Yamamoto Tsunetomo Quotes

62 Sourced Quotes

By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
It is difficult for a fool's habits to change to selflessness.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Not to borrow the strength of another, nor to rely on one's own strength; to cut off past and future thoughts, and not to live within the everyday mind... then the Great Way is right before your eyes.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
The basic meaning of etiquette is to be quick at both the beginning and end and tranquil in the middle.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
In China there was once a man who liked pictures of dragons, and his clothing and furnishings were all designed accordingly. His deep affection for dragons was brought to the attention of the dragon god, and onde 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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they are not unrelated to these three things.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
It is not good to settle into a set of opinions. It is a mistake to put forth effort and obtain some understanding and then stop at that. At first putting forth great effort to be sure that you have grasped the basics, then practicing so that they may come to fruition is something that will never stop for your whole lifetime. Do not rely on following the degree of understanding that you have discovered, but simply think, "This is not enough."

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
A person who is discreet in speaking will be useful during the good times and will avoid punishment during the bad.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
As long as people overlook matters, then inferiors can, without any fear, lead an easy and peaceful life.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
By bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better man?

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
It is better to have some unhappiness while one is still young, for if a person does not experience some bitterness, his disposition will not settle down.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
When something out of the ordinary happens, it is ridiculous to say that it is a mystery or a portent of something to come... the mystery is created in (their) minds, and by waiting for disaster, it is from their very minds that it occurs.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in 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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
A warrior should not say something fainthearted, even casually. He should set his mind to this beforehand. Even in trifling matters the depths of one's heart can be seen.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about going at it in a long roundabout way. One's heart may slacken, he may miss his chance, and by and large there will be no success. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
It is said that one should not hesitate to correct himself when he has made a mistake. If he corrects himself without the least bit of delay, his mistakes will disappear.

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

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
There is not a man who does not get senile by the time he reaches sixty. And when one thinks that he will not be senile, he is already so.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
The person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
There are few people who will make mistakes with fire after having once been burned.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo