Miyamoto Musashi Quotes

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

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.

Second is the way of the merchant. The wine maker obtains his ingredients and puts them to use to make his living. The way of the merchant is always to live by taking profit.

Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help

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

As far as Im concerned, I regret nothing.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

from one thing, know ten thousand things

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

Fixed formation is bad. Study this well.

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 is in training.

They speak of "This Dojo" and "That Dojo". They are looking for profit.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Too much is the same as not enough.

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

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.

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

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

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.

One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.

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