[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

then said, "When I went out to survey the scene a bit earlier, it seemed that the three men went into one place for a
discussion. Now is the right time. Let's go quickly!" So saying, they went out with the husband in the lead, burning
torches and wearing short swords. They broke into their opponents' place and dispersed them, both husband and wife
slashing about and killing two of the men and wounding the other. The husband was later ordered to commit seppuku.
CHAPTER 10
There was a certain retainer of Ikeda Shingen's who started an argument with a man, grappled him to the ground,
thrashed him soundly, and trampled on him until his companions ran up and pulled them apart. The elders conferred
over this and said, "The man who was trampled should be punished." Shingen heard this and said, "A fight is
something that goes to the finish. A man who forgets the Way of the Samurai and does not use his sword will be
forsaken by the gods and Buddhas. As an example to subsequent retainers, both men should be crucified." The men
who had pulled them apart were banished.
In Yui Shosetsu's military instructions, "The Way of the Three Ultimates," there is a passage on the character of
karma.' He received an oral teaching of about eighteen chapters concerning the Greater Bravery and the Lesser
Bravery. He neither wrote them down nor committed them to memory but rather forgot them completely. Then, in
facing real situations, he acted on impulse and the things that he had learned became wisdom of his own. This is the
character of karma.
When faced with a crisis, if one puts some spittle on his earlobe and exhales deeply through his nose, he will
overcome anything at hand. This is a secret matter. Furthermore, when experiencing a rush of blood to the head, if
one puts spittle on the upper part of one's ear, it will soon go away.
Tzu Ch'an was on the point of death when someone asked him how to govern the country. He replied:
There is nothing that surpasses ruling with benevolence. However, to put into practice enough benevolent governing
to rule the country is difficult. To do this lukewarmly will result in neglect. If governing with benevolence is difficult,
then it is best to govern strictly. To govern strictly means to be strict before things have arisen, and to do things in
such a way that evil will not arise. To be strict after the evil has arisen is like laying a snare. There are few people
who will make mistakes with fire after having once been burned. Of people who regard water lightly, many have been
drowned.
A certain man said, "I know the shapes of Reason and of Woman." When asked about this, he replied, "Reason is
four-cornered and will not move even in an extreme situation. Woman is round. One can say that she does not
distinguish between good and evil or right and wrong and tum- bles into any place at all."
The basic meaning of etiquette is to be quick at both the beginning and end and tranquil in the middle. Mitani
Chizaemon heard this and said, "That's just like being a kaishaku.
Fukae Angen accompanied an acquaintance of his to the priest Tesshu of Osaka, and at first said privately to the
priest, "This man aspires to study Buddhism and hopes to receive your teaching. He is a man of rather high
determination.''
Soon after the interview the priest said, "Angen is a man who does harm to others. He said that this man is a good
man, but wherein is his goodness? There was no goodness visible to Tesshu's eyes. It is not a good idea to praise
people carelessly. When praised, both wise and foolish become prideful. To praise is to do harm."
When Hotta Kaga no kami Masamori was a page to the shogun, he was so headstrong that the shogun wished to test
what was at the bottom of his heart. To do this, the shogun heated a pair of tongs and placed them in the hearth.
Masamori's custom was to go to the other side of the hearth, take the tongs, and greet the master. This time, when he
unsuspectingly picked up the tongs, his hands were immediately turned. As he did obeisance in his usual manner,
however, the shogun quickly pot up and took the tongs from him.
A certain person said, "When a castle is being surrendered, as long as there are one or two men within it who are
determined to hold on, the defending forces will not be of one accord, and in the end no one will hold the castle. "In
the taking of the castle, if when the man who is to receive it approaches and the one or two men who are determined
to hold on to it lightly fire on him from the shadows, the man will be alarmed and the battle will be on. In such a case,
even though it is unwillingly done, the castle will have to be stormed. This is called being forced to besiege a castle
by those besieged."
The Buddhist priest Ryozan wrote down some generalities concerning Takanobu's battles. A certain priest saw this
and criticized him, saying, "It is inappropriate for a priest to write about a military commander. No matter how
successful his writing style may be, since he is not acquainted with military things, he is liable to be mistaken in
understanding a famous general's mind. It is irreverent to pass on misconceptions concerning a famous general to later
generations." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Pokrewne