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The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation in inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried by surging waves, thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by great earthquake, falling from thousand foot cliffs, dying from disease, or commiting seppuku at the death of one's master. And everyday without fail one should consider himself as dead. This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai.
It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. It is the same for anyting else that is called a Way. 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.
If one were to say in a word what the condition of being a Samurai is, its basis lies first in seriously devoting one's body and soul to his master. Not to forget one's master is the most fundamental thing for a retainer.
It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this.
According to what one of the elders said, taking an enemy on the battlefield is like a hawk taking a bird. Even though it enters into the midst of a thousand of them, it gives no attention to any bird other than the one it has first marked.
In the words of the ancients, one should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break right through to the other side.
Even if a samurai's head were to be suddeny cut off, he should still be able to perform one more action with certainty. If one becomes lies a revengeful ghost and shows great determination, though his head is cut off, he should not die.
When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to suceed by advancing straight ahead, it will not do to think about going at it in a long roundabout way. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in headlong.
Our lives are given life from the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, "Form is emptiness." That all things are provided for by nothingness is the meaning of the phrase, "Emptiness is form." One should not think that these are two separate things.
There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. By doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to all things
There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do and nothing else to pursue.
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