Assorted Quotes of the week

At the moment I am reading and interesting book with the rather exotic title of "the Demon's Sermon On The Martial Arts" by Issai Chozanshi. It was written in Japan in the 1700s and is basically a synthesis of various teachings into one 'uber-teaching' delivered in story form by a Tengu. These were demons who lived in remote mountains and had a beak like nose and wings. They were, according to popular folklore, gifted swordsmen and many of the original schools in Japan claim to have had their skills passed to them by one of these strange creatures. Anyhow, there are a number of interesting parables in the book; mostly dedicated to freeing the mind of distraction and acting according to the moment and there are some rather intriguing quotes. As regular readers know, I love a good quote, so here are some to ponder...

"The crow that imitates the cormorant is going to drink a lot of water"

"The long legs of the crane and the short legs of the wild duck are both their own natures"

"Man is a moving being. If he does not move to what is good, he will surely move to what is not"

"When you wait to defend yourself and intend to respond to your opponent's actions, you are withholding action, obstructing yourself on your own, and will be unable to advance a single step."

I'll post more as I read along.....