Commencement speech for the graduates of the Miya Cartographers of 1123
by Diogo Salazar
Carry jade.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, jade would be it. The long-term benefits of jade have been proved by shinseist monks, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your kimono. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your kimono until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at portraits of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as honorable as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the Jade Empire, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to summon a Void kami by drinking sake. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that are 4 meters tall and want to Taint you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scars you.
Strike once.
Don’t be reckless with other people composure, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Meditate.
Don't waste your time on regret. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old haiku poems. Throw away your old Imperial invitations.
Practice iaijutsu.
Feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know knew at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most uninteresting 40-year-olds I know are now monks.
Get plenty of rice. Be kind to your servants , they’re expensive to replace.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll shave your head at 40, maybe you'll ascend as Fortune at your 75th birthday. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your katana . Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Drink tea, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Listen to your shugenjas , even if you don’t understand them.
Do not read the Black Scrolls. They will only make you Tainted.
Get to know your Ancestors. You never know when their deeds might save you. Be nice to your yōjimbō . They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that catspaws come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who owed you favours when you were young.
Live in Crab Lands once, but leave before it makes you Tainted. Live in Crane Lands once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Lions will rage. Scorpions will scheme. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, Lions were reasonable, Scorpions were noble and apprentices listened to their senseis .
Listen to your sensei .
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a mate. Maybe you'll have a wealthy daymio . But you never know when either one might commit sepukku .
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 30 you will be mistaken for a monk.
Be careful whos e poppy you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the jade.
Carry jade.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, jade would be it. The long-term benefits of jade have been proved by shinseist monks, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your kimono. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your kimono until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at portraits of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as honorable as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the Jade Empire, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to summon a Void kami by drinking sake. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that are 4 meters tall and want to Taint you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scars you.
Strike once.
Don’t be reckless with other people composure, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Meditate.
Don't waste your time on regret. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old haiku poems. Throw away your old Imperial invitations.
Practice iaijutsu.
Feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know knew at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most uninteresting 40-year-olds I know are now monks.
Get plenty of rice. Be kind to your servants , they’re expensive to replace.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll shave your head at 40, maybe you'll ascend as Fortune at your 75th birthday. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your katana . Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Drink tea, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Listen to your shugenjas , even if you don’t understand them.
Do not read the Black Scrolls. They will only make you Tainted.
Get to know your Ancestors. You never know when their deeds might save you. Be nice to your yōjimbō . They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that catspaws come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who owed you favours when you were young.
Live in Crab Lands once, but leave before it makes you Tainted. Live in Crane Lands once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Lions will rage. Scorpions will scheme. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, Lions were reasonable, Scorpions were noble and apprentices listened to their senseis .
Listen to your sensei .
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a mate. Maybe you'll have a wealthy daymio . But you never know when either one might commit sepukku .
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 30 you will be mistaken for a monk.
Be careful whos e poppy you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the jade.
