Yamamoto Tsunetomo Quotes

There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. There will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.

To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not.

Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.

There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.

Bushido is realized in the presence of death. This means choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death. There is no other reasoning.

Be true to the thought of the moment and avoid distraction. Other than continuing to exert yourself, enter into nothing else, but go to the extent of living single thought by single thought.

It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material posessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect.

When one is writing a letter, he should think that the recipient will make it into a hanging scroll.

Matters of great concern should be treated lightly.” Master Ittei commented, “Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.

There is nothing we should be quite so grateful for as the last line of the poem that goes, 'When your own heart asks.

This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai: if by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. his whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling.

Respect, Honesty, Courage, Rectitude, Loyalty, Honour, Benevolence

It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men. You are also a man. If you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon.

In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things.

It is said that what is called "the spirit of an age" is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world's coming to an end. For this reason, although one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation.

If by setting one’s heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way.

If a warrior is not unattached to life and death, he will be of no use whatsoever. The saying that “All abilities come from one mind” sounds as though it has to do with sentient matters, but it is in fact a matter of being unattached to life and death. With such non-attachment one can accomplish any feat.

Singlemindedness is all-powerful.

In the highest level a man has the look of knowing nothing .

Tether even a roasted chicken.

If one is but secure at the foundation, he will not be pained by departure from minor details or affairs that are contrary to expectation. But in the end, the details of a matter are important. The right and wrong of one's way of doing things are found in trivial matters.

No matter if the enemy has thousands of men, there is fulfillment in simply standing them off and being determined to cut them all down, starting from one end.

Although this may be a most difficult thing, if one will do it, it can be done. There is nothing that one should suppose cannot be done.

Human life is truly a short affair. It is better to live doing the things that you like. It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing unpleasantness and doing only things that you do not like.

Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate.

Whether people be of high or low birth, rich or poor, old or young, enlightened or confused, they are all alike in that they will one day die.

Rehearse your death every morning and night. Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life.

Purity is something that cannot be attained except by piling effort upon effort.

Victory and defeat are matters of the temporary force of circumstances. The way of avoiding shame is different. It is simply in death.

At times because of one man’s evil, ten thousand people suffer. So you kill that one man to let the tens of thousands live. Here, truly, the blade that deals death becomes the sword that saves lives.

If one has no earnest daily intention, does not consider what it is to be a warrior even in his dreams, and lives through the day idly, he can be said to be worthy of punishment.

Nothing is impossible in this world. Firm determination, it is said, can move heaven and earth. Things appear far beyond one's power, because one cannot set his heart on any arduous project due to want of strong will.

Do not rely on following the degree of understanding that you have discovered, but simply think, "This is not enough.

in china there was once a man who liked pictures of dragons, and his clothing and furnishings were all designed accordingly. his deep affections for dragons was brought to the attention of the dragon god, and one day a real dragon appeared before his window. it is said that he died of fright. he was probably a man who always spoke big words but acted differently when facing the real thing.

Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one’s body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one’s master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead

Sincerity does not only complete the self; it is the means by which all things are completed. As the self is completed, there is human-heartedness; as things are completed, there is wisdom. This is the virtue of one’s character, and the Way of joining the internal and external. Thus, when we use this, everything is correct.

Continue to spur a running horse.

It is bad to carry even a good thing too far. Even concerning things such as Buddhism, Buddhist sermons, and moral lessons, talking too much will bring harm.

In offering one’s opinion, one must first ascertain whether or not the recipient is in the right frame of mind to receive counsel.

If you are unaware that the world is teeming with ineptitude from the beginning, you will develop a bitter countenance, and in turn others will eschew you.

I know nothing about how to win over others. I know only the way know the way to win over myself." -- attributed to the (master) swordsman Yagyu, who was a teacher (and samurai?) to the Shogun himself.

Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never-ending.

It is not sufficient just to remain calm in the event of catastrophe or emergency. When challenged by adversity, charge onwards with courage and jubilation. This is rising to a higher level. It is like the saying, “The more water there is, the higher the boat rises.

If one is secure at the foundation, he will not be pained by departure from minor details or affairs that are contrary to expectation.

The Way of the warrior (bushido) is to be found in dying.

If one does not get it into his head from the very beginning that the world is full of unseemly situations, for the most part his demeanour will be poor and he will not be believed by others.

