Miyamoto Musashi was a samurai warrior and philosopher who is renowned for his wisdom and teachings. His quotes are a source of inspiration for many people, and offer valuable insights into the nature of life and success. Here are some of the best Miyamoto Musashi quotes
Miyamoto Musashi was born in the year 1584 in Japan. From a young age, he showed great talent in the martial arts and swordplay. He was also a skilled artist and philosopher.
Musashi is most famous for his book The Book of Five Rings, in which he discusses the art of war. In this book, he outlines the principles of swordsmanship and offers advice on how to win in a battle.
He also discusses the philosophy of martial arts, and argues that the true purpose of fighting is not to defeat one’s opponent, but to achieve self-improvement.
Musashi lived an interesting and eventful life. He was a samurai and travelled extensively, fighting in many battles. He also taught the art of swordsmanship to others and wrote about his experiences and teachings.
Musashi died in 1645 at the age of 61. He is considered to be one of the most skilled swordsmen in history, and his teachings on the art of war are still studied and appreciated today.
78 Miyamoto Musashi Quotes
- “You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain”
2. “If you wish to control others you must first control yourself”
3. “To know ten thousand things, know one well”
4. “Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of Man.”
5. “there is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
6. “Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.”
7. “It may seem difficult at first, but all things are difficult at first.”
8. “No man is invincible, and therefore no man can fully understand that which would make him invincible”
9. “If there isn’t discipline, how can there be a true realization of an ideal?”
10. “Nobody is strong and nobody is weak if he conceives of the body, from the head to the sole of the foot, as a unity in which a living mind circulates everywhere equally.”
11. “Though you give up your life, do not give up your honor.”
12. “You can only fight the way you practice”
13. “Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.”
Miyamoto Musashi Quotes on Life and Knowing Your Inner Self
14. “Determine that today you will overcome yourself of the day before, tomorrow you will win over those of lesser skill, and later you will win over those of greater skill.”
15. “If you are not progressing along the true way, a slight twist in the mind can become a major twist. This must be pondered well.”
16. “When you cannot be deceived by me, you will have realized the wisdom of strategy.”
17. “All man are the same except for their belief in their own selves, regardless of what others may think of them.”
18. “Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help”
19. “Do not regret what you have done”
20. “Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everything.”
21. “If you do not control the enemy, the enemy will control you”
22. “The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win”
23. “Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.”
24. “When in a fight to the death, one wants to employ all one’s weapons to the utmost. I must say that to die with one’s sword still sheathed is most regrettable.”
Short Miyamoto Musashi Quotes
25. “Step by step walk the thousand-mile road.”
26. “from one thing, know ten thousand things”
27. “It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet”
28. “Do nothing that is of no use”
29. “Immature strategy is the cause of grief”.”
30. “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world”
31. “Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.”
32. “In battle, if you you make your opponent flinch, you have already won.”
33. “I dreamt of worldly success once.”
34. “Never stray from the Way.”
35. “Become acquainted with every art.”
36. “If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything.”
Miyamoto Musashi Quotes about Battle and War
37. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
38. “To become the enemy, see yourself as the enemy of the enemy”
39. “Know your enemy, know his sword.”
40. “Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is …”
41. “Do not let your opponent see your spirit”
42. “No fear, no hesitation, no surprise, no doubt.”
43. “The Way is in training.”
44. “Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast.”
45. “You must not be influenced by the opponent.”
46. “The approach to combat and everyday life should be the same.”
47. “The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them”
Miyamoto Musashi – Book of 5 rings quotes
48. “If a man chooses a certain Way and seems to have no particular talent for this Way, he can still become a master if he so chooses. By keeping at a particular form of study a man can attain perfection either in this life or the next (if a next life is believed in).”
49. “When you attain the Way of strategy there will not be one thing you cannot see. You must study hard.”
50. “Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men. Become a criminal of purpose. Be put in jail, and extricate yourself by your own wisdom.”
51. “In fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm.”
52. “It is difficult to realize the true Way just through sword-fencing. Know the smallest things and the biggest things, the shallowest things and the deepest things.”
53. “A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study.”
54. “The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant.”
55. “A thousand days of training to develop, ten thousand days of training to polish. You must examine all this well.”
56. “The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy’s useful actions but allow his useless actions”
57. “Observe their attacking order, and go to meet first those who attack first.”
58. “Polish your wisdom: learn public justice, distinguish between good and evil, study the ways of different arts one by one.”
59. “In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things.”
60. “Control your anger. If you hold anger toward others, they have control over you. Your opponent can dominate and defeat you if you allow him to get you irritated.”
Famous Miyamoto Musashi quotes about Warriors
61. “You should not have a favourite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well.”
62. “guard. It is in this sense that I recommend the guard without a guard. Whatever the situation is, you hold the sword so that you can slash your opponent.”
63. “Do not let the body be dragged along by mind nor be dragged along by the body.”
64. “You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.”
65. “In strategy it is necessary to treat training as part of normal life with your spirit unchanging.”
66. “Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.”
67. “When you decide to attack, keep calm and dash in quickly, forestalling the enemy…attack with a feeling of constantly crushing the enemy, from first to last.”
68. “When your opponent is hurrying recklessly, you must act contrarily and keep calm. You must not be influenced by the opponent.”
69. “In the strategy of my school, keep your body and mind straight and make your opponent go through contortions and twist about. The essence is to defeat him in the moment when, in his mind, he is pivoting and twisting. You should examine this well.”
70. “Never accept an inferior position to anyone. It is the strongest spirit that wins, not the most expensive sword.”
71. “Why would you want to appear as one thing and be another? If you are a warrior then you are a warrior and if you are not a warrior then you are not a warrior. The Way of the warrior is the Way of the warrior. To be a warrior, look like a warrior and stand like a warrior. Do not be false to yourself.”
72. “If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him. More than anything, you must be thinking of carrying your movement through to cutting him.”
73. “Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior.”
74. “If you master the principles of sword-fencing, when you freely beat one man, you beat any man in the world. The spirit of defeating a man is the same for ten million men.”
75. “Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death.”
76. “What I call the void is where nothing exists. It is about things outside man’s knowledge. Of course the void does not exist. By knowing what exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the void.”
77. “You win battles by knowing the enemy’s timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect.”
78. “This is a truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn.”