I once heard that the physician Matsugumasaki-no-Kyöan said, "In the profession of medicine, treatments for men and women are meted out differently in accordance with positive and negative energy (yin-yang). The pulse of man is different to that of a woman. Still, in the past five decades or so, the variance between the pulses between the sexes has become indistinguishable. Since noticing this, I have modified my treatment of eye ailments in men to comply with how I treat women. Male patients show little response to traditional male treatments. I have come to the realisation that manly essence is absent in many of them, and they have become very feminine as a sign of worsening times. "
After hearing this, I realized how true it was; so many men now seem to have the pulse of a woman. There are a few who can be thought of as a real man. This means that one man can surpass others by making just a small effort.
HAGAKURE
