Customer Reviews

Bushido: A Modern Adaptation of the Ancient Code of the Samurai

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased "Bushido" by Cody on the advice of a friend, and found it to be a very well written, and even better researched guide for the modern christian trying to live in world sorely lacking in morals and strengths. The book helped me to understand the essential fortitudes inherent in the Christian spirit, these fortitudes having been eclipsed by technology and soulless government. By reconciling Eastern thought and Western ethics, "Bushido" serves to guide the modern day samurai to the path of righteousness without being tedious and dull. I recommend that anyone who has a christian spirit and a warriors heart get this book and keep it along side his C.S. Lewis and his New Testament.

Bushido is a way of LIFE, of LIVING, and not some fighting technique gleaned from any book. It is to be experienced, and it is obvious that this young man has had the experience. It is a lifelong, continuous dedication to a way of thought and action. It is not a "hobby" nor a "study", but a lifetime of application of deep principles on which one bases the way they live. Mr. Cody obviously knows this.

I am amazed by how many buy books with the thought of becoming skilled at any technique, but more especially at a lifestyle just by reading. The reviewer who stated "this book is not about Bushido" has obviously never LIVED Bushido! The fighting techniques are, perhaps, the LEAST important aspects of Bushido.

That Cody incorporates that true life experience with his Christian beliefs is something unique, something I feel many could benefit from. For example, those of ancient times who lived Bushido were willing to die for the one they gave allegiance to. Applying that to Christianity, we can ask how many modern-day Christians would be so willing to make the supreme sacrifice that the old warriors made for their "masters"? Who would die for Christ today? I believe Mark Cody would!

I hope that those who read this book will approach it as I think it must have been written... with dedication to understanding how to truly LIVE in today's chaotic world of too few REAL allegiances, and too few of us having mastery over "self" and "instant gratification" for self. Without a true mastery of SELF, how can anyone hope to master anything else?

Perhap, too, a better understanding of Bushido will help Christians live less fearful of death, and live more dedicated to being in true allegiance to That One they profess to serve... no matter what.

You will be amazed at the correaltion this young man offers. A FINE read!

Cody has been prescient in formulating the means for obtaining the necessary spirit of the Warrior, and delineating the aspects of the Warrior that can be cultivated by all people. With the crisis that began Sept. 11, I turned to this book and found it a font of practical and philosophical understanding, useful in preparing the soul for the sacrifices we will need to make.

Be warned that the essence of his thinking is Christian, and he makes no bones about that, but he also finds truth and strength in diverse philosophies both Eastern and Western. The only thing Cody needs is someone to edit the second edition for grammar, spelling, punctuation and a little organization to turn this into a gem of a warrior's manual--not on how to fight, but on how to live.

Bushido brings to light a modern look at an antiquated code of honor. Taking the sections of the Japanese code of the Samurai, the book is presented with fresh ideas built from years of experience. The mixture of stories, historical facts and theological representation provides a great combination to enlighten not just the warrior, but to the everyday person.

The original code of bushido teaches honor, integrity and discipline to the warrior class of ancient Japan. Bushido shares the same base values and adds thought to incite the reader into showing the true warrior in each of us. One could be brought into a true warrior mentality from just a few chapters of this book.

This book has value for men and women alike, allowing to them to see that there is more to life than antiquated codes to live by. It is a refreshing look at the codes that can shed some light on the way we live and provoke us into thinking about why we live not just how we live.

Very interesting book filled with a vast amount of information. Regardless of your degree of interest in the martial arts, you should find this to be a fascinating book which addresses many of todays issues and values as well as providing an extensive background and historical information on warrior and Eastern philosophies.

Excellent reading for the serious martial artist who is interested in history and philosophy.

As an avid reader with a minor degree in World Religions and a student of Life for almost seven decades, I have long hoped to find such an inspirational book. Mr. Cody has taken the ancient principles of the code of the Samurai, carefully explained those principles, and then, with great passion and care, shown how today's Christian people may apply them to modern life. Anyone who has delved into the philosophy of Bushido surely has realized that fighting technique, indeed anything akin to that, is a lesser part of the whole. Bushido principles stress honor in all things, extolls wisdom, discipline, and the willingness for self-sacrifice for the unselfish benefit of another. Surely anyone who has read the Kojiki of the 8th century has not found fighting technique in it. In the Heiki Monogatari of the 14th century, which might be referred to as "the bible of the warrior class", one will see the same type of content found in Mr. Cody's book. The Samurai were a highly cultured class of warriors, spending much time on other aspects of a life worth living, things besides the art of the sword or war. To truly understand Bushido, one must understand all its revered principles, and one will after reading Mr. Cody's book. That anyone who has chosen Christianity can remarkably apply the Samurai mentality to their own belief system was, to me, unimaginable before this book. Anyone who does take this book and apply it, as a Christian, would, in my mind be a true "soldier of the Cross", a warrior of a new 'Way', a force to be reckoned with. In my library of over 4000 books, if I were asked to categorize them from absolute finest to merely a good read, I, like Mr.Stone, would definitely place Bushido at third, after the Bible and Lewis's Mere Christianity. Mr. Cody's vision of what I have dubbed "Samurais of Christendom" is inspiring. I have purchased several copies of this one book of his, and have had all who read it tell me how grateful they are to have found it. It is, for me, a hope fulfilled. True students of Bushido WILL see it for its worth.

This was very well written. It was both poetic and informative.

I bought this book hoping that the author would be able to illustrate comparisons between Bushido and Christianity without proselytizing. After reading about 1/3 of the book I realized that this was a futile hope. With a typical single focus of, my God is the only god, I finally gave up in frustration. There is a huge gulf between faith in ones spiritual nature and ones martial nature and this book only seemed to drive them further apart rather than bring them together. It is a terribly difficult topic, but this attempt was doomed by an overwhelming fundamentalist bias seeming to ignore any spiritual value in Bushido. There is a certain amount of contradiction even in the author's Christian views, vascillating between the loving Christ and wrathful Jehovah. If you are a fundamentalist Christian this book may appeal to you, but if you are a serious budoka it probably won't. Budo needs to be accepted on its own merits and Christianity should not be used as some sort of qualifier. You cannot ride two horses, its best to mount one at a time.

This is a well written book,looks like the author did his research well.