Suffering the trauma and shame of his masters death, the Ronin eventually grows accustomed to a cold life of solitude, money, and slaughter.
In cinema, the typical Ronin is depicted as quiet, single-minded, stripped of all emotional extremes, reluctant to accept friendship, and fiercely independent. He kills (does his job) with a mechanical indifference. His one desire is to complete his accepted life purpose: to find his honorable death (to finally finish his part of the great work).
I loved reading about the psychological warfare he used on opponents only to defeat them that much more easily. Of all the things I would like to say I've adopted from reading of him, a steady hand is not one of them unfortunately. You find ways to improvise though. Not like I'm going out into the streets looking for battles that I'd have to worry about it.
How does the saying go? To paraphrase;
The initiate has the power to cause harm (most sociopaths/psychopaths fail to progress past this level of lifestyle).
The student has the power to abstain from causing harm.
The master has the power to heal.
Musashi was definitely a master. I refer to the art he made in his later life. His art alone is quite a fascinating study. If a person can not understand his artwork, they will never grasp the full application of his psychological warfare treatise.
I was able to put the second part to effect recently. I suppose it is something to be proud of after all, was conflicted on whether it was so :D
Oh, which treatise?
I really was NOT aware he made art... It looks like I have something to occupy my weekend!
No, you are an intelligent person with a good eye for art.