In China there was once a man who liked pictures of dragons, and his clothing and furnishings were all designed accordingly. His deep affection for dragons was brought to the attention of the dragon god, and onde day a real dragon appeared before his window. It is said that he died of fright. He was probably a man who always spoke big words but acted differently when facing the real thing.

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There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.

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The deepest love is often hidden.

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If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy.

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A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.

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There is nothing we should be quite so grateful for as the last line of the poem that goes, 'When your own heart asks.

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Nothing is impossible in this world. Firm determination, it is said, can move heaven and earth. Things appear far beyond one's power, because one cannot set his heart on any arduous project due to want of strong will.

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It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material posessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect.

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A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death.

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I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death.

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