🥋Week 2026-36: Kazumi Tabata - Collected Quotes

"Achieving a state devoid of doubt is the essence of martial arts." (Kazumi Tabata, "Secret Tactics: Lessons From the Great Masters of Martial Arts", 2003)

"Train not by thought, but by practice. Learn a wide variety of arts and skills, and do not fix on only one. Know not only your own techniques but also those of many others. Find out rationally what is an advantage and what is a disadvantage. Foster an intuitive ability to judge all things. Feel an essence that you cannot see on the surface. Pay attention to the very smallest of phenomena. (Everything takes its own course, and sometimes we get unexpected results.) Do nothing in vain, for the energy and time we have is limited." (Kazumi Tabata, "Secret Tactics: Lessons From the Great Masters of Martial Arts", 2003)

"When you have had the experience of defeating one or two opponents, you will come to understand what constitutes good and bad in the martial arts. Gradually, with practice and experience in handling opponents [...] you will become able to discern the psychology of your opponents through fighting a variety of different people." (Kazumi Tabata, "Secret Tactics: Lessons From the Great Masters of Martial Arts", 2003)

"Fill yourself with a flow of energy (ki). Set off your waza with momentum and overwhelm the opponent. There is only a single chance to beat him. Any initiative waza should come from you decisively. Use all your energy when you move offensively and defensively. When not moving offensively or defensively, conserve your energy." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"In terms of the martial arts, there are two training methods: one focuses on the rational aspect of training while the other emphasizes the technical aspect. The martial arts owe its origin to people’s attempts to rationally unify the mind, body, and skill. In the martial arts, truth will reveal itself once your mind gains insight into the empty nature of the world and your body masters and perfects physical techniques." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"Mental disease is to stick to a certain idea. Mental disease is to freeze on certain things or victory. The mind can work freely, if one has enough room to be able to hear the sound of wind and water. One can control one’s mind by releasing it. When one removes the source of thoughts, one’s mind starts to be free from all thoughts. Master the road of experts who remove thoughts by gaining other thoughts." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"Mind and technique correspond to each other. When one’s body is active, the mind is at peace. When one’s body is at peace, the mind is active. Keeping physical and spiritual balance is fundamental in a fight." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"Nature is dominated by yin and yang. There are positive and negative forces, and good and evil on this planet. Great achievements are always followed by failures of the similar magnitude. Do not let your guard down in times of happiness. Life requires mental strength that enables one to cope calmly with unfortunately events. Always be prepared for something bad to happen." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"One can become a master through experience and by practicing and learning tactics." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"One who is learning should be passionate and serious. One must build upon the skills one has learned in practice. One must acquire continuous courage to master dori (the way of things)." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"Satori is achieved when one’s mind connects to the mind of the universe. When one’s mind connects to the mind of the universe, one comes to be able to understand reason of nature without being taught. When one’s mind connects to the mind of the universe, one comes to bear supernatural power. Buddha described the supernatural world as ku (knowing the void)." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"The meaning of tanren (discipline, training) lies in the effort to burn out the energy of one’s mind and body with burning flames. Tanren requires mental integration and concentration that lead to the deep root." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"The most sophisticated defense prevents the opponent’s offense beforehand and doesn’t let him touch you. It is a very positive way of handling the fight. You are always ready to attack back." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"There are essentially two paths to enlightenment. One path is art and the other path is religion. The two paths are closely interrelated." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"There is a close connection between breathing and mind. When breathing is disturbed, one’s mind is disturbed. When mind is disturbed, one’s breathing is disturbed." (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

"Through training, one reaches the state of mindlessness. Only then, will one be able to discard the thoughts of anxiety, the opponent’s technique and defenses. Being in the state of mindlessness means to entrust one’s mind and body to the universe."Through training, one reaches the state of mindlessness. Only then, will one be able to discard the thoughts of anxiety, the opponent’s technique and defenses. Being in the state of mindlessness means to entrust one’s mind and body to the universe."  (Kazumi Tabata, "Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts", 2010)

🅿Week 2026-35: On Perception

“In the same way as regards the soul, when that kind of thing in us which mirrors the images of thought and intellect is undisturbed, we see them and know them in a way parallel to sense-perception, along with the prior knowledge that it is intellect and thought that are active. But when this is broken because the harmony of the body is upset, thought and intellect operate without an image, and then intellectual activity takes place without a mind-picture.” (Plotinus, “Enneads”, cca. 270 AD)

