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one's heart. There is room enough for all. That we still worship the sages of the three ancient kingdoms is because
their compassion reaches us yet today.
Whatever you do should be done for the sake of your master and parents, the people in general, and for posterity. This
is great compassion. The wisdom and courage that come from compassion are real wisdom and courage. When one
punishes or strives with the heart of compassion, what he does will be limitless in strength and correctness. Doing
something for one's own sake is shallow and mean and turns into evil. I understood the matters of wisdom and
courage some time ago. I am just now beginning to understand the matter of compassion.
Lord Ieyasu said, "The foundation for ruling the country in peace is compassion, for when one thinks of the people as
being his children, the people will think of him as their parent." Moreover, can't it be thought that the names "group
parent" and "group child" [i.e., group leader and member] are so called because they are attached to each other by the
harmonious hearts of a parent-child relationship ?
One can understand that Lord Naoshige's phrase, "A faultfinder will come to be punished by others," came from his
compassion. His saying, "Principle is beyond reason," should also be considered compassion. He enthusiastically
stated that we should taste the inexhaustible.
The priest Tannen said, "A clever retainer will not advance. However, there are no cases of stupid people coming up
in the world either."
This was Nakano Shikibu's opinion.
When one is young, he can often bring on shame for a lifetime by homosexual acts. To have no understanding of this
is dangerous. As there is no one to inform young men of this matter, I can give its general outline.
One should understand that a woman is faithful to only one husband. Our feelings go to one person for one lifetime. If
this is not so, it is the same as sodomy or prostitution. This is shame for a warrior. Ihara Saikaku has written a famous
line that goes, "An adolescent without an older lover is the same as a woman with no husband." But this sort of
person is ridiculous.
A young man should test an older man for at least five years, and if he is assured of that person's intentions, then he
too should request the relationship. A fickle person will not enter deeply into a relationship and later will abandon his
lover.
If they can assist and devote their lives to each other, then their nature can be ascertained. But if one partner is
crooked, the other should say that there are hindrances to the relationship and sever it with firmness. If the first should
ask what those hindrances are, then one should respond that he will never in his life say. If he should continue to push
the matter, one should get angry ; if he continues to push even further, cut him down.
Furthermore, the older man should ascertain the younger's real motives in the aforementioned way. If the younger
man can devote himself and pet into the situation for five or six years, then it will not be unsuitable.
Above all, one should not divide one's way into two. One should strive in the Way of the Samurai.
Hoshino Ryotetsu was the progenitor of homosexuality in our province, and although it can be said that his disciples
were many, he instructed each one individually. Edayoshi Saburozaemon was a man who understood the foundation
of homosexuality. Once, when accompanying his master to ado, Ryotetsu asked Saburozaemon, "What have you
understood of homosexuality?"
Saburozaemon replied, "It is something both pleasant and unpleasant.''
Ryotetsu was pleased and said, "You have taken great pains for some time to be able to say such a thing.''
Some years later there was a person who asked Saburozaemen the meaning of the above. He replied, "To lay down
one's life for another is the basic principle of homosexuality. If it is not so, it becomes a matter of shame. However,
then you have nothing left to lay down for your master. It is therefore understood to be something both pleasant and
unpleasant.''
Master lttei said, ' 'If one were to say what it is to do good, in a single word it would be to endure suffering. Not
enduring is bad without exception."
Until one reaches the ape of forty it is better to put off wisdom and discrimination and excel in vitality. According to
the person and the rank, though a person has passed the age of forty, if he has no vitality, he will pet no response from
others.
Recently, a certain person on his way to Edo sent home a detailed letter from the first night's inn. Though he was a
person who neglected such things when he was busy, he excelled other people in being as attentive as this.
In the judgment of the elders, a samurai's obstinacy should be excessive. A thing done with moderation may later be
judged to be insufficient. I have heard that when one thinks he has gone too far, he will not have erred. This sort of
rule should not be forgotten.
When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead,
it will not do to think about going at it in a long roundabout way. One's heart may slacken, he may miss his chance,
and by and large there will be no success. The Way of the Samurai is one of immediacy, and it is best to dash in
headlong. When a certain man was going to the sutra readings at the Jissoin in Kawakami, one of his pages got drunk
on the ferryboat and began to pester one of the sailors. When they landed on the other side, as the page had drawn his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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