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

One should be wary of talking on end about such subjects as learning, morality or folklore in front of elders or people of rank. It is disagreeable to listen to.

Purity is something that cannot be attained except by piling effort upon effort.

It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all Ways and be more and more in accord with his own.

The person who practices an art is an artist, not a samurai, and one should have the intention of being called a samurai.

All of man’s work is a bloody business. That fact, today, is considered foolish, affairs are finished cleverly with words alone, and jobs that require effort are avoided. I would like young men to have some understanding of this.

To desire with one’s very soul every second of every day to accomplish one’s aim.