All that matters is having single-minded purpose ( ichinen), in the here and now. Life is an ongoing succession of ‘one will’ at a time, each and every moment. A man who realizes this truth need not hurry to do, or seek, anything else anymore. Just live in the present with single-minded purpose. People forget this important truth, and keep seeking other things to accomplish.

When someone is giving you his opinion, you should receive it with deep gratitude even though it is worthless. If you don’t, he will not tell you the things that he has seen and heard about you again. It is best to both give and receive opinions in a friendly way.

Living without mistakes is truly impossible. But this is something that people who live by cleverness have no inclination to think about.

In a 50-50 life or death crisis, choose death.

Personally, I like to sleep. And I intend to appropriately confine myself more and more to my living quarters and pass my life away sleeping.

Imitating another style is simply a sham.

With regards to the way of death, if you are prepared to die at any time, you will be able to meet your release from life with equanimity. As calamities are usually not as bad as anticipated beforehand, it is foolhardy to feel anxiety about tribulations not yet endured. Just accept that the worst possible fate for a man in service is to become a rōnin, or death by seppuku. Then nothing will faze you.

A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.

Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life.

If by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he pains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling.

There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to all things.

A man who can reason over trifles will become conceited, and will take pleasure in being described as 'odd'. He will start boasting that he was born with a personality that doesn't fit well with contemporary society, and be convinced that nobody else is above him. He will surely meet with divine retribution. Regardless of what abilities a man may possess, he will be of little use if rejected by others. People don't slight those who are eager to help and serve well, and who readily exhibit humility to their associates.

Being superior to others is nothing other than having people talk about your affairs and listening to their opinions. The general run of people settle for their own opinions and thus never excel. Having a discussion with a person is one step in xcelling him (...)

It is said that what is called "the spirit of an age" is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world's coming to an end. For this reason, although one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation.

The condition of a person is revealed by his dreams. It would be good to make companions of your dreams and to put forth effort.

Nothing is impossible. With single-minded resolve (ichinen), heaven and earth can be moved as one pleases.

Practice in letter writing goes to the extent of taking care in even one-line letters. It is good if all the above contain a quiet strength. Moreover, according to what the priest Ryōzan heard when he was in the Kamigata area, when one is writing a letter, he should think that the recipient will make it into a hanging scroll.

There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This

One should every day think over and make an effort to implant in his mind the saying, "At that time is right now." It is said that it is strange indeed that anyone is able to pass through life by one means or another in negligence.

It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. It is the same for anything that is called a Way. Therefore, it is inconsistent to hear something of the Way of Confucius or the Way of the Buddha, and say that this is the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all Ways and be more and more in accord with his own.

Feeling deeply the difference between oneself and others, bearing ill will, and falling out with people— these things come from a heart that lacks compassion. If one wraps up everything with a heart of compasion, there will be no coming into conflict with people.

«In mezzo a ogni singolo respiro, dove i pensieri vani non trovano appiglio, lì è la Via».

Depending on one’s point of view, Hagakure represents a mystical beauty intrinsic to the Japanese aesthetic experience, and a stoic but profound appreciation of the meaning of life and death.

Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige's wall, there was this one: "Matters of great concern should be treated lightly." Master Ittei commented, "Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.

Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one’s body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one’s master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead.

I do not know how to defeat others. All I know is the path to defeat myself. Today one must be better than yesterday, and tomorrow better than today. The pursuit of perfection is a lifelong quest that has no end.

Learning is a good thing, but more often it leads to mistakes. It is like the admonition of the priest Konan. It is worthwhile just looking at the deeds of accomplished persons for the purpose of knowing our own insufficiencies. But often this does not happen. For the most part, we admire our own opinions and become fond of arguing.

There was a man who said, "Such and such a person has a violent disposition, but this is what I said right to his face… This was an unbecoming thing to say, and it was said simply because he wanted to be known as a rough fellow. It was rather low, and it can be seen that he was still rather immature. It is because a samurai has correct manners that he is admired. Speaking of other people in this way is no different from an exchange between low class spearmen. It is vulgar.

