Sheepdog Tip of the Day, Before Combat tip 176
Everything in the samurai lifestyle was about choice and self-control. There is a story told that a young samurai went looking for the man who had assassinated his master. It took the young samurai years to find this man. When he finally did corner the assassin and drew his sword, the cornered man spit into the face of the samurai. The samurai paused, sheathed his sword, and walked away. He did so because if he had killed the assassin, it would have been out of his own personal anger, rather than out of a sense of duty. The story itself may or may not be true, but it is a parable nonetheless that offers some insight into the mind-set of the samurai warrior and the level of self-control that they required of themselves.
Christopher Brennan, The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness
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