Miyamoto musashi quotes

When your opponent is hurrying recklessly, you must act contrarily and keep calm. You must not be influenced by the opponent.

If you are not progressing along the true way, a slight twist in the mind can become a major twist. This must be pondered well.

The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant.

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.

Do not think dishonestly... Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters. Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everything. Perceive those things which cannot be seen. Pay attention even to trifles. Do nothing which is of no use.

Do not let the body be dragged along by mind nor the mind be dragged along by the body

This is truth: When you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon as yet undrawn.

Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life.

No man is invincible, and therefore no man can fully understand that which would make him invincible

If you want to learn the craft of war, ponder over this book. The teacher is as a needle, the disciple is as thread. You must practice constantly.

The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things.

If you wish to control others you must first control yourself

You can only fight the way you practice

A warrior has no confusion in his mind...This is true emptiness.

A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study.

The Way of the warrior does not include other ways, such as Confucianism, Buddhism, certain traditions, artistic accomplishments, and dancing. But even though these are not part of the Way, if you know the Way broadly, you will see it in everything.

Determine that today you will overcome your self of the day before, tomorrow you will win over those of lesser skill, and later you will win over those of greater skill.

When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void.

The way is in training.

Pay attention even to life's trifles.

Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men. Become a criminal of purpose. Be put in jail, and extricate yourself by your own wisdom.

To become the enemy, see yourself as the enemy of the enemy

Know your enemy, know his sword.

Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world

If you fail to take advantage of your enemies' collapse, they may recover.

As if with the nut and flower, the nut has become less than the flower... both those teaching and those learning are concerned with colouring and showing off their technique, trying to hasten the bloom of the flower.

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.

There is timing in everything. Timing in strategy cannot be mastered without a great deal of practice.

Consider yourself lightly; consider the world deeply.

The warrior is different in that studying the Way of strategy is based on overcoming men

Do nothing which is of no use.

Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of Man.

You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.

It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet

From inside fortifications, the gun has no equal among weapons. It is the supreme weapon on the field before the ranks clash, but once swords are crossed the gun becomes useless.

Imitation is the surest form of flattery and failure. I am not interested with your talk about my ideas. I am more interested in your applying them to your life. If you do not, then you are essentially not in accord with your own mind.

It is imperative to master the principles of the art of war and learn to be unmoved in mind even in the heat of the battle.

Aspire to be like Mt. Fuji, with such a broad and solid foundation that the strongest earthquake cannot move you, and so tall that the greatest enterprises of common men seem insignificant from your lofty perspective. With your mind as high as Mt Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things happening near to you.

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.

If the enemy stays spirited it is difficult to crush him.

Step by step walk the thousand-mile road.

It is said the warrior's is the twofold Way of pen and sword, and he should have a taste for both Ways. Even if a man has no natural ability he can be a warrior by sticking assiduously to both divisions of the Way.

When you cannot be deceived by men you will have realised the wisdom of strategy.

Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.

Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help

Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everything.

Do not let your opponent see your spirit

Crossing at a ford occurs often in a man's lifetime. It means setting sail even though your friends stay in harbour, knowing the route, knowing the soundness of your ship and the favour of the day.

Cutting down the enemy is the way of strategy, and there is no need for many refinements of it.

If you do not control the enemy, the enemy will control you

In the construction of houses, choice of woods is made. Straight un-knotted timber of good appearance is used for the revealed pillars, straight timber with small defects is used for the inner pillars. Timbers of the finest appearance, even if a little weak, is used for the thresholds, lintels, doors, and sliding doors, and so on. Good strong timber, though it be gnarled and knotted, can always be used discreetly in construction.

In battle, if you you make your opponent flinch, you have already won.

In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance.

Anger. Control your anger. If you hold anger toward others, they have control over you.Your opponent can dominate and defeat you if you allow him to get you irritated.

When you have attained the way of strategy there will be nothing that you cannot understand. You will see the way in everything.

Become acquainted with every art.

from one thing, know ten thousand things

Fourthly, the way of the artisan. The way of the carpenter is to become proficient in the use of his tools, first to lay his plans with true measure and then perform his work according to plan. Thus he passes through life.

Whatever your determination or will power, it is foolish to try to change the nature of things. Things work the way they do because that is the way of things

A bullet from a gun does not make a distinction between practice and combat. You are training to be one and the same way in your life

As far as Im concerned, I regret nothing.

Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.

In time, all things work to your advantage when you pursue them with an open heart.

When you appreciate the power of nature, knowing the rhythm of any situation, you will be able to hit the enemy naturally and strike naturally.

