In my upcoming episode of the Revolt Against the Modern World Series, The Soul of Chivalry, one of the topics we will be exploring are the knightly virtues, especially honour, prowess, and loyalty. These were very important components within the chivalric tradition— perhaps the last expression of the World of Tradition in the West. And they were lived, not just theorised about… but they were lived in a much different time than ours. However, the chivalric ideals are not ones that go out of style, since they are linked to something eternal, and therefore remain connected to perpetually relevant wisdom from the World of Tradition, offering us clues as to how we might manifest a more Traditional spirit within ourselves, against the backdrop of the Kali Yuga.
Honour was the highest knightly virtue and prowess was said to lead to honour. But what is prowess, specifically? This is not a word we hear often in the modern era. It was typically defined by exceptional skills (especially combat related skills) or particular traits, such as courage, fortitude, or vigour. Much of it can essentially be distilled down into a good work ethic and competency. When someone becomes very competent in something, it’s often considered to be a sign of good character. At a bare minimum, it usually demonstrates qualities such as diligence, persistence, determination, and grit. That is what it takes to stick with studying and practicing something for long enough to become good at it. There are many ways one could apply themselves that would require one to develop these qualities, though for the knight, physical discipline was obviously a central component.
Physical discipline is, as we know, not limited to the biological plane. There is a corresponding psychological element that learns and adapts to increasingly intense challenges, so much so that in extreme examples, the individual can even be propelled to transcendent insight. The strong determination required to overcome the rigours of an ascetic, for example, benefit greatly from the cultivation of physical discipline. Consider something as seemingly mundane as bodybuilding (training with weights for muscle growth), where the concept of “putting one’s mind into the muscle”, a phrase popularised by Arnold Schwarzenegger, bears a strong resemblance to the instructions for meditation offered by the Buddha in the Theravadic texts, where he provides steadily graduated instructions on how to connect mind and matter and penetrate through all levels of one’s physical body, from the skin to the muscle, down to the atomic and quantum levels. Of course Arnold’s aim was big muscles, and so he became a giant, while the Buddha’s goal was to go much further, and thus enlightenment and the escape from the bondage of the body was his reward.
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