The word gen means "illusion" or "apparition." In India, a man who uses conjury is called a genjutsushi ["a master of illusion technique"]. Everything in this world is but a marionette show. Thus we use the word gen.
To hate injustice and stand on righteousness is a difficult thing. Furthermore, to think that being righteous is the best one can do and to do one's utmost to be righteous will, on the contrary, brig many mistakes. The Way is in a higher place then righteousness. This is very difficult to discover, but it is the highest wisdom. When seen from this standpoint, things like righteousness are rather shallow. If one does not understand this on his own, it cannot be known. There is a method of getting to this Way, however, even if one cannot discover it by himself. This is found in consultation with others. Even a person who has not attained this Way sees others front the side. It is like the saying from the game of go: "He who sees from the side has eight eyes." The saying, "Thought by thought we see our own mistakes," also means that the highest Way is in discussion with others. Listening to the old stories and reading books are for the purpose of sloughing off one's own discrimination and attaching oneself to that of the ancients.
A certain swordsman in his declining years said the following:
In one's life. there are levels in the pursuit of study. In the lowest level, a person studies but nothing comes of it, and he feels that both he and others are unskillful. At this point he is worthless. In the middle level he is still useless but is aware of his own insufficiencies and can also see the insufficiencies of others. In a higher level he has pride concerning his own ability, rejoices in praise from others, and laments the lack of ability in his fellows. This man has worth. In the highest level a man has the look of knowing nothing .
These are the levels in general;. But there is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way arid never thinks of himself as having finished. He truly knows his own insufficiencies and never in his whole life thinks that he has succeeded. He has no thoughts of pride but with self-abasement knows the Way to the end. It is said that Master Yagyu once remarked, "I do not know the way to defeat others, but the way to defeat myself. ''
Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never-ending.
Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige's wall there was this one: ''Matters of' great concern should be treated lightly.'' Master lttei commented, "Matters of small concern should be treated seriously." Among one's affairs there should not be more than two or three matters of what one could call great concern. If these are deliberated upon during ordinary times, they can be understood. Thinking about things previously and then handling them lightly when the time comes is what this is all about. To face an event anew solve it lightly is difficult if you are not resolved beforehand, and there will always be uncertainty in hitting your mark. However, if the foundation is laid previously, you can think of the saying, "Matters of great concern should be treated lightly," as your own basis for action.
A certain person spent several years of service in Osaka and then returned home. When he made his appearance at the local bureau, everyone was put out and he was made a laughingstock because he spoke in the Kamigata dialect. Seen in this light, when one spends a long time in ado or the Kamigata area, he had better use his native dialect even more than usual.
When in a more sophisticated area it is natural that one s disposition be affected by different styles. But it is vulgar and foolish to look down upon the ways of one's own district as being boorish, or to be even a bit open to the persuasion of the other place's ways and to think about giving up one's own. That one's own district is unsophisticated and unpolished is a great treasure. Imitating another style is simply a sham.
A certain man said to the priest Shungaku, "The Lotus Sutra Sect's character is not good because it's so fearsome." Shungaku replied, "It is by reason of its fearsome character that it is the Lotus Sutra Sect. If its character were not so, it would be a different sect altogether." This is reasonable.
At the time when there was a council concerning the promotion of a certain man, the council members were at the point of deciding that promotion was useless because of the fact that the man had previously been involved in a drunken brawl. But someone said, "If we were to cast aside every man who had made a mistake once, useful men could prob- ably not be come by. A man who makes a mistake once will be considerably more prudent and useful because of his repentance. I feet that he should be promoted.''
Someone else then asked, "Will you ;guarantee him?" The man replied, "Of course I will."
The others asked, "By what will you guarantee him?"
And he replied, "I can guarentee him by the fact that he is a man who has erred once. A man who bas never once erred is dangerous." This
said, the man was promoted. At the time of a deliberation concerning criminals,
Nakane Kazuma proposed making the punishment one degree lighter than what would
be appropriate. This is a treasury of wisdom that only he was the possessor
of. At that time, though there were several men in attendance, if it had not
been for Kazuma alone, no one would have opened his mouth. For this reason
he is called Master Commencement and Master Twenty-five Days.
A certain person was brought to shame because he did not take revenge. The
way of revenge lies in simply forcing one's way into a place and being cut
down. There is no shame in this. By thinking that you must complete the job
you will run out of time. By considering things like how many men the enemy
has, time piles up; in the end you will give up. 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. You will finish the
greater part of it. Concerning the night assault of Lord Asano's ronin, the
fact that they did not commit seppuku at the Sengakuji was an error, for there
was a long delay between the time their lord was struck down and the time when
they struck down the enemy. If Lord Kira had died of illness within that period,
it would have been extremely regrettable. Because the men of the Kamigata area
have a very clever sort of wisdom, they do well at praiseworthy acts but cannot
do things indiscriminately, as was done in the Nagasaki fight.
