Greetings friends, Are there any good books you are aware of on courage, inner strength, and warrior spirit? More specifically, on the psychological and/or metaphysical nature of these qualities as well as on how did men go about developing them in traditional societies? Thank you
I find that Sun Tzu's The Art of War is rather good as it approaches warfare from a Taoist - thus esoteric - standpoint. It also discusses psychological warfare, although this can be addressed by general prayer and asceticism as much of modern social engineering is just an extension of demonic temptations. You should cultivate courage and a martial spirit by fighting. Find a martial art gym that does sparring and get involved. You won't learn this from books or even just drills - you must actually fight.
I agree, The Art of War is full of depth and is applicable to both the inner and the outer kinds of warfare. As for martial arts, is your advice coming from personal experience or traditional sources? In either case, would you be able to suggest some additional ways to cultivate courage apart from engaging into an actual battle?
My advice is mostly just coming from what works in learning to fight. When I was younger I did Karate at a "McDojo" with almost no sparring and it doesn't teach you courage or how to fight. Currently I'm very busy but I plan to start Muay Thai soon as I do think that being physically capable is important. As for courage outside of battle, I suppose you could try anything that requires concentration under pressure. I've done both music performance and dance which requires some degree of performance under pressure which leads to an increase in confidence. Neither of those things include the possibility of physical harm though, so I don't know that they would cultivate courage as such. Perhaps rock climbing or other extreme sports where pain and death are possible would be your best bet, although whether they are worth doing depends on your goals.
You could read Evola's Metaphysics of War, and some works by the Stoics, for starters. Evola's essays on Zen, the Hagakure, Musashi's Book of Five Rings, and Nitobe's Bushido might also be interesting, if Eastern doctrines are your thing.
I have been reading Stoics, but I did not find there any teachings on developing courage and inner strength - perhaps only if indirectly through full acceptance and love of one's fate. As for Evola's Metaphysics of War - I wanted to read this one for a long time, and you have added one more reason for me to do it. With regards to the Eastern books - I will look into that as well, thank you kindly!
