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Quotes from Go Rin No Sho — Miyamoto Musashi

1580–1645 Japan

← All quotes by Miyamoto Musashi

62 quotes

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

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

In this the Fire Book of the NiTo Ichi school of strategy I describe fighting as fire.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

In my doctrine, I dislike preconceived, narrow spirit. You must study this well.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

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.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

In this world it is said, "One inch gives the hand advantage", but these are the idle words of one who does not know strategy.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

This is an important fighting method for one man against many.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

There is a time and a place for use of weapons.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

You can know how to win through strategy with the long sword, but it cannot be clearly explained in writing. You must practise diligently in order to understand how to win.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

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

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

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

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

"Attitude No-Attitude" means that there is no need for what are known as long sword attitudes.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

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

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

"To tread down the sword" is a principle often used in strategy.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

Whenever you cross swords with an enemy you must not think of cutting him either strongly or weakly; just think of cutting and killing him.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

There is no fast way of wielding the long sword.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

The true Way of sword fencing is the craft of defeating the enemy in a fight, and nothing other than this.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

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.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

Really skilful people never get out of time, and are always deliberate, and never appear busy. From this example, the principle can be seen.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

Generally, I dislike fixedness in both long swords and hands. Fixedness means a dead hand. Pliability is a living hand. You must bear this in mind.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

In strategy you must know the Ways of other schools, so I have written about various other traditions of strategy in this the Wind Book.

Go Rin No Sho (1645)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Miyamoto Musashi (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.