An esteemed Japanese swordsman known for his exceptional martial arts skills and insightful writings, Miyamoto Musashi has inspired people around the world.

His philosophy has offered valuable insights into the art of living a purposeful and fulfilling life.

In this article, you’ll discover the best Miyamoto Musashi quotes I collected from various online sources.

Let them inspire you and guide you toward living an extraordinary life!

10 Greatest Miyamoto Musashi Quotes

1. “In time, all things work to your advantage when you pursue them with an open heart.”  — Miyamoto Musashi

2. “Determine that today you will overcome yourself of the day before, tomorrow you will win over those of lesser skill, and later you will win over those of greater skill.” — Miyamoto Musashi

3. “Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.”  — Miyamoto Musashi

4. “Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” — Miyamoto Musashi

5. “Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.” — Miyamoto Musashi

6. “Get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of Man.” — Miyamoto Musashi

7. “Never accept an inferior position to anyone. It is the strongest spirit that wins, not the most expensive sword.”  — Miyamoto Musashi

8. “Step by step walk the thousand-mile road.” — Miyamoto Musashi

9. “All men are the same except for their belief in their own selves, regardless of what others may think of them.” — Miyamoto Musashi

10. “Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.” — Miyamoto Musashi

Inspiring Quotes By Miyamoto Musashi

1. “Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself or others.” — Miyamoto Musashi

2. “There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”  — Miyamoto Musashi

3. “Do not act following customary beliefs.” — Miyamoto Musashi

4. “Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.” — Miyamoto Musashi

5. “If you wish to control others you must first control yourself.” — Miyamoto Musashi

6. “Anger. Control your anger. If you hold anger toward others, they have control over you. Your opponent can dominate and defeat you if you allow him to get you irritated.” — Miyamoto Musashi

7. “No fear, no hesitation, no surprise, no doubt.”  — Miyamoto Musashi

8. “You should not have any special fondness for a particular weapon, or anything else, for that matter. Too much is the same as not enough. Without imitating anyone else, you should have as much weaponry as suits you.” — Miyamoto Musashi

9. “In all things have no preferences.” — Miyamoto Musashi

10. “Do not let the body be dragged along by mind nor be dragged along by the body.” — Miyamoto Musashi

11. “Do not fear death.” — Miyamoto Musashi

12. “Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.” — Miyamoto Musashi

13. “Do not regret what you have done.” — Miyamoto Musashi

14. “Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men. Become a criminal of purpose. Be put in jail, and extricate yourself by your own wisdom.” — Miyamoto Musashi

15. “You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.”  — Miyamoto Musashi

16. “Be indifferent to where you live.” — Miyamoto Musashi

17. “Do not pursue the taste of good food.” — Miyamoto Musashi

18. “Never fail to have this attitude of mind, go forward without hurry, learn the essence of things through frequent experiences, taking advantage of every occasion.” — Miyamoto Musashi

19. “Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.” — Miyamoto Musashi

20. “Under the sword lifted high, There is hell making you tremble. But go ahead, and you have the land of bliss.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

21. “Understand the harm and benefit of everything.” — Miyamoto Musashi

22. “Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.” — Miyamoto Musashi

23. “Aspire to be like Mt. Fuji, with such a broad and solid foundation that the strongest earthquake cannot move you, and so tall that the greatest enterprises of common men seem insignificant from your lofty perspective. With your mind as high as Mt Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things happening near to you.” — Miyamoto Musashi

24. “Never be jealous.” — Miyamoto Musashi

25. “It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first.” — Miyamoto Musashi

Wise Miyamoto Musashi Quotes

1. “The purpose of today’s training is to defeat yesterday’s understanding.” — Miyamoto Musashi

2. “To know ten thousand things, know one well.” — Miyamoto Musashi

3. “There is no one way to salvation, whatever the manner in which a man may proceed. All forms and variations are governed by the eternal intelligence of the Universe that enables a man to approach perfection.” — Miyamoto Musashi

4. “Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.” — Miyamoto Musashi

5. “It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet.” — Miyamoto Musashi

6. “The principle is ‘strategy by means of the long sword’. If he attains the virtue of the long sword, one man can beat ten men.” — Miyamoto Musashi

7. “If there isn’t discipline, how can there be a true realization of an ideal?” — Miyamoto Musashi

8. “It shows the inferior strategy of a weak spirit that men should be dependent on the length of their sword, fighting from a distance without the benefit of strategy.” — Miyamoto Musashi

9. “The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant.” — Miyamoto Musashi

10. “With your spirit open and unconstricted, look at things from a high point of view… distinguish between good and evil.” — Miyamoto Musashi

11. “Nobody is strong and nobody is weak if he conceives of the body, from the head to the sole of the foot, as a unity in which a living mind circulates everywhere equally.” — Miyamoto Musashi

12. “Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast.” — Miyamoto Musashi

13. “The spirit of my school is to win through the wisdom of strategy, paying no attention to trifles. Study this well.” — Miyamoto Musashi

14. “Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.” — Miyamoto Musashi

15. “Many things can cause a loss of balance. One cause is danger, another is hardship, and another is surprise.” — Miyamoto Musashi

16. “If you are not progressing along the true way, a slight twist in the mind can become a major twist. This must be pondered well.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

17. “Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.” — Miyamoto Musashi

18. “Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things.” — Miyamoto Musashi

19. “Language does not extend to explaining the way in detail, but it can be grasped intuitively.” — Miyamoto Musashi

20. “No man is invincible, and therefore no man can fully understand that which would make him invincible.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

21. “If we look at things objectively, from the viewpoint of laws of the world, we see various doctrines departing from the true Way.” — Miyamoto Musashi

