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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.

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
Thing
Materials
Men
Duty
Proud
Contriving
Respect
Samurai
Young
Wretched
Today
Lacking
Self
Material
Heart
Hearts

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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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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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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.
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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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The Four Oaths: Never be late with respect to the way of the warrior be useful to the lord be respectful to your parents get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of man.
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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The person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.
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If one thinks only of winning, a sordid victory will be worse than a defeat. For the most part, it becomes a squalid defeat.
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There is nothing we should be quite so grateful for as the last line of the poem that goes, 'When your own heart asks.
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Human life is truly a short affair. It is better to live doing the things that you like.
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By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done
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Looking comparatively at the good things, you will see that they are not excluded from wisdom, humanity and bravery.
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Singlemindedness is all-powerful.
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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.
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Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else.
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