I, Bao Dan, have written this.
It all came to me as I considered the life and conquests, the success and ultimate failure of Venerable Jen Shu. For in Jen Shu we learned that a man can receive the whole world and become the most powerful of all mortals, but still vanish into the dust that gives way to grass. For when he passed, there was only one generation which lived before all of his conquest came to naught. There was no Khan of Khans to replace him, only three sets of sons and the fracturing of them and the return of the Daizu to the way of the Horse.
So then I realized that all life, in all ages, will follow one of two possible courses. For there are only two struggling forces, and therefore, there are only two ways that men might follow. The Way of the Horse and the Way of Order. The Way of the Horse is Chaos. The Way of Order is Law.
This is the most abiding of concepts - it reflects something about the nature of the universe which is readily observable in a way that the discussion of Good and Evil is not. For while the wisest men may differ as to what is Good and what is Evil, or whether such things may even exist, it is plainly obvious to even the greatest of fools that Chaos and Law are undeniable and eternal.
Individually, our lives will always tend toward Chaos. Each morning when we rise, we do not know what will happen that day. Though we sleep in the same way and rise in the same way and follow the same patterns, night after night, what happens next is a matter of Chaos. Will there be rain or sun? Wind or calm? Bloodshed or peace? Sickness or health? What is true for one of us is true for all of us.
For the entire world is in the grip of this Chaos. The entire world is governed by a multitude of random forces and decisions made in light of those random forces which make it impossible for us to adequately understand as a whole. This is true for the most humble of situations (my appointed journey may start late tomorrow but I can never know in advance); it's also true for the most important situations (the birth of a great leader, the coming of a famine, the violence of the earthquake.)
Now despite all of this, we see that the world is a profoundly Lawful place; indeed it is the very essence of Lawfulness. The moon comes and goes in its times and seasons, the stars walk across the sky according to their appointments. The seasons start and end so that any man may make a calendar of them. Men are born, live and die according to the same pattern, generation after generation. Night will always follow day. Winter after Fall, Summer after Spring - this is what we see. When a man drops a stone and there is nothing to stop it, it will fall to the ground. When a man adds two horses to the two he already owns, he will have four. When fire is applied to the black sand there will be an explosion.
Also, we must note that there is a great tendency in us to organize. For we desire most to civilize, to subject to cause others to follow our way. Thus even in the heart of chaos there is a desire to bring forth Law. Did not Jen Shu show as much? For though he was greatest of all that had been and all that will ever be at following the Way of the Horse, did he not desire that it should change? Why else was he given to the making of cities and the founding of three Dynasties? Why else did he have all those which followed him and were added to his Batari or Ordari, swear an oath not to continue as they had, or as they might desire, but to follow his way? This was the desire of Jen Shu, to restrain Chaos with the force of Law.
In the light of this realization it seemed to me that noble Jen Shu had not failed. He did not create an everlasting Dynasty to be remembered for all time, but he had brought Order to Chaos and this Order remains. Yet, even if it should succumb to dissolution and fall entirely to Chaos, once more, it was organized in his lifetime and thus his life was a model of success which should be followed. Not in the way of conquest, for not every man may be a conqueror, but in the way of Law, for every man may be Lawful.
This then is the purpose for which I have lived. Though I have fought long and accomplished much as a general; though I have been granted all fame and the acclaim of many men; though I still sit astride the horse and have not fallen to piercing or disease; I recognize that my life is about vanquishing Chaos with Law. This is my only goal remaining. This is the only victory I still seek. Not wealth, nor riches, nor titles, nor trophies save this... to subject myself utterly and completely under Law.
Let he who can comprehend, follow me. We will be warriors together in this way -- more brothers than any which bore arms alongside me; more victors than any which vanquished enemies by my side.
1. Accept everything as it is.
2. Seek not pleasure for its own sake.
3. Do not depend on feelings, nor be only partially committed to a course of action.
4. Think lightly of yourself and think deeply of the world.
5. Be detached from desire your whole life long.
6. Do not regret what you have done.
7. Never be jealous.
8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself or others.
10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
11. In all things have no preferences.
12. Be indifferent to where you live.
13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
15. Do not act because you are following customs.
16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
17. Do not fear death.
18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
19. Respect gods, noble Jen Shu and all the immortals without counting on their help.
20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honor.
21. Never stray from the Way of Order.
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