If a man does not investigate into the matter of Bushidō daily, it will be difficult for him to die a brave and manly death. Thus it is essential to engrave this business of the warrior into one's mind well. One should put forth great effort in matters of learning. One should read books concerning military matters, and direct his attention exclusively to the virtues of loyalty and filial piety. Having been born into the house of a warrior, one's intentions should be to grasp the long and the short swords and to die.

La negligencia es algo extremo.

It is bad to carry even the good thing too far. Even concerning things such as Buddhism, Buddhist sermons, and moral lessons, talking too much will bring harm.

I will never fall behind others in pursuing the Way of the warrior. I will always be ready to serve my lord. I will honor my parents. I will serve compassionately for the benefit of others.

Knowing the Way is to know your own faults. Discovering your imperfections with endless introspection and to remedy them by spending your life training body and mind (shugyō), that is the Way.

[...] if one seeks to resolve a problem, let it sit for a while, take time to think about the “Four Oaths” and subdue any self-centered thoughts, and then you will be able to proceed without faltering.

Jōchō’s discourse is multifaceted and ostensibly chaotic, but the spirit of Hagakure can best be summed up by the four simple oaths he alludes to throughout the text: I will never fall behind others in pursuing the Way of the warrior. I will always be ready to serve my lord. I will honor my parents. I will serve compassionately for the benefit of others.

To think that being righteous is the best one can do and to do one's utmost to be righteous will, on the contrary, bring many mistakes. The Way is in a higher place than righteousness. This is very difficult to discover, but it is the highest wisdom. When seen from this standpoint, things like righteousness are rather shallow. If one does not understand this on his own, it cannot be known.

Parece que cualesquiera que sean los dones personales, cualquiera que sea la dificultad del problema, a una reflexión suficientemente larga y profunda. En tanto uno funda su razonamiento sobre el "Yo", puede ser muy prudente y astuto pero no sabio. Los seres humanos son insensatos y les es difícil abandonar su "Yo". A pesar de todo, un individuo enfrentado a una situación complicada tiene grandes posibilidades de encontrar una solución, si llega a abstraerse momentáneamente del problema, concentrándose sobre los "cuatro votos" y abandonando su "Yo".

Moreover, the child of parents who have a bad relationship will be unfilial. This is natural. Even the birds and beasts are affected by what they are used to seeing and hearing from the time they are born. Also, the relationship between father and child may deteriorate because of a mother’s foolishness. A mother loves her child above all things, and will be partial to the child that is corrected by his father. If she becomes the child’s ally, there will be discord between father and son. Because of the shallowness of her mind, a woman sees the child as her support in old age.

One of Matsudaira Sagami no kami’s retainers went to Kyoto on a matter of debt collection and took up lodgings by renting living quarters in a townhouse. One day while standing out front watching the people go by, he heard a passerby say, “They say that Lord Matsudaira’s men are involved in a fight right now.” The retainer thought, “How worrisome that some of my companions are involved in a fight. There are some men to relieve those at Edo staying here. Perhaps these are the men involved.” He asked the passerby of the location, but when he arrived out of breath, his companions had already been cut down and their adversaries were at the point of delivering the coup de grace. He quickly let out a yell, cut the two men down, and returned to his lodgings. This matter was made known to an official of the shogunate, and the man was called up before him and questioned. “You gave assistance in your companions’ fight and thus disregarded the government’s ordinance. This is true beyond a doubt, isn’t it?” The man replied, “I am from the country, and it is difficult for me to understand everything that Your Honor is saying. Would you please repeat that?” The official got angry and said, “Is there something wrong with your ears? Didn’t you abet a fight, commit bloodshed, disregard the government’s ordinance, and break the law?” The man then replied, “I have at length understood what you are saying. Although you say that I have broken the law and disregarded the government’s ordinance, I have by no means done so. The reason for this is that all living things value their lives, and this goes without saying for human beings. I, especially, value my life. However, I thought that to hear a rumor that one’s friends are involved in a fight and to pretend not to hear this is not to preserve the Way of the Samurai, so I ran to the place of action. To shamelessly return home after seeing my friends struck down would surely have lengthened my life, but this too would be disregarding the Way. In preserving the Way, one will throw away his own precious life. Thus, in order to preserve the Way of the Samurai and not to disregard the Samurai Ordinances, I quickly threw away my life at that place. I beg that you execute me immediately.” The official was very impressed and later dismissed the matter, communicating to Lord Matsudaira, “You have a very able samurai in your service. Please treasure him.

