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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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By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done
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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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Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.
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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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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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If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.
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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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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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A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.
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There are few people who will make mistakes with fire after having once been burned.
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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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All abilities come from one mind
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A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger.
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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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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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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 a warrior is not unattached to life and death, he will be of no use whatsoever. The saying that “All abilities come from one mind” sounds as though it has to do with sentient matters, but it is in fact a matter of being unattached to life and death. With such non-attachment one can accomplish any feat.
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It is a principle of the art of war that one should simply lay down his life and strike. If one's opponent also does the same, it is a even match. Defeating one's opponent is then a matter of faith and destiny.
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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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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.
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