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Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else.

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
Everyone
Moments
Slip
Else
Lets
Thought
Slips
Looks
Somewhere
Present
Though
Moment

More quotes by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

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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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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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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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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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When confronted with two alternatives, life and death, one is to choose death without hesitation.
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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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As everything in this world is but a sham, Death is the only sincerity.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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Continue to spur a running horse.
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I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all Ways and be more and more in accord with his own.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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Purity is something that cannot be attained except by piling effort upon effort.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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To desire with one’s very soul every second of every day to accomplish one’s aim.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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As long as people overlook matters, then inferiors can, without any fear, lead an easy and peaceful life.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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Looking comparatively at the good things, you will see that they are not excluded from wisdom, humanity and bravery.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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Nothing is impossible in this world. Firm determination, it is said, can move heaven and earth. Things appear far beyond one's power, because one cannot set his heart on any arduous project due to want of strong will.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo