H. (via harthurm)
(a man I respect)
Book: Hagakure
Book: Hagakure
Book: Hagakure
Book: Hagakure
There are four Ways which men pass through life: as gentlemen, farmers, artisans, and merchants.
The Way of the farmer. Using agricultural instruments, he sees springs through to autumns with an eye on the changes of season.
Second is the Way of the merchant. The wine maker obtains his ingredients and puts them to use to make his living. The Way of the merchant is always to live by taking profit. This is the Way of the merchant.
Thirdly the gentleman warrior, carrying the weaponry of his Way. The Way of the warrior is to master the virtue of his weapons. If a gentleman dislikes strategy he will not appreciate the benefit of weaponry, so must he not have a little tastes for this.
Fourthly the way of the artisan. The Way of the carpenter [architecture and builder, all buildings were of wood] is to become proficient in the use of his tools, first to lay his plans with true measure and then perform his work according to plan. Thus he passes through life. These are the four Ways of the gentleman, the farmer, the artisan, and the merchant.
Book: Hagakure
Book: Hagakure
Book: Hagakure
At the time when there was a council concerning the promotion of a certain man, the council members were at the point of deciding that promotion was useless because of the fact that the man had previously been involved in a drunken brawl. But someone said, “if we were to cast aside every man who had made a mistake once, useful men could probably not be come by. A man who makes a mistake once will be considerably more prudent and useful because of his repentance. I feet that he should be promoted.”
Someone else then asked, “Will you; guarantee him?” The man replied, “Of course I will.”
The others asked, “By what will you guarantee him?”
And he replied, “I can guarantee him by the fact that he is a man who has erred once. A man who has never once erred is dangerous.” This said, the man was promoted
