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this was surprisingly in accord with my own resolve and thereafter became more and more extreme in my fanaticism.
The late Nakano Kazuma said that the original purpose of the Tea Ceremony is to cleanse the six senses. For the eyes
there are the hanging scroll and flower arrangement. For the nose there is the incense. For the ears there is the sound
of the hot water. For the mouth there is the taste of the tea. And for the hands and feet there is the correctness of term.
When the five senses have thus been cleansed, the mind will of itself be purified. The Tea Ceremony will cleanse the
mind when the mind is clogged up. I do not depart from the heart of the Tea Ceremony for twenty-four hours a day,
yet this is absolutely not a matter of tasteful living. Moreover, the tea utensils are something that should be in accord
with one's social position.
In the poem, "Under the deep snows in the last village/ Last night numerous branches of plum blossomed," the
opulence of the phrase "numerous branches" was changed to "a single branch." It is said that this "single branch"
contains true tranquillity.
When intimate friends, allies, or people who are indebted to you have done some wrong, you should secretly
reprimand them and intervene between them and society in a good manner. You should erase a person's bad
reputation and praise him as a matchless ally and one man in a thousand. If you wilt thus reprimand a person in
private and with good understanding, his blemish will heal and he will become good. If you praise a person, people's
hearts will change and an ill reputation will go away of itself. It is important to have the single purpose of handling all
things with compassion and doing things well.
A certain person said the following.
There are two kinds of dispositions, inward and outward, and a person who is lacking in one or the other is worthless.
It is, for example, like the blade of a sword, which one should sharpen well and then put in its scabbard, periodically
taking it out and knitting one's eyebrows as in an attack, wiping f the blade, and then placing it in its scabbard again .
If a person has his sword out all the time, he is habitually swinging a naked blade ; people will not approach him and
he will have no allies.
If a sword is always sheathed, it will become rusty, the blade will dull, and people will think as much of its owner.
One cannot accomplish things simply with cleverness. One must take a broad view. It will not do to make rash
judgments concerning good and evil. However, one should not be sluggish. It is said that one is not truly a samurai if
he does not make his decisions quickly and break right through to completion.
Once, when a group of five or six pages were traveling to the capital together in the same boat, it happened that their
boat struck a regular ship late at night. Five or six seamen from the ship leapt aboard and loudly demanded that the
pages give up their boat's anchor, in accord with the seaman's code. Hearing this, the pages ran forward yelling, "The
seaman's code is something for people like you! Do you think that we samurai are going to let you take equipment
from a boat carrying warriors? We will cut you down and throw you into the sea to the last man !" With that, all the
seamen fled back to their own ship.
At such a time, one must act like a samurai. For trifling occasions it is better to accomplish things simply by yelling.
By making something more significant than it really is and missing one's chance, an affair will not be brought to a
close and will be no accomplishment at all.
A certain person who came up with a cash shortage when closing out an account book sent a letter to his section
leader saying, "It is regrettable to have to commit seppuku over a matter of money. As you are my section leader,
please send some funds." Since this was reasonable, the balance was provided and the matter was closed. It is said
that even wrongdoings can be managed without detection.
By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done. If one considers something not to be a
matter of time, it will be done surprisingly quickly. Times change. Think about the world fifteen years from now. It
should be rather different, but if one were to look into a book of prophecies, I imagine that it would not be that
different. In the passing fifteen years, not one of the useful men of today will be left. And even if men who are young
now come forth, probably less than half will make it. Worth gradually wanes. For example, if there were a shortage of
gold, silver would become treasure, and if there were a shortage of silver, copper would be valued. With changing
times and the waning of men's capacities, one would be of suitable worth even if he put forth only slight effort.
Something like fifteen years is the space of a dream. If a man but takes care of his health, in the end he will have
accomplished his purpose and will be a valuable person. Certainly in a period when masters are many, one must put
forth considerable effort. But at the time when the world is sliding into a decline, to excel is easy.
To put forth great effort in correcting a person's bad habits is the way it should be done. One should be like the digger
wasp. It is said that even with an adopted child, if you teach him continually so that he will resemble you, he surely
will.
If your strength is only that which comes from vitality, your words and personal conduct will appear to be in accord
with the Way, and you will be praised by others. But when you question yourself about this, there will be nothing to
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