Yamamoto Tsunetomo Quotes

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

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

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.

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

Military affairs are not matters for one person alone, regardless of how useful he tries to be. Money is something that one can borrow from people, but a good man cannot suddenly be come by. One should sustain a man kindly and well from the first. And in having retainers it will not do to nourish oneself alone. If you divide what you have and feed your lower ranks, you will be able to hold good men.

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." One should search throughout his whole life how best to follow the Way. And he should study, setting his mind to work without putting things off. Within this is the Way.

"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"."

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.

The way of revenge lies in simply forcing one's way into a place and being cut down. There is no shame in this. By thinking that you must complete the job you will run out of time. By considering things like how many men the enemy has, time piles up; in the end you will give up. 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. You will finish the greater part of it.

Lord Aki once said that martial valor is a matter of becoming a fanatic. I thought that this was surprisingly in accord with my own resolve and I thereafter became more and more extreme in my fanaticism.

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.

As everything in this world is but a sham, Death is the only sincerity.

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

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 (...)

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