Yamamoto Tsunetomo - Hagakure

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

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
You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate.

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

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
If one thinks only of winning, a sordid victory will be worse than a defeat. For the most part, it becomes a squalid defeat.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo
The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush about at things. A person of little merit is not at peace but walks about making trouble and is in conflict with all.

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