Jirinden（67）A person who has trained in gōjū (strength and flexibility) does not let their spirit become overly lofty, nor excessively base.
「Kōjū tanren no hito wa sono kikōen ni hasuru koto naku mata kebi ni otsuru koto monashi」（Heishū Jirinden, Vol. III, Kōjūkōge)
・A person who has trained in gōjū (strength and flexibility) does not let their spirit run away into excessive loftiness, nor sink into vulgarity.
In the martial way, if one’s heart is swayed by things and shifts with circumstances like the feelings of women and children, it will be hard to achieve anything.武(The martial way) is the art of kankasokuchi (to carry out boldly and to deal with matters swiftly); without strong courage, one cannot possess the decisiveness to act with resolve.”‘Jū’ (柔,softness, gentleness) means to know the weak points of your own heart, to regard gentleness as something important, to endure with patience, and not to give way to a short temper.‘Gō’ (剛, strength, bravery) means cultivating the strength of one’s own heart, not yielding to things, enduring them, and not acting hastily. Since courage (mental fortitude) tends to give way to cowardice, if one does not train it well, one may shrink back when faced with a situation. That is because that weakness reaches its extreme. Since the heart can be easily led astray, if you train the state of being weak and not being able to do anything to some extent, you won’t be shaken even when faced with an unexpected situation.
A person who has trained in gōjū (剛柔, strength and flexibility) does not let their spirit become overly lofty, nor base and vulgar. They maintain a balanced disposition, able to set aside their weapons to compose poetry, and even in the face of an enemy, they still have the composure to play the koto. This is because that person’s mind is clear: regarding matters that have not yet occurred, they can discern what is likely to come; and because their courage does not shrink, they are able to see what has already happened as the natural and rightful outcome.
Note: The kanji (剛,kō) means “strong” or “brave,” while (柔,jū) means “soft” or “flexible.” (高,kō) means “high” in position, and (下,ge) means “low” in position. Therefore, (剛柔高下,kōjūkōge) refers to “things that are strong and things that are flexible,” as well as “things of high and low refinement (or rank).”
