To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not.

One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.

Bushido is realised in the presence of death. In the case of having to choose between life and death you should choose death. There is no other reasoning.

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

Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they are not unrelated to these three things.

I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death.

If a retainer will just think about what he is to do for the day at hand, he will be able to do anything. If it is a single day's work, one should be able to put up with it. Tomorrow, too is but a single day.