22. “If a man chooses a certain Way and seems to have no particular talent for this Way, he can still become a master if he so chooses. By keeping at a particular form of study a man can attain perfection either in this life or the next (if a next life is believed in).” ― Miyamoto Musashi

23. “It is difficult to realize the true Way just through sword-fencing. Know the smallest things and the biggest things, the shallowest things, and the deepest things.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

24. “What I call the void is where nothing exists. It is about things outside man’s knowledge. Of course, the void does not exist. By knowing what exists, you can know that which does not exist. That is the void.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

25. “You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain.” — Miyamoto Musashi

Life Quotes By Miyamoto Musashi

1. “In fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm.” — Miyamoto Musashi

2. “Whatever your determination or will power, it is foolish to try to change the nature of things. Things work the way they do because that is the way of things.” — Miyamoto Musashi

3. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” — Miyamoto Musashi

4. “The approach to combat and everyday life should be the same.” — Miyamoto Musashi

5. “With your spirit open and unconstricted, look at things from a high point of view.” — Miyamoto Musashi

6. “When in a fight to the death, one wants to employ all one’s weapons to the utmost. I must say that to die with one’s sword still sheathed is most regrettable.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

7. “Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life.” — Miyamoto Musashi

8. “Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.” — Miyamoto Musashi

9. “Immature strategy is the cause of grief”.” ― Musashi Miyamoto

10. “One thousand days of lessons for discipline; ten thousand days of lessons for mastery.” — Miyamoto Musashi

11. “When you have attained the way of strategy there will be nothing that you cannot understand. You will see the way in everything.” — Miyamoto Musashi

12. “Do not waste time idling or thinking after you have set your goals.” — Miyamoto Musashi

13. “If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything.” — Miyamoto Musashi

14. “Do not think dishonestly… Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters. Develop intuitive judgment and understanding for everything. Perceive those things which cannot be seen. Pay attention even to trifles. Do nothing which is of no use.” — Miyamoto Musashi

15. “Really skillful people never get out of time, and are always deliberate, and never appear busy. From this example, the principle can be seen.” — Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi Quotes About Enemy

1. “If the enemy thinks of the mountains, attack like the sea; and if he thinks of the sea, attack like the mountains.” — Miyamoto Musashi

2. “To become the enemy, see yourself as the enemy of the enemy.” — Miyamoto Musashi

3. “When the enemy starts to collapse you must pursue him without letting the chance go. If you fail to take advantage of your enemies’ collapse, they may recover.” — Miyamoto Musashi

4. “You win battles by knowing the enemy’s timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect.” — Miyamoto Musashi

5. “If you do not control the enemy, the enemy will control you.” — Miyamoto Musashi

6. “Be neither insufficiently spirited nor over spirited. An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit.” — Miyamoto Musashi

7. “Everything can collapse. Houses, bodies, and enemies collapse when their rhythm becomes deranged.” — Miyamoto Musashi

8. “In large-scale strategy, it is beneficial to strike at the corners of the enemy’s force. If the corners are overthrown, the spirit of the whole body will be overthrown.” — Miyamoto Musashi

9. “The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy’s useful actions but allow his useless actions.” — Miyamoto Musashi

10. “When your opponent is hurrying recklessly, you must act contrarily and keep calm. You must not be influenced by the opponent.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

11. “When you attack the enemy, your spirit must go to the extent of pulling the stakes out of a wall and using them as spears and halberds.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

12. “In battle, if you make your opponent flinch, you have already won.” — Miyamoto Musashi

13. “The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy’s cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him.” — Miyamoto Musashi

14. “Know your enemy, know his sword.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

15. “When you decide to attack, keep calm and dash in quickly… attack with a feeling of constantly crushing the enemy, from first to last.” — Miyamoto Musashi

Martial Arts Quotes By Miyamoto Musashi

1. “The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them.” — Miyamoto Musashi

2. “There is timing in everything. Timing in strategy cannot be mastered without a great deal of practice.” — Miyamoto Musashi

3. “The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things.” — Miyamoto Musashi

4. “You can only fight the way you practice.” — Miyamoto Musashi

5. “Polish your wisdom: learn public justice, distinguish between good and evil, study the ways of different arts one by one.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

6. “Become acquainted with every art.” — Miyamoto Musashi

7. “A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study.” — Miyamoto Musashi

8. “A bullet from a gun does not make a distinction between practice and combat. You are training to be one and the same way in your life” ― Miyamoto Musashi

9. “In strategy, it is necessary to treat training as part of normal life with your spirit unchanging.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

10. “A thousand days of training to develop, ten thousand days of training to polish. You must examine all this well.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

Read next: 120 Powerful Martial Art Quotes To Inspire & Motivate You

Miyamoto Musashi Quotes About Warrior

1. “The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win.” — Miyamoto Musashi

2. “One must make the warrior walk his everyday walk.” — Miyamoto Musashi

3. “Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior.” — Miyamoto Musashi

4. “It is said the warrior is the twofold Way of pen and sword… Even if a man has no natural ability he can be a warrior by sticking assiduously to both divisions of the Way.” — Miyamoto Musashi

5. “Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death.” — Miyamoto Musashi

6. “As you get the rhythm you discern how to win.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

7. “A warrior has no confusion in his mind… This is true emptiness.” — Miyamoto Musashi

8. “True warriors are fierce because their training is fierce.” — Miyamoto Musashi

9. “Why would you want to appear as one thing and be another? If you are a warrior then you are a warrior and if you are not a warrior then you are not a warrior. The Way of the warrior is the Way of the warrior. To be a warrior, look like a warrior, and stand like a warrior. Do not be false to yourself.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

10. “It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

Final Thoughts

I hope you liked my collection of Miyamoto Musashi quotes.

Let them be a guiding light in creating your own path of mastery in this ever-evolving world!