"[...] so external sensation is the image of this perception of the soul, which is in its essence truer and is a contemplation of forms alone without being affected. From these forms, from which the soul alone receives its lordship over the living being, come reasonings, and opinions and noetic acts; and this is precisely where ‘we’ are." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations". cca. 121–180 AD)

"Oh! Son of Sari! Forms of object as perceived by our mind is no different from emptiness, (and) emptiness is no different from form. Forms perceived are virtual. Virtuality is the reality of forms perceived. Such are the processing of the stimulus of perception, the mental image of the object perceived, the mental activities of analysing this object of perception and the forming of mental conception of this object." ("Heart Sutra", cca. 7th c.) [Akishi’s translation]

"What we call the Treasury of Luminosity is the source of all Buddhas, the true nature of all beings, the Total Body of all things, the treasury of the Radiance of subtle perceptions and complete Awakening. The three bodies of the Buddhas, the four wisdoms, and the practice of each particle containing the infinite particles of Totality are all found here." (Koun Ejo, "Kōmyōzō zanmai" ["The Practice of the Treasury of Luminosity"], cca 13th century)

"All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions." (Leonardo da Vinci, [notebooks] 1480-1519)

"To attain the Way of strategy as a warrior you must study fully other martial arts and not deviate even a little from the Way of the warrior. With your spirit settled, accumulate practice day by day, and hour by hour. Polish the twofold spirit heart and mind, and sharpen the twofold gaze perception and sight. When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear away, there is the true void." (Miyamoto Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho" ["The Book of Five Rings"], 1645)

"Once we give serious consideration to the hypothesis of the unconscious, it follows that our view of the world can be but a provisional one; for if we effect so radical an alteration in the subject of perception and cognition as this dual focus implies, the result must be a world view very different from any known before." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"This is the awe-inspiring universe of magic: There are no atoms, only waves and motions all around. Here, you discard all belief in barriers to understanding. You put aside understanding itself. This universe cannot be seen, cannot be heard, cannot be detected in any way by fixed perceptions. It is the ultimate void where no preordained screens occur upon which forms may be projected. You have only one awareness here - the screen of the magi: Imagination! Here, you learn what it is to be human. You are a creator of order, of beautiful shapes and systems, an organizer of chaos." (Frank Herbert, “Heretics of Dune”, 1984)

"The third point of reference is freedom of perception; it is intent; it is spirit; the somersault of thought into the miraculous; the act of reaching beyond our boundaries and touching the inconceivable." (Carlos Castaneda, "Power of Silence", 1987) 

"Any single person's viewpoint will have blind spots caused by their habitual ways of perceiving the world, their perceptual filters [...] How can we shift our perceptions to get outside our own limited world view?" (Joseph O'Connor & John Seymour, "Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People", 1990)

"A problem is a difference between things as desired and things as perceived. […] Seen in this way, the problem could be solved either by changing desires or changing perceptions." (Donald C Gause & Gerald M Weinberg, "Are Your Lights On?", 2011)

"To strengthen the connection between your conscious mind and your subconscious mind is to gain access to a map and compass to help you move towards your dream. To gain access to the subconscious mind is to gain the ability to see and create the future, the ability to shift the present, and the ability to alter your own perceptions of the past." (Kevin Michel, "Moving Through Parallel Worlds to Achieve Your Dreams", 2013)

🅿Week 2026-34: On Perception (Unsourced)

"Even if you have not awakened, if you realize that your perceptions and activities are all like dreams and you view them with detachment, not giving rise to grasping and rejecting discrimination, then this is virtually tantamount to awakening from the dream." (Muso Soseki)

"If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern." (William Blake)

"If sensation is considered to be perception through one's senses, then intuition can be considered perception through the unconscious." (Ninpö saying)

"In every act of perception we create the world," (Deepak Chopra)

"Let the spirit out - Discard all thoughts of reward, all hopes of praise and fears of blame, all awareness of one's bodily self. And, finally closing the avenues of sense perception, let the spirit out, as it will." (Bruce Lee)

