Palespyder’s Web

I have been reading this book, Living the Martial Way, good read so far. I am currently on the chapter on Honor and was shocked to read the honor consists of three principles, Obligation, Justice, and Courage. While reading on these things, the author speaks about the three levels of what I call honor enlightenment. He uses the story that a man is killed after leaving a large sum of money with a friend for safe keeping. The friend knows no one but he and his dead friend knew of the arrangement. His honor comes down to three choices in decending order of enlightenment.

• He can return the money to the man’s family without ever thinking of keeping it himself as this is the right and just thing to do.
• He can think about keeping the money, but return it after shame and guilt set in.
• He can keep the money and never tell anyone what happened.

The most honorable of men would choose the  first because it is his Obligation to do so and his Giri is fulfilled to his friend. He would never consider keeping someone elses money for his own selfish game because that in turn hurts the man’s family and causes injustice. It takes courage to do these things and thus his honor is intact because he has fulfilled the three tenants of Honor.

There are men, I have known many in my time, who are unscrupulous and look for oppurtunities like this to profit off of the misery of others. I do not feel I have ever, nor will I ever be that man. Now, that being said, I am neither saint nor demon, I am a middle of the road man who would think out both sides of the coin before returning the money, does this make me dishonorable or less then honorable to the other man? I don’t think so, I think it makes me unenlightened and enlightenment is something to work toward until the end of your days.