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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

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Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Age: 60 †
Born: 1659
Born: June 11
Died: 1719
Died: November 30
Bushi
Philosopher
Writer
Hizen Domain
Persons
Unhappiness
Person
Settling
Better
War
Experience
Stills
Doe
Settle
Young
Disposition
Still
Bitterness

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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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To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not.
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Our bodies are given life from the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, Form is emptiness. That all things are provided for by nothingness is the meaning of the phrase, Emptiness is form. One should not think that these are two seperate 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 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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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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A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.
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All of man’s work is a bloody business. That fact, today, is considered foolish, affairs are finished cleverly with words alone, and jobs that require effort are avoided. I would like young men to have some understanding of this.
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One should be wary of talking on end about such subjects as learning, morality or folklore in front of elders or people of rank. It is disagreeable to listen to.
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If a retainer will just think about what he is to do for the day at hand, he will be able to do anything. If it is a single day's work, one should be able to put up with it. Tomorrow, too is but a single day.
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By bringing shame to a person, how could one expect to make him a better man?
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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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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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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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By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done
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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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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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One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.
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The end is important in all things.
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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.
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