A book introducing the warrior spirit and mentality
Japanese "Kensei" or "Sword Saint," undefeated dueler, masterless samurai and independent teacher 
Miyamoto Musashi wrote this book briefly before his death. The book must be read diligently since every sentence has two meanings. One is actual advice for a fighter and the other is about the warrior mentality, which is something everyone can benefit from. As people living in modern age, one must focus on the metaphorical meanings and grand life advices in this book.
In the book, Musashi explains the Way, and how one should pursue the Way. The words used for "Way" is the same character for Chinese "Tao" - the absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the Way, or code of behaviour, that is in harmony with the natural order.
Musashi lived a life of warrior, he was born to a samurai family, the elites of Japanese society. His lifetime corresponds to the time when Japan was ridden with civil war, trying to unify itself. So Musashi fought in the wars and duelled with other skilled swordsman. In his lifetime other than participating in wars, he participated in duels. Between ages thirteen and twenty-nine, he participated in sixty duels in total and won all of them. His name became a legend as the undefeated ronin. At one point, he stopped using actual swords and only used wooden swords and still won every fight as his technique was masterful.
In the last two years of his life, he lived in a cave and contemplated everything. Even though he was a great master, he did not open a school, but instead he focused on his study of the Way. There, he wrote Go Rin No Sho, or A Book of Five Rings. Soon after, he passed away.
According to Musashi, he lived his entire life searching for enlightenment through the Way of the sword. When he reached thirty, he looked back on his past and pondered his strategy and victories and realized his victories were nor because of his strategy. He pondered every night and day on the principle for the following years and at the age of fifty, he came to realize the Way of strategy.
Since then, he lived without following any particular Way and he practices every art and craft, learned the Way of every profession. He was also an artists, a painter, caligrapher, poet and bard along with sword saint. Just like Tao, he combined the principles of opposties and practiced "Bunbu Itchi" (pen and sword in accord) rather than the Westerner idea of "pen is mightier than the sword." He found the Way in everything, he saw it everywhere, in every principle of every work, way of life, and profession.
So, he insists that in order to follow the Way, one must learn every craft and profession and their Ways for life as a whole is the unity of every other aspect, not one single thing. Those who limit themselves to one Way of life, live an incomplete life and don't know the true way. As he says, "Know the smallest things and the biggest things, the shallowest things and the deepest things." It is difficult to realise the true Way just through sword-fencing. Even a sword master should practice painting, tea making, carpentry and so forth. So, even you can find useful knowledge in learning the Way of the sword.
The book is written in five parts: earth, water, fire, wind and void. Earth is the body, the ground the principles are laid upon. Water is flexible, the flexibility of spirit allows adaption and change. Fire is about fighting, one must practice every day fiercely and make training (not just martial arts training) a part of everyday live with spirit unchanging. Wind is about style and tradition, it is concerned about the strategies of others. As Musashi says, "It is difficult to know yourself if you don't know others." The void means nothingness, just like in Zen. In the practice of Kendo and Zen, the everyday practices become everyday life, lessons become normal part of the practitioner and the sword is no longer sword, it becomes an extention of arm. So, for the void part, we can say it was inspired by the Zen philosophy teachings in Kendo. Also in Buddhist philosophy, void or nothingness is a term for the illusionary nature of worldly things.
In summary, this is a book everyone from all walks of life and professions and even gender can read and find lessons for themselves. You don't need to be a man or a martial artist to read this book. As a teacher and a woman, I surely found some for myself: The teacher is as a needle and the student is as a thread, and one must put their heart in the way they pursue, otherwise a single crookedness of mind in an ingenuine path will later turn into a major warp and they will lose their purpose.
There are many other lessons to be learned in this book, still relevant even to this day.
An important note by Musashi himself: "Language does not extend to explaining the Way in detail, but it can be grasped intuitively. Study this book; read a word then ponder on it. If you interpret the meaning loosely you will mistake the Way. Do not just read, memorise or imitate, but so that you realize the principle from within your own heart; study hard to absorb these things into your body.
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