Yamamoto Tsunetomo - Hagakure

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Human life is truly a short affair. It is better to live doing the things that you like.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
One must know the so-called 'lesson of a downpour. A man, caught in a sudden rain en route, dashes along the road not to get wet or drenched. Once one takes it for granted that in rain he naturally gets wet, he can be in a tranquil frame of mind even when soaked to the skin. This lesson applies to everything.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Having only wisdom and talent is the lowest tier of usefulness.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
There is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way and never thinks of himself as having finished.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
One should be wary of talking on end about such subjects as learning, morality or folklore in front of elders or people of rank. It is disagreeable to listen to.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
By inconsistency and frivolity we stray from the Way and show ourselves to be beginners. In this we do much harm.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Looking comparatively at the good things, you will see that they are not excluded from wisdom, humanity and bravery.

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

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
To desire with one's very soul every second of every day to accomplish one's aim.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.

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
All of man's work is a bloody business. That fact, today, is considered foolish, affairs are finished cleverly with words alone, and jobs that require effort are avoided. I would like young men to have some understanding of this.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
The saying 'the arts aid the body' is for samurai of other regions. For samurai of the Nabeshima clan the arts bring ruin to the body.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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.

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

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
It is better not to become acquainted with men about whom you have formerly had doubts. No matter what you do, they will be people by whom you will be tripped up or taken in.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
When confronted with two alternatives, life and death, one is to choose death without hesitation.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Our bodies are given life from the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, "Form is emptiness." That all things are provided for by nothingness is the meaning of the phrase, "Emptiness is form." One should not think that these are two seperate things.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
What is called generosity is really compassion. In the Shin'ei it is written "Seen from the eye of compassion, there is noone to be disliked. One who has sinned is to be pitied all the more." There is no limit to the breadth and depth of ones heart. There is room enough for all. That we still worship the sages of the three ancient kingdoms is because their compassion reaches us yet today.

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

Yamamoto Tsunetomo