"Looking deeply into the wrong perceptions, ideas, and notions that are at the base of our suffering is the most important practice in Buddhist meditation." (Thich Nhat Hanh)

"Real meditation is spontaneous. It is pure welcoming, because there is no choosing of whatever appears in the field of consciousness. There is no selection. There is only choiceless allowing, be it of external perceptions, feelings, bodily sensations, thoughts, or their absence. Everything is equally allowed to come into existence, not as a practice, but because the mind has understood its own limitations. That is all the truth-seeker needs to do. No further spiritual practice needs to be undertaken." (Francis Lucille)

"The transformation of consciousness undertaken in Taoism and Zen is more like the correction of faulty perception or the curing of a disease. It is not an acquisitive process of learning more and more facts or greater and greater skills, but rather than unlearning of wrong habits and opinions. As Lao-tzu said, ‘The scholar gains every day, but the Taoist loses every day.'" (Alan Watts)

"The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered his real nature, how can there be anywhere or anything separate from it? [...] Therefore it is said: 'The perception of a phenomenon IS the perception of the Universal Nature, since phenomena and Mind are one and the same.'" (Huangbo Xiyun)

"To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in somebody else. Rather than speaking badly about people and in ways that will produce friction and unrest in their lives, we should practice a purer perception of them, and when we speak of others, speak of their good qualities." (Dalai Lama)"

"We can control our lives by controlling our perceptions." (Bruce H. Lipton)

🆂Week 2026-33: On Soul

"Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." (Pythagoras of Samos, cca. 6th century BC)

"The peace of God is with them whose mind and soul are in harmony, who are free from desire and wrath, who know their own soul." (Bhagavad Gita, cca 5th century BC)

"The soul that moves in the world of senses and yet keeps the senses in harmony ... finds rest in quietness." (Bhagavad Gita, cca 5th century BC)

“In the same way as regards the soul, when that kind of thing in us which mirrors the images of thought and intellect is undisturbed, we see them and know them in a way parallel to sense-perception, along with the prior knowledge that it is intellect and thought that are active. But when this is broken because the harmony of the body is upset, thought and intellect operate without an image, and then intellectual activity takes place without a mind-picture.” (Plotinus, “Enneads”, cca. 270 AD)

"[...] so external sensation is the image of this perception of the soul, which is in its essence truer and is a contemplation of forms alone without being affected. From these forms, from which the soul alone receives its lordship over the living being, come reasonings, and opinions and noetic acts; and this is precisely where ‘we’ are." (Plotinus, "Enneads", cca. 270 AD)

"Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web." (Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations". cca. 121–180 AD)

"When knowledge reaches the specific natures and what is accidental to them, inquiry stops and is not followed by the fleeting knowledge of individuals to which our souls are not at all inclined." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina], "The Physics of The Healing", cca. 1014)

"Prayer is that which enables the soul to realize its divinity. Through prayer human beings worship absolute truth, and seek an eternal reward. Prayer is the foundation-stone of religion; and religion is the means by which the soul is purified of all that pollutes it. Prayer is the worship of the first cause of all things, the supreme ruler of all the world, the source of all strength. Prayer is the adoration of the one whose being is necessary." (Avicenna Latinus [Ibn Sina], "Kitab al-Najat", cca. 1021–1027)

"All men strive and hope for nothing other than eternal life in their human nature. For this they instituted purgations of souls and sacred rites, in order to be better adapted in their nature to that eternal life." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "De Pace Fidei" ["The Peace of Faith"], 1453)

"Within itself the soul sees all things more truly than as they exist in different things outside itself. And the more it goes out unto other things in order to know them, the more it enters into itself in order to know itself." (Nicholas of Cusa [Nicolaus Cusanus], "On Equality", 1459)

"Education is the leading human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them [...]" (John Ruskin, "The Stones of Venice", 1853)

"The soul does not give itself up to despair until it has exhausted all illusions." (Victor Hugo, "Les Misérables", 1862)

"The strangest of the soul's experiences is this, that it finds, when it ceases to care for the image and threat of troubles, then the troubles themselves are nowhere to be found in one's neighbourhood. It is then that we hear from behind those unreal clouds God laughing at us." (Sri Aurobindo, "Thoughts and Aphorisms", 1913)

