Quote

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

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Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Age: 60 †
Born: 1659
Born: June 11
Died: 1719
Died: November 30
Bushi
Philosopher
Writer
Hizen Domain
True
Enter
Thought
Avoid
Nothing
Single
Moment
Living
Exert
War
Distraction
Moments
Continuing
Else
Extent

More quotes by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

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In the eyes of mercy, no one should have hateful thoughts. Feel pity for the man who is even more at fault. The area and size of mercy is limitless.
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Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty.
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By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done
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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.
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A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.
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When one is writing a letter, he should think that the recipient will make it into a hanging scroll.
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When confronted with two alternatives, life and death, one is to choose death without hesitation.
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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.
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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.
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A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death.
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If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.
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Go ahead and gamble a lie. A person who will not tell you seven lies within a hundred yards is useless as a man.
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By inconsistency and frivolity we stray from the Way and show ourselves to be beginners. In this we do much harm.
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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
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There are few people who will make mistakes with fire after having once been burned.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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