February 28, 2025: The Philosophy of Letting Go

Sleep Well, and Dream Not of Yesterday: A Reflection on Zen, Bushido, and the Lived Experience
Memory is a fascinating construct. I recall hearing, "Sleep well, and dream not of yesterday", and attributing it to Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation. With his stoic demeanour and adherence to Klingon traditions, Worf seemed the perfect vessel for such wisdom. However, upon revisiting the series and delving into Klingon lore, I realise this line isn't present. It may have been a Klingon wish or a phrase that resonated so profoundly that it found its way into my understanding of the character. But whether its origins lie in Star Trek or elsewhere, the sentiment remains powerful. It speaks to an enduring truth found in Zen thought, Bushido, and the reality of human experience—the past is unchangeable, and only the present and future remain within our reach. To dwell on yesterday is to chain oneself to what can no longer be influenced, while to dream of the future is to engage with what is yet to be shaped.

Mushin no Shin in Zen Buddhism
An ensō (Zen circle)—a traditional ink painting done in one free brushstroke— symbolises enlightenment and the empty mind of Zen. It represents a moment when the mind is uncluttered and “free to let the body create,” capturing the spirit of mushin.
In Zen Buddhist thought, mushin no shin – often translated as “no-mind” – refers to a pure awareness free from ego and distraction. Importantly, no mind does not mean literal mindlessness or blank indifference. Instead, it is a mind unbound by ego-driven thought, “not delimited by ideas, desires, and images” and free of internal commentary or projection. In this state, the practitioner fully experiences reality without clinging to judgments, allowing actions and responses to flow naturally. The 13th-century Zen master Dōgen (道元), founder of the Sōtō Zen school, described his enlightenment as “dropping off the body and the mind” (shinjin datsuraku) – a moment in which the usual dualism between self and other dissolved. Through rigorous zazen meditation and mindfulness, Dōgen taught “practice-realization,” wherein one lets go of attaining anything and simply is here and now.
Later, Zen figures expanded on mushin in practical terms. Takuan Sōhō (沢庵宗彭, 1573–1645), a Rinzai Zen monk, famously applied mushin to swordsmanship in his treatise Fudōchishinmyōroku (The Unfettered Mind). Writing to the swordsman Yagyū Munenori, Takuan counselled that the Zen practitioner and the warrior must learn to “free their minds from attachments, discriminations, and conceptualisations” – to let no grasping thought interrupt the fluidity of mind. Mushin no shin, he explained, is a mental state of total presence and responsiveness, like water that adapts to the shape of its container without hesitation. In combat or daily life, this inner freedom allows one to respond to changing situations immediately and naturally, unimpeded by fear or cognitive overthinking.


Bushidō and Shikata ga nai: Samurai Acceptance
An Edo-period woodblock print depicting the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵). Musashi’s writings emphasise a warrior’s composure and acceptance of reality. Samurai were taught to face death and hardship calmly, embodying the ethos of shikata ga nai – “it cannot be helped.”
Bushidō (武士道, “Way of the Warrior”), the code of ethics followed by samurai in feudal Japan, placed great emphasis on honour, duty, and unflinching courage. Underlying these virtues was an ethos of acceptance – an understanding that a warrior must calmly face realities beyond their control, including the inevitability of death. The Japanese shikata ga nai (“it cannot be helped”) epitomises this attitude of stoic acceptance. Rather than indicating defeatism, shikata ga nai encouraged samurai to meet fate with grace and focus on what must be done next.
One of the definitive Bushidō texts, Hagakure (葉隠, “Hidden in Leaves”), compiled by Yamamoto Tsunetomo in the early 1700s, repeatedly instructs the samurai to accept death and adversity as natural. Hagakure famously states that “the way of the samurai is found in death.” In practical terms, a samurai must always be prepared to die – to live each day as if it were his last, with honour and purpose. By embracing death in his heart beforehand, a warrior can act decisively and without fear.

Stoicism: Focus on the Controllable, Embrace Impermanence
Bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. As a Stoic philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius wrote extensively about accepting fate and focusing only on one’s moral action. Stoicism teaches that while we cannot control external events, we can control our judgments and choices.
Stoicism, an ancient Greco-Roman philosophy, offers similar wisdom of acceptance and present-focused action. Stoic thinkers like Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca taught that serenity comes from understanding what we can control and cannot and concentrating only on the former.
In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius constantly reminds himself how transient life is: “Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone… Nothing is stable, not even what’s right here.” This almost Zen-like reflection encourages us to see that all external things (pleasures, pain, fame, even our bodies) are fleeting and beyond our ultimate control. Why grieve and fret over the ephemeral? Instead, Stoics argue, devote yourself to what is enduringly yours: your virtue and attitude.

A Call to Rest and a Call to Dream
To sleep well, free of yesterday’s burdens, is to embrace a mindset of peace and presence. To dream only of the future is to step into agency, creativity, and action. Zen teaches us to let go, Bushido reminds us to move forward, and life itself proves, time and again, that clinging to what has passed does not serve us.
The next time you close your eyes, remember: yesterday was a closed book. What dreams will you shape for tomorrow?

日本語の要約 (Japanese Summary)
禅の「無心の心」、武士道の「仕方がない」、ストア哲学の教え––これら三つの伝統はいずれも**「執着を手放し、今この瞬間に最善を尽くす」**ことを説いています。道元や沢庵宗彭は無心の境地について論じ、武士道では『葉隠』が死を覚悟し生きることを説き、ストア哲学は「制御できるものに集中し、制御できないものを受け流す」ことの大切さを教えています。それぞれ異なる文化で発展しましたが、その核心には「あるがままの現実を受け入れ、今ここでなすべきことを実行する」という共通の哲学があるのです。

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