"Transform effort into an easy and sovereign overflowing of the soul-strength; let all thyself be conscious force. This is thy goal." (Sri Aurobindo, "Thoughts and Glimpses", 1916-17)

"The weakness of a soul is proportionate to the number of truths that must be kept from it." (Eric Hoffer, "The Passionate State of Mind", 1955)

"Language, in its origin and essence, is simply a system of signs or symbols that denote real occurrences or their echo in the human soul." (Carl G Jung, "The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche", 1960)

"You'll be able to gain insight and reach a conclusion only by applying the powers of mind, intellect, soul, heart, spirit, and imagination. This is what 'looking at something spiritually' really means." (Rudolf Steiner, "Bees", 1982)

"Nothing from outside can stop a man from enjoying lasting peace and permanent joy in life, for it is the essential nature of his own soul." (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, "Thirty Years Around the World: 1957-1964", 1986)

"Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive. and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us." (Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist", 1988)

"So trust the process of your life unfolding, and know with certainty, through the peaks and valleys of your journey, that your soul rests safe and secure in the arms of God." (Dan Millman, "The Laws of Spirit: Simple, Powerful Truths for Making Life Work", 1995)

"Excessive caution destroys the soul and the heart, because living is an act of courage, and an act of courage is always an act of love." (Paulo Coelho, "Manuscript Found in Accra", 2012)

really live [...] .These are the only hours that absorb the soul and fill it with beauty. This is real life, and all else is illusion, or mere endurance." (Richard Jefferies)

"The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone." (Goethe)

"To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness." (Confucius)

"Zen purposes to discipline the mind itself, to make it its own master, through an insight into its proper nature. This getting into the real nature of one's own mind or soul is the fundamental object of Zen Buddhism. Zen, therefore, is more than meditation and Dhyana in its ordinary sense. The discipline of Zen consists in opening the mental eye in order to look into the very reason of existence." (Daisetsu T Suzuki)

🅿Week 2026-32: On Projection

"When you think of God, your God is the projection of your own thought, the result of social influences. You can think only of the known; you cannot think of the unknown, you cannot concentrate on truth." (Jiddu Krishnamurti, "First Talk in Rajahmundry" 1949)

"By means of microscopic observation and astronomical projection the lotus flower can become the foundation for an entire theory of the universe and an agent whereby we may perceive the Truth." (Yukio Mishima, "The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love" in Death in Midsummer, and Other Stories", 1966)

"All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading Vishnu, whose nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold." (Adi Shankara, "Atma Bodha", 1987)

"Everything is a projection of our mind! We can decide how we want to be. It is all in the mind. With the help of our mind, we have stopped the flow of bliss from within. That is the truth." (Nithyananda) 

"The world is a projection of your mind. Good mind, good world. Bad mind, bad world. No mind, no world." (Swami Parthasarathy)

"There are two aspects of mind; the appearances and its essence. Most people are lost in the appearances and projections without ever knowing the true nature of their experiences. Meditation is recognizing and bringing the mind home to its essence of clarity and peace." (Sogyal Rinpoche)

"What is called mind is a wondrous power existing in Self. It projects all thoughts. If we set aside all thoughts and see, there will be no such thing as mind remaining separate; therefore, thought itself is the form of the mind. Other than thoughts, there is no such thing as the mind." (Ramana Maharshi, "Nan Yar = Who am I?") 

🆂Week 2026-31: On Soul (unsourced)

"All real education is the architecture of the soul." (William Bennett)

"Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul." (Bruce Lee)

"Aspirations must be pure and free of selfishness. Arising from the depths of the soul, aspirations are spiritual demands penetrating all of a human life and making it possible for a person to die for their sake. A person without aspirations is like a ship without a rudder or a horse without a bridle. Aspirations give consistent order to life." (Mas Oyama)

"Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy - by one, or more, or all of these - and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details." (Swami Vivekananda)

"Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another." (Gilbert K Chesterton)

"Equipped with qualities, a doer of works and creator of their consequences, he reaps the result of his actions; he is the ruler of the life and he moves in his journey according to his own acts: he has idea and ego and is to be known by the qualities of his intelligence and his quality of self. Smaller than the hundredth part of the tip of a hair, the soul of the living being is capable of infinity. Male is he not nor female nor neuter, but is joined to whatever body he takes as his own." (Swetaswatara Upanishad)

