11 Quotes & Sayings By Tsunetomo Yamamoto

Tsunetomo Yamamoto, a Zen priest and a Zen master, was the 26th successor to the head of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. He was born in 1878 in the village of Yaguchi in the province of Tochigi, Japan. In his younger years he studied Confucianism and Shinto. At age 17, he entered the Buddhist Order at Kounin Temple in Kyoto as a monk Read more

In 1899 he became a disciple of Daitoku-Zenji, who was reputed to be a direct descendant of Bodhidharma. In 1904 he received Dharma Transmission from Daitoku-Zenji and was given the name Tsunetomo Yamamoto. He was then sent to study Pure Land Buddhism at Suzaka Temple in Suzaka Province.

In 1907 Tsunetomo attended lectures on Zen Buddhism given by Gudo Nishijima at Komazawa University and later converted to Rinzai Zen. In 1912 Tsunetomo returned to Komazawa University as a professor of Shodo (a form of calligraphy) and lectured on Chinese Buddhist philosophy and ethics before returning to Kyoto as a priest at Enryaku Temple in Shoseikai-cho. Over the years Tsunetomo wrote many books on Buddhist philosophy, including The Doctrine of Hachiman, The Essence of Shodo and The Essence of Calligraphy.

1
In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
Bushido is realized in the presence of death. This means...
2
Bushido is realized in the presence of death. This means choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death. There is no other reasoning. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
3
Meditation on 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 away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one’s master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead . Tsunetomo Yamamoto
4
Personally, I like to sleep. And I intend to appropriately confine myself more and more to my living quarters and pass my life away sleeping. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
5
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. There will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
6
No matter if the enemy has thousands of men, there is fulfillment in simply standing them off and being determined to cut them all down, starting from one end. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
7
It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material posessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
8
Although this may be a most difficult thing, if one will do it, it can be done. There is nothing that one should suppose cannot be done. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
9
Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never-ending. Tsunetomo Yamamoto
10
One should every day think over and make an effort to implant in his mind the saying, "At that time is right now." It is said that it is strange indeed that anyone is able to pass through life by one means or another in negligence. Tsunetomo Yamamoto