Do nothing that serves no purpose.
Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings, Earth (The Nine Principles)
Do nothing that serves no purpose.
Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings, Earth (The Nine Principles)
The source
"Do nothing that serves no purpose." Miyamoto Musashi said it in The Book of Five Rings, Earth (The Nine Principles). Translated from the original Japanese by Spartan Surfers.
"第九に役に立ぬ事をせざる事"Original Japanese, The Book of Five Rings, Earth (The Nine Principles). Japanese: Miyamoto Musashi (Kinkodo, 1909), NDL digital text.
Who said it
Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584–1645). Undefeated swordsman who wrote The Book of Five Rings in a cave a few weeks before he died.
Questions
- Who said "Do nothing that serves no purpose."?
- Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584–1645). Source: The Book of Five Rings, Earth (The Nine Principles).
- What is the original Japanese?
- 第九に役に立ぬ事をせざる事. Translated from the original Japanese by Spartan Surfers.
Filed under Calm.
Wear Miyamoto Musashi
A calm mind is a citadel.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.48
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Bitter cucumber? Toss it. Thorns on the trail? Step around.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.50
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Everything has two handles. Grab the one you can carry.
Epictetus, Enchiridion 43
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Know yourself.
Delphic maxim, Delphic inscription (Plato, Protagoras 343b)
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More from Miyamoto Musashi
- Today, beat the person you were yesterday.The Book of Five Rings, Water (closing)
- A thousand days of practice forge you. Ten thousand refine you.The Book of Five Rings, Water (closing)
- In the fight, keep your everyday mind.The Book of Five Rings, Water (The Mind in Strategy)
- Keep your mind wide and straight. Not tight, not slack.The Book of Five Rings, Water (The Mind in Strategy)
- Perceive strongly. Look lightly.The Book of Five Rings, Water (The Gaze)
- See far things as near and near things as far.The Book of Five Rings, Water (The Gaze)