"Happiness is an expression of the soul in considered actions." (Aristotle)

"Into a soul absolutely free from thoughts and emotion, even the tiger finds no room to insert its fierce claws." (Bruce Lee)

"It is only through meditation that we can get lasting peace, divine peace. If we meditate soulfully in the morning and receive peace for only one minute, that one minute of peace will permeate our whole day. And when we have a meditation of the highest order, then we really get abiding peace, light and delight. We need meditation because we want to grow in light and fulfill ourselves in light. If this is our aspiration, if this is our thirst, then meditation is the only way." (Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose)

"It is necessary for us to withdraw at regular intervals and enable our souls to attain that quietude and inward composure which are essential if we would hear the voice of God." (Ole Hallesby)

"Judo is the way to the most effective use of both physical and spiritual strength. By training you in attacks and defenses it refines your body and your soul and helps you make the spiritual essence of Judo a part of your very being. In this way you are able to perfect yourself and contribute something of value to the world. This is the final goal of Judo discipline." (Jigoro Kano)

"Just as the human soul takes leave of the body... one can truly see in the flying swarm an image of the departing human soul." (Rudolf Steiner)

"Mind is action of its own nature. Mind-activity means creation. The thought is followed by the word, and the word by the form. All of this creating will have to stop, both mental and physical, before the mind can reflect the soul." (Swami Vivekananda)

"Next to spiritual comes intellectual help; the gift of knowledge is a far higher gift... because the real life of man consists of knowledge; ignorance is death, knowledge is life." (Swami Vivekananda)

"No knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a we "know," should-in strict psychological language-be what we "discover" or "unveil." What we "learn" is really what we "discover" by taking the cover off our own soul, which is the mirror of infinite knowledge." (Swami Vivekananda)

"Reality is a rich tapestry of interwoven levels, reaching from matter to body to mind to soul to spirit." (Ken Wilber)

"So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants." (Lao Tzu)

"The hours when we are absorbed by beauty are the only hours when we 

🇮Week 2026-30: On Intellect

“In the same way as regards the soul, when that kind of thing in us which mirrors the images of thought and intellect is undisturbed, we see them and know them in a way parallel to sense-perception, along with the prior knowledge that it is intellect and thought that are active. But when this is broken because the harmony of the body is upset, thought and intellect operate without an image, and then intellectual activity takes place without a mind-picture.” (Plotinus, “Enneads”, cca. 270 AD)

"Do not be pulled around by states of mind or objects. Do not rely on intellectual knowledge. Don't show in your hands what you receive on your seat in the Monks' Hall. Just throw body and mind into the Great Treasury of Luminosity and don't look back." (Koun Ejo, "Komyozo-Zanmai" ["Samadhi of the Treasury of the Radiant Light", 13th century)

"Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating." (Carl von Clausewitz, "On War", 1832)

"It should be noted that the seeds of wisdom that are to bear fruit in the intellect are sown less by critical studies and learned monographs than by insights, broad impressions, and flashes of intuition." (Carl von Clausewitz, "On War", 1832)

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. " (Carl G Jung, "Psychological types: or, The psychology of individuation", 1926)

"The more a man thinks the better adapted he becomes to thinking, and education is nothing if it is not the methodical creation of the habit of thinking. Precisely. Theoretically, education is a mental training aiming at greater intellectual elasticity, but the question is whether education does not often strain, instead of train, a mind." (Ernest Dimnet, "The Art of Thinking", 1928)

"The fundamental idea of Buddhism is to pass beyond the world of opposites, a world built up by intellectual distinctions and emotional defilements, and to realize the spiritual world of non-distinction, which involves achieving an absolute point of view."(Daisetzu T Suzuki, "The Essence of Buddhism", 1947)

"You'll be able to gain insight and reach a conclusion only by applying the powers of mind, intellect, soul, heart, spirit, and imagination. This is what 'looking at something spiritually' really means." (Rudolf Steiner, "Bees", 1982)

"The three most difficult things for a human being are not physical feats or intellectual achievements. They are, first, returning love for hate; second, including the excluded; third, admitting that you are wrong." (Anthony de Mello, "Awareness: Conversations with the Masters", 1990)