# The Patience of Tokugawa Ieyasu



## The Vizier

Tokugawa Ieyasu was famous for his patience. His patience was so great that he persisted at his goal to unite Japan until he achieved it at the age of 60. In the process, he survived all his fearsome rivals by waiting for the right moment to seize power. It is for his great patience and strength to bear great hardship that makes him one of my heroes. What was the secret of his incredible patience? In the quote that follows, Tokugawa reveals the secret to his descendants. 

*Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Quote on Patience*

_"The strong manly ones in life are those who understand the meaning of the word patience. Patience means restraining one's inclinations. There are seven emotions: joy, anger, anxiety, adoration, grief, fear, and hate, and if a man does not give way to these he can be called patient. I am not as strong as I might be, but I have long known and practiced patience. And if my descendants wish to be as I am, they must study patience."_

*Tokugawa’s Definition of Patience*

To Tokugawa, patience was not merely waiting. It was an act of endurance and self-control in the face of great hardship. It meant pressing on despite the odds to reach his goals no matter how long it took. No amount of strain, provocation, difficulties or setbacks would derail him from his path. Step by step, he would reach his goal. While most people think of patience in terms of hours, days or months, Tokugawa viewed patience in terms of decades. 

*The Secret of Tokugawa’s Patience*

The secret to Tokugawa’s patience was his control over his feelings. This does not mean that he didn’t feel any emotion at all. He was just very good at controlling what he felt. The reason Tokugawa could restrain his feelings was due to his goal of uniting Japan. This was his number one priority. Everything else came second to it. If an action or emotion did not further his goal, Tokugawa set it aside. With this clarity of purpose, it was not too hard for him to restrain his feelings when the need arose. 

In order to be patient, you need to restrain your emotions. To do so it helps to have clarity of vision and purpose. This makes it easier for you to restrain your emotional impulses because you know why you must do so. 

*How Emotions Affects Patience*

It was Tokugawa’s goal to unite Japan to bring peace to the land. This was not something that he could do overnight since there were many rival warlords he had to beat. To do so, he needed patience and the help of his followers to carry out his will through war. In war, there was no place for emotions like anger or hate which could lead to recklessness and mistakes. With the lives of his soldiers at stake, Tokugawa had to restrain his emotions. He had to wait patiently for the right moment to make his next move. 

Your emotions affect your objectivity and patience. When your emotions are in turmoil, you lose sight of the big picture and make choices that are rarely in your best interests. In the worst case scenario, you could end up making the wrong choice at the wrong time when the odds are against you. The result is rash actions and mistakes that cause needless problems and regret. A good example would be anger. When you are in a rage, you are likelier to say or do something that leads to regret. You are also less likely to be patient. But if there was a goal at stake, it would remind you to check your anger for the greater good. 

*The Struggle Behind Tokugawa’s Patience*

Tokugawa had feelings. Despite his control over his emotions, he still felt them keenly. He loved his friends and valued his retainers. Before the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa found himself pursued by enemy troops who had greater numbers. If he fell, his dream would fall with him. In order to help him escape, his childhood friend, Torii Mototada, chose to stay behind to hold the enemy off. It was a suicide mission and both men knew it as they parted sadly. Due to Torii’s sacrifice, Tokugawa managed to escape to safety. Despite knowing that Torii would surely die, Tokugawa clung on to hope that his friend would survive somehow. The news that confirmed Torii’s death grieved him deeply. Tokugawa did not and could not renounce his feelings, but he had to keep them in check to unite Japan. That was the price of his ambition and patience. 

I admire Tokugawa’s self-control because he had feelings. Had Tokugawa renounced all emotion, there would be no self-control to speak of. Instead it is harder to have feelings and to keep them in check. I believe that he used his goal of uniting Japan to keep his feelings in line. It was only by focusing on the bigger picture that Tokugawa could carry out his plans with ruthless efficiency. So if you want to be patient like Tokugawa to endure the challenges you face, you need a clear purpose. Your purpose will help you to be patient and to keep your feelings in check. 

