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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.

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
War
Action
Able
Even
Certainty
Suddenly
Cutting
Head

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A person who is discreet in speaking will be useful during the good times and will avoid punishment during the bad.
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When confronted with two alternatives, life and death, one is to choose death without hesitation.
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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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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.
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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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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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Bushido is realised in the presence of death. In the case of having to choose between life and death you should choose death. There is no other reasoning.
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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.
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The way of the Samurai is found in death.
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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.
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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.
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When delivering something like an important letter or other written materials, grasp it firmly in your hand as you go and do not release it once, but hand it over directly to the recipient.
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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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As long as people overlook matters, then inferiors can, without any fear, lead an easy and peaceful life.
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All abilities come from one mind
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Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they are not unrelated to these three things.
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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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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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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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Having only wisdom and talent is the lowest tier of usefulness.
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