To say that dying without reaching one’s aim is to die a dog’s death is the frivolous way of sophisticates. When

Apskritai žmonės at­ro­do pri­slėg­ti. Ta­čiau, kai žmo­gus yra ty­ros dva­sios ir šva­rių min­čių, jo iš­vaiz­da taip pat gy­vy­bin­ga.

Cierto espadachín dijo en sus años de declive que en la vida de cada cual existen etapas en el estudio. En la etapa más baja, uno estudia, pero no obtiene nada de ello, y siente que tanto uno como los demás son torpes. En este punto se siente inútil. En la etapa intermedia, sigue sintiéndose inútil, pero es consciente de sus propias carencias, así como de las de los demás. En la etapa alta, uno se enorgullece de su propia habilidad, se regocija en el elogio de los demás y lamenta la carencia de habilidades en quienes no las tienen. Uno ya no es inútil. En la etapa superior uno proyecta el aspecto de no saber nada. Estos son los niveles en general, pero existe uno trascendental, la excelencia absoluta. El que llega es consciente de la infinidad que supone adentrarse profundamente en la Senda, y nunca considera haber alcanzado una cima. Tampoco alberga pensamientos de orgullo, sino que se dispone a recorrer el camino hasta el final con humildad.

La motivación, más bien, ha de ser el apoyo al clan desde el esfuerzo individual.

Possiamo mantenere buoni rapporti con gli altri dando loro importanza ed evitando malintesi con le buone maniere e con vera umiltà, facendo le cose bene anche quando non sono utili a noi ma agli altri, come se fosse la prima volta che ci si incontra.

Long ago, abdominal pains were called "cowardice grass." This is because they come suddenly and render a person immobile.

Existen límites a la sabiduría del ser humano, arbusto débil, sacudido por el viento.

Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life.” (1-2) In other words, adherents of bushido should seek to nurture an indomitable fighting spirit free from concerns of life and death.

Nie­ka­da ne­gal­vok, jog pa­sie­kei pa­kan­ka­mą su­vo­ki­mo laips­nį. Vi­suo­met min­ty­se kar­tok sau: „To ne­už­ten­ka.

Pa­pras­tai as­muo, ku­ris gar­sė­ja kaip dau­ge­lio sri­čių ži­no­vas, lai­ko­mas pras­čio­ku ir apie svar­bius dalykus išmano tik paviršutiniškai

Be to, ren­gos mo­ky­to­jo pa­mo­ky­muo­se kal­ba­ma, kad li­kus die­nai iki po­eti­nių var­žy­tu­vių, mo­ki­nys pri­va­lo nu­mal­dy­ti savo pro­tą ir uo­liai mo­ky­tis ei­lė­raš­čius iš rin­ki­nio. Tai va­di­na­ma susikau­pi­mu ties vie­nu dar­bu. Vi­siems ver­tė­tų dirb­ti su­si­kaupus.

All that matters is having single-minded purpose (ichinen), in the here and now. Life is an ongoing succession of ‘one will’ at a time, each and every moment. A man who realizes this truth need not hurry to do, or seek, anything else anymore. Just live in the present with single-minded purpose. People forget this important truth, and keep seeking other things to accomplish. Having the resolve to stay the course comes only with years of dedicated training. If you are enlightened to this mind-set just once, it will always be with you, even if you are not conscious of it everyday. Your life will become simple and clear if you are unwavering in purpose, knowing that ‘now’ is the time to act. Loyalty is a virtue born of this state of mind.

The Way of the Warrior is to be found in Death.

According to a certain person, a number of years ago, the late Matsuguma Kyōan told this story: “In the practice of medicine there is a different treatment according to the Yin and Yang of men and women. There is also a difference in pulse. In the last fifty years, however, men’s pulse has become the same as women’s. Noticing this, in the treatment of eye disease I applied women’s treatment to men and found it suitable. When I observed the application of men’s treatment to men, there was no result. Thus I knew that men’s spirit had weakened and that they had become the same as women, and the end of the world had come. Since I witnessed this with certainty, I kept it a secret." Yamamoto Tsunetomo (William Scott Wilson, trn.), Hagakure – The Book of the Samurai

setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he pains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling.