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Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Yamamoto Tsunetomo Quotes

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Famous Yamamoto Tsunetomo Quotes

“You cannot tell whether a person is good or bad by his vicissitudes in life. Good and bad fortune are matters of fate.”

PersonsWarMatterFateFortuneGood LifeGood And BadVicissitudesBad Fortune
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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“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.”

ThinkingWayPersonsWarCertainLevelsFinishedExcellentEnteringTranscending
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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“Go ahead and gamble a lie. A person who will not tell you seven lies within a hundred yards is useless as a man.”

MenPersonsWarLyingHundredSevenUselessYardsGamble
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 one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about going at it in a long roundabout way. One's heart may slacken, he may miss his chance, and by and large there will be no success. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong.”

IfsThinkingWayHeartMayPersonsLongMadeDifficultChanceDecisionMilitaryMissingSucceedAdvancingSamuraiImmediacy
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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“The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush about at things. A person of little merit is not at peace but walks about making trouble and is in conflict with all.”

HeartLittlesPersonsDoeWalksTroubleConflictDown AndMeritVirtuous
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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“Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it was somewhere else. No one seems to have noticed this fact. But grasping this firmly, one must pile experience upon experience. And once one has come to this understanding he will be a different person from that point on, though he may not always bare it in mind. When one understands this settling into single-mindedness well, his affairs will thin out.”

LifeMindWellsLooksMayPersonsDifferentMomentsFactsSeemsUnderstandingAffairSettlingPresent MomentSlipsSomewhere ElseGraspingSingle Mindedness
Author:Yamamoto Tsunetomo
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“Calculating people are contemptable. The reason for this is that calculation deals with loss and gain, and the loss and gain mind never stops. Death is considered loss and life is considered gain. Thus, death is something that such a person does not care for, and he is contemptable. Furthermore, scholars and their like are men who with wit and speech hide their own true cowardice and greed. People often misjudge this.”

PeopleMenMindPersonsDoeReasonTruthCareLife IsLossDealsSpeechGainsGreedWitCowardiceScholarCalculationsCalculating
Book:Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
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