Although all things are not to be judged in this manner, I mention it in the
investigation of the Way of the Samurai. When the time comes, there is no moment
for reasoning. And if you have not done your inquiring beforehand , there is
most often shame. Reading books and listening to people's talk are for the
purpose of prior resolution. Above all, the Way of the Samurai should be in
being aware that you do not know what is going to happen next, and in querying
every item day and night. Victory and defeat are matters of the temporary force
of circumstances. The way of avoiding shame is different. It is simply in death.
Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor
technique has a place in this. A real man does not think of victory or defeat.
He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will
awaken from your dreams.
There are two things that will blemish a retainer, and these are riches and
honor. If one but remains in strained circumstances, he will not be marred.
Once there was a certain man who was very clever, but it was his character
to always see the negative points of his jobs. In such a way, one will be useless.
If one does not get it into his head from the very beginning that the world
is full of unseemly situations, for the most part his demeanor will be poor
and he will not be believed by others. And if one is not believed by others,
no matter how good a person he may be, he will not have the essence of a good
person. This can also be considered as a blemish.
There was a man who said, "Such and such a person has a violent disposition, but this is what I said right to his face... This was an unbecoming thing to say, and it was said simply because he wanted to be known as a rough fellow. It was rather low, and it can be seen that he was still rather immature. It is because a samurai has correct manners that he is admired. Speaking of other people in this way is no different from an exchange between low class spearmen. It is vulgar.
It is not good to settle into a set of opinions. It is a mistake to put forth effort and obtain some understanding and then stop at that. At first putting forth great effort to be sure that you have grasped the bastes, then practicing so that they may come to fruition is something that will never stop for your whole lifetime. Do not rely on following the degree of understanding that you have discovered, but simply think, "This is not enough."
One should search throughout his whole life how best to follow the Way. And he should study, setting his mind to work without putting things off. Within this is the Way.
These are from the recorded sayings of Yamamoto Jin'-emon:
If you can understand one affair, you will understand eight.
An affected laugh shows lack of self-respect in a man and lewdness in a woman.
Whether speaking formally or informally, one should look his listener in the eye. A polite greeting is done at the beginning and finished. Speaking with downcast eyes is carelessness.
It is carelessness to go about with one's hands inside the slits in the sides of his hakama.
After reading books and the like, it is best to burn them or throw them away. It is said that reading books is the work of the Imperial Court, but the work of the House of Nakano is found in military valor, grasping the staff of oak.
A samurai with no group and no horse is not a samurai at all.
A kusemono is a man to rely upon.
It is said that one should rise at four in the morning, bathe and arrange his hair daily, eat when the sun comes up, and retire when it becomes dark.
A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger.
How should a person respond when he is asked, "As a human being, what is essential in terms of purpose and discipline?" First, let us say, "It is to become of the mind that is right now pure and lacking complications." People
in general all seem to be dejected. When one has a pure and uncomplicated mind,
his expression will be lively. When one is attending to matters, there is one
thing that comes forth from his heart. That is, in terms of one's lord, loyalty;
in terms of one's parents, filial piety; in martial affairs, bravery ; and
apart from that, something that can be used by all the world. This is very
difficult to discover. Once discovered, it is again difficult to keep in constant
effect. There is nothing outside the thought of the immediate moment.
Every morning, the samurai of fifty or sixty years ago would bathe, shave their
foreheads, put lotion in their hair, cut their fingernails and toenails rubbing
them with pumice and then with wood sorrel, and without fail pay attention
to their personal appearance . It goes without saying that their armor in general
was kept free from rust, that it was dusted, shined, and arranged. Although
it seems that taking special care of one's appearance is similar to showiness,
it is nothing akin to elegance. Even if you are aware that you may be struck
down today and are firmly resolved to an inevitable death, if you are slain
with an unseemly appearance, you will show your lack of previous resolve, will
be despised by your enemy, and will appear unclean. For this reason it is said
that both old and young should take care of their appearance.
Although you say that this is troublesome and time-consuming, a samurai's work
is in such things. It is neither busy- work nor time-consuming. In constantly
hardening one's resolution to die in battle, deliberately becoming as one already
dead, and working at one's job and dealing with military affairs, there should
be no shame. But when the time comes, a person will be shamed if he is not
conscious of these things even in his dreams, and rather passes his days in
self- interest and self-indulgence. And if he thinks that this is not shameful,
and feels that nothing else matters as long as he is comfortable, then his
dissipate and discourteous actions will be repeatedly regrettable. The person
without previous resolution to inevitable death makes certain that his death
will be in bad form. But if one is resolved to death beforehand, in what way
can he be despicable? One should be especially diligent in this con- cern.