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Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi Quotes

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Famous Miyamoto Musashi Quotes

“Do not let your spirit be influenced by your body, or your body be influenced by your spirit. Be neither insufficiently spirited or over spirited. An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit.”

WarBodySpiritEnemyLowsWeakYour BodySpirited
Book:The Book of Five Rings: A Text on Kenjutsu and the Martial Arts in General, Written by the Swordsman Miyamoto Musashi
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“The spirit of defeating a man is the same for ten million men. The strategist makes small things into big things, like building a great Buddha from a one foot model.”

MenWarBigsSpiritMillionsFeetBuildingTenModelsBig ThingsSmall ThingsStrategist
Book:Honor: Samurai Philosophy of Life - The Essential Samurai Collection; The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai, Bushido: The Soul of Japan.
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“In strategy your spiritual bearing must not be any different from normal. Both in fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased.”

LifeShouldDifferentWarSpiritualSpiritFightingSituationCourageNormalStrategyEverydayCalmDeterminedEveryday LifeUnbiased
Book:The Book of Five Rings - The Bestselling, Classic Samurai Guide to Strategy
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“Also by training you will be able to freely control your own body, conquer men with your body, and with sufficient training you will be able to beat ten men with your spirit. When you have reached this point, will it not mean that you are invincible?”

MenMeanWarBodyAbleSpiritTenBeatsTrainingYour BodyConquerSufficientInvincible
Book:Honor: Samurai Philosophy of Life - The Essential Samurai Collection; The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai, Bushido: The Soul of Japan.
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“To cut and slash are two different things. Cutting, whatever form of cutting it is, is decisive, with a resolute spirit. Slashing is nothing more than touching the enemy.”

TwoDifferentWarFormSpiritEnemyCuttingDifferent ThingsTouchingResoluteTwo Different Things
Book:Honor: Samurai Philosophy of Life - The Essential Samurai Collection; The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai, Bushido: The Soul of Japan.
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“In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence, the Way has existence, spirit is nothingness.”

WaySpiritEvilExistencePrinciplesVirtueVoidNothingness
Book:Honor: Samurai Philosophy of Life - The Essential Samurai Collection; The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai, Bushido: The Soul of Japan.
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“When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void.”

SpiritClearCloudsVoidCloudedBewilderment
Book:Honor: Samurai Philosophy of Life - The Essential Samurai Collection; The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai, Bushido: The Soul of Japan.
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