Never stray from the Way.

In contests of strategy it is bad to be led about by the enemy. You must always be able to lead the enemy about.

Speed is not part of the true Way of strategy. Speed implies that things seem fast or slow, according to whether or not they are in rhythm. Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast.

You win battles by knowing the enemy's timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect.

Do not act following customary beliefs.

You should not have any special fondness for a particular weapon, or anything else, for that matter. Too much is the same as not enough. Without imitating anyone else, you should have as much weaponry as suits you.

The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy's useful actions but allow his useless actions

If you learn indoor techniques, you will think narrowly and forget the true Way. Thus you will have difficulty in actual encounters.

Do not waste time idling or thinking after you have set your goals

Do not regret what you have done

No man is invincible, and therefore no man can fully understand that which would make him invincible. Even with complete and thorough study there is always the possibility of being defeated and although one may be expert in a particular form, mastery is something a man never stops seeking to attain.

With your spirit open and unconstricted, look at things from a high point of view.

If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything.

Too much is the same as not enough.

When in a fight to the death, one wants to employ all one's weapons to the utmost. I must say that to die with one's sword still sheathed is most regrettable.

When you decide to attack, keep calm and dash in quickly, forestalling the enemy...attack with a feeling of constantly crushing the enemy, from first to last.

It is difficult to realize the true Way just through sword-fencing. Know the smallest things and the biggest things, the shallowest things and the deepest things.

One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.

In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principle has existence, the Way has existence, spirit is nothingness.

By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist.

No Fear, No Hesitation, No Surprise, No Doubt

Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things.

Even if you strive diligently on your chosen path day after day, if your heart is not in accord with it, then even if you think you are on a good path, from the point of view of the straight and true, this is not a genuine path. If you do not pursue a genuine path to its consummation, then a little bit of crookedness in the mind will later turn into a major warp. Reflect on this.

You should not have a favourite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well.

Approach the enemy with the attitude of defeating him without delay.

There is no one way to salvation, whatever the manner in which a man may proceed. All forms and variations are governed by the eternal intelligence of the Universe that enables a man to approach perfection. It may be in the arts of music and painting or it may be in commerce, law, or medicine. It may be in the study of war or the study of peace. Each is as important as any other. Spiritual enlightenment through religious meditation such as Zen or in any other way is as viable and functional as any "Way."... A person should study as they see fit.

Fixed formation is bad. Study this well.

See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice, and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training.

The purpose of today's training is to defeat yesterday's understanding.

You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain

To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead

Even if a man has no natural ability, he can be a warrior.

Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.

The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them

The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win

Unless you really understand others, you can hardly attain your own self-understanding.

If the enemy thinks of the mountains, attack like the sea; and if he thinks of the sea, attack like the mountains.

The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him.

Polish your wisdom: learn public justice, distinguish between good and evil, study the ways of different arts one by one.

All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this.

It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first.

As the innocent infant relies upon the mother for sustenance, so the innocent wanderer, following his native compassion and bliss, relies upon the natural intelligence of life to sustain him. There are various Ways. There is the Way of salvation by the law of Buddha, the Way of Confucius governing the Way of learning, the Way of healing as a doctor, as a poet teaching the Way of Waka, tea, archery, and many arts and skills. Each man practices as he feels inclined.

True warriors are fierce because their training is fierce.

Strategy is the craft of the warrior.

There are many ways of understanding simple things, but generally the opposite is true for difficult ideas

...most warriors only perform tricks. The way of the warrior is filled with soul and feeling

People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be the void. This is not the true void. It is bewilderment.

Immature strategy is the cause of grief.

Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast.

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.

All man are the same except for their belief in their own selves, regardless of what others may think of them

Water adopts the shape of its receptacle, it is sometimes a trickle and sometimes a wild sea.

The Way is in training... Do nothing which is not of value.

Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death.

When the enemy starts to collapse you must pursue him without the chance of letting go. If you fail to take advantage of your enemies collapse, they may recover.

There is timing in the whole life of the warrior, in his thriving and declining, in his harmony and discord. Similarly, there is timing in the Way of the merchant, in the rise and fall of capital. All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this.

Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast….Of course, slowness is bad. Really skillful people never get out of time, and are always deliberate, and never appear busy.

If you do not look at things on a large scale, it will be difficult to master strategy.

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?

Always return your weapon along the same path it traveled out on. In this way you can use it again without having to relocate and rethink our attitude.

Accept everything just the way it is.