contacted by one of my blog readers, who has also become a good friend of mine. She informed me that her dad, who had also started reading my blog, was coming to CO for a visit and would like to take me out for a beer and meet me. Her dad, Don, was a gracious man whose face showed the years of service as a lawman on the border. Both his look and his demeanor, not to mention his cowboy hat and boots, reminded me of an old west sheriff. Don had many colorful stories of his adventures as a lawman on a large border town, but I found the following one the most interesting.

Don had been called to this bar late one night, as lawmen often are, to take care of a bit of business with a troublemaker. Business concluded, he was on his way out the door, headed home, when a huge guy in a cowboy hat and boots, blocked his path with his leg. This guy looked at Don with a cold stare and said, “Tonight, I’m going to kick your ass…bad.” Don said that by the look of this man, he knew that he meant it, and he also knew that he could get the job done.

The anger of a prudent man never shows.
Burmese Proverb

The wise conquer by strength, rather than anger.
The malevolent fail by their own rage.
Nagarjuna

Don took another drink of his cold beer, put his hand on my should, and then told me what happened next. He said, Bohdi, I that is as scared as I had ever been during my time as a lawman. This guy meant serious business…to this day, I still don’t know where the words came from, but this is what I told him. I looked him straight in the eye and said…You may kick my ass tonight, but tomorrow night I will be back with a deputy. And you may be able to kick both of our asses tomorrow night, but if we can’t set things right, I will be back the next night with two more deputies.

We have 465 lawmen in this county, and I will come back as many nights as it takes to make things right. Make no doubt about it, I will set things straight. We will severely kick you ass sooner or later, and then, on top of that, you will be going to jail after it is all over. Don said the man just looked at him and silently, he simply removed his leg and let Don pass.

Then Don told me, you know Bohdi, the Creed of the Texas Ranger is what I believe in, “No man in the wrong can beat a man in the right that just keeps coming.” If you are in the right, sooner or later you will win. Don then took another drink of his beer and asked his beautiful daughter if she would dance with an old cowboy.

No man in the wrong can beat a man
in the right that just keeps coming.
The Creed of the Texas Ranger

Nothing is over until it is completely over; you can’t be defeated until you declare defeat. Defeat is a state of mind. Losing one battle does not equal a lost war. You decide when to declare victory or defeat. Don’t declare victory too soon, and don’t declare defeat at all. Remember the Creed of the Texas Ranger…

Defeat is a state of mind;
no one is ever defeated until
defeat has been accepted as a reality.
Bruce Lee

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

What is a Real Warrior?

What makes someone a warrior? Is it the job that he has? Is someone automatically a warrior because he works as a policeman or is in the military? Is someone less of a warrior if they are a school teacher, rather than a policeman? These are all questions which should be considered. We hear a lot about the warrior professions and about how this group or that group are true warriors, but being a warrior has nothing to do with with your profession or which group you may or may not belong to. It has to do with who you really are as a person.

You can be a policeman or be part of the military and not be a warrior. There are countless examples which testify to this fact, many of which have been in the news lately. A person can work as a cop or make a career of the military without ever coming close to being a real warrior. This has always been the case and probably always will be the case. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing cops or the military. These are both honorable professions. But there are many honorable professions in this world.

Often man is preoccupied with human rules and forgets the inner law.
Antoine the Healer

There always have been and always will be warriors who have nothing to do with the “warrior professions.” Was Bruce Lee less of a warrior because he was a teacher and an actor? Or was Ginchin Funokoshi less of a warrior because he chose to be a teacher instead of a policeman? Is the crooked cop a warrior just because he happens to be a cop? I don’t think so. Warriors can be found throughout our society, in different positions and at different levels. You don’t become a warrior just because you get a certain job.

Honor cannot be bought.
Philippine Proverb

Being a warrior goes much, much deeper than how you happen to make your living. It goes to the core of who you are. Being a warrior is a lifestyle, not a profession. I know some cops who are truly warriors and I also know some cops who are as much of a criminal as the people who they arrest. Your profession doesn’t matter, as long as it is not dishonorable. What matters is what is in your spirit. Are you really a warrior or do you merely want to be thought of as a warrior?

One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.
Miyamoto Musashi

The definition of a warrior is someone who takes part in war or who is experienced in warfare, but I think that the true definition of a warrior goes much deeper than that. A real warrior is more than someone who takes part in warfare. He is someone who lives by a set of principles or a code of ethics. There are many people around the world who have taken part in warfare, to some degree, who I doubt anyone would consider a real warrior. The real warrior is concerned with character, integrity and honor, as well as martial arts skills and training. He takes the lifestyle of the warrior seriously. He has respect for others and for life. He is not a pretender, but the real deal.

The master warrior is a man of character, a man of wisdom and insight.
Forrest E. Morgan

The best book that I have read pertaining to the lifestyle of the warrior is Living the Martial Way by Forrest E. Morgan. If you haven’t read this book, you should get a copy. It is great. There are some other good books on the subject, but this is my favorite. Whether you are a police officer, a martial artist, a teacher, a lawyer, or in the military, you should do your best to live the lifestyle of the real warrior. It is not something that you do, it is something that you are. The lifestyle of the warrior is not something that everyone can live up to, this is why the true warrior is an uncommon find in today’s society. Strive to be different. Strive to be a real warrior.

Bohdi Sanders
The Wisdom Warrior