*Taking Action*

Tokugawa was not born patient. When he was younger, he made some rash decisions which cost him dearly. But he soon realized the need for patience and control over his feelings. Through force of habit and clarity of purpose, he learned to restrain his emotions. Thus with a clear purpose and continued practice, you too can become as patient as Tokugawa to achieve your goals.


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## Female INFJ

*The Vizier* - this entry actually relates exactly to what I am going through right now. Actually yesterday, at my bi-weekly spiritual meeting, seekers are now evaluating our current goals, and using that goal to create kind of a direction on our spiritual path. Because in spirituality the topics of interest are limitless, and at times having one major final goal is too vague to follow, when a person may have for example an idea of Liberation of the Soul, but really have no concept of it in the early stages of spiritual practice, so it is not really motivating in the beginning stages. 

I had to hold off on sharing my goals, well because they are not yet defined, and my mind and heart was ruffled to the core, from last weekend (what happened when I faced the attack from that man I was referred to). I now feel stronger, so I am ready to look at this topic here, of Tokugawa and patience. 

I think I have confused patience with tolerance. Perhaps they are related. I am quite tolerant, and somewhat patient, but I see after reading this, and reflecting on the emotions: There are seven emotions: joy, anger, anxiety, adoration, grief, fear, and hate. I see that I am somewhat lacking in patience.

Growing up, I had many a history teacher, interested in weapons and war. I kind of wasn't interested, but I think on some level I deeply was, just not sure how to show it. Strategy, and war kind of interests me. Not just epic love stories! tee hee

My sister is quite a strategic person, she has this mark on her palm, and...well did you know, I'm sure you know that Cancerian persons are quite keen with strategy, and well she is a Capricorn also, somehow the combination has made her quite a powerful person. We are an odd classic pair, she is materially powerful, I am spiritually powerful, like twins or something. I don't know how this has come to happen. Maybe we'll take a look at this another time.

Well this aside, my point is I like your topics that you share  

Well these things stood out for me:

*Clarity of vision and purpose* - I have to come up with a clear vision and focus on it. I have an idea, I am now contemplating if it is the best direction for me. But I am also trying to Do more and Think less too. I am being cautious because I can really fully direct a lot of myself into things, and I don't want to be in the wrong direction. Once my mind is made up I can be pretty persistent.

*Tenacity* - an INFJ called me tenacious once, do you find this to be true. I don't know why she saw this, I think she was reading about a lot of my experiences, that I plainly don't keep secret on here. And somehow she was inspired. I never thought of this, I was curious as to what you think. But with that issue of processes we discussed, I will admit, I can start something and discontinue it easily. But at times I do also take the finishing of a project as seriously as the beginning of it, and my results are often good, if I put my mind to it. I am just curious of your assessment, if I need a lot more work in this area. I think I do.

*Emotions *- I think I kind of can have the INTJ thing sometimes. In different circumstances, I can seem incredibly cold, if a person is directly attacking me, or when dealing with persons that aren't that kind. I described by the lady that was not being nice to my family as being heartless, well duh, you are attacking me! (at the level of mind) 

But in situations where I am closely related to someone, say family, where I long for their love and approval, I can get quite emotional. In another thread, I mentioned the stages of mind. I feel I am still definitely in that stage, where I am calm on my own, but particular external issues upset my calm waters. I have become concerned about regression though, because it seems like there could be a lot still stirring, unsettled inside me. 

Does a person go through phases with Patience for example. Where they thought they were, and then they realize they have to work on it again. Because now after reading about patience in this entry, I see I am lacking. I mean this in a good way, I'm more positive tonight for sure 

Or maybe this isn't a phase. I am perhaps progressing (going deeper inside of myself) and it looks like more darkness, when in fact I am maybe just facing a new level of challenge. Could this be. hmm.


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