Bennett's examination of Bushido is very pragmatic. His Philosophical explanations center on real life experiences in martial arts dojo's in Japan. The first section of the book focuses on the concept of Zanshin, a term that connotes awareness and focus, with a dash of never letting your guard down and more than hint of compassion, respect and empathy, even for, perhaps, especially for, your opponent.
In an interesting section called "Zanshin Outside the Dojo," Bennett examines taking the attitude out of combat (or ritual combat). Taking care of one's health, avoiding careless mistakes, treating others with courtesy and respect, carefully getting all of one's belongings out of a taxi and carefully saving the receipt are examples of Zanshin in action. Losing keys or a wallet, forgetting to flush a toilet, and getting irresponsibly drunk (drunk enough to lose self control) are examples of lack of Zanshin.
"No Zanshin in the context of daily life is born of a failure to create a little buffer of space, stepping back and taking a minute to refocus, pay attention and get back in the moment."
Theologically, the constant Book of Mormon exhortation to "remember" serves as a kind of spiritual Zanshin in daily life.
I for one could use a lot more of both types of Zanshin.
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