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The unfettered mind: writings of the Zen master to the sword master

Book by Takuan Soho · 11 quotes · Doe, Mind, Zen

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The unfettered mind: writings of the Zen master to the sword master Quotes

“Presumably, as a Martial artist, I do not fight for gain or loss, am not concerned with strength or weakness, and neither advance a step nor retreat a step. The enemy does not see me. I do not see the enemy. Penetrating to a place where heaven and earth have not yet divided, where yin and yang have not yet arrived, I quickly and necessarily gain effect.”

“One does not divine this by impressions or knowledge. What this means is that no matter how much you try to figure or calculate by means of impressions or knowledge, it will not prove the least bit useful. Therefore, separate yourself from the discrimination of figuring things out.”

“It is said that life is of small account compared to right-mindedness; in truth, it is right-mindedness that is most esteemed. Nothing is more precious than life, yet at the moment when we must throw away this valued life and stand on right-mindedness, there is nothing more highly esteemed than right-mindedness. Looking carefully at the world, we can see that there are many people who throw away their lives lightly, but do you suppose that one person in a thousand would die for right-mindedness? It would seem that, among the humble servant class, contrary to what you might expect, there are many who would. Yet, it would be difficult for people who think themselves wise to do the same.”

“Although wisdom is called immovable, this does not signify any insentient thing, like wood or stone; it moves as the mind is wont to move - forward or back, to the left, to the right, in the ten directions and to the eight points; and the mind that does not stop at all is called immovable wisdom.”