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Light matters should be dealt with seriously. Serious matters should be dealt with lightly.

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
Light
Matter
Lightly
Dealt
Seriously
Matters
Serious

More quotes by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

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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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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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You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate.
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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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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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Singlemindedness is all-powerful.
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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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A warrior should not say something fainthearted, even casually. He should set his mind to this beforehand. Even in trifling matters the depths of one's heart can be seen.
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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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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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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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Go ahead and gamble a lie. A person who will not tell you seven lies within a hundred yards is useless as a man.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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The end is important in all things.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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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A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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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.
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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As everything in this world is but a sham, Death is the only sincerity.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo