...Mr. Huaizhong says that a certain gentleman from Japan believes that all Eastern thought is unsuited to practical life. Truly, these are his words. In my opinion, Western thought is not necessarily all correct either; many of its parts ought to be reformed at the same time as Eastern thought. Today, people movingly teach their sons and disciples that they should establish a will, and also say that a certain gentleman has a will. This is the most incomprehensible thing. A will is what we call the direction of our mind, determined by illuminating it with the truth of the universe that I have perceived. What people today call "establishing a will," such as having the will to be a military strategist or the will to be an educator, is to see the deeds of their predecessors and the actions of their contemporaries, envy their success, and blindly take it as their own will. This arises from a kind of imitativeness. One who truly wishes to establish a will cannot do so with such ease. One must first study philosophy and ethics, take the truth one has obtained and uphold it as the standard for one's own words and actions, and establish it as the target for the road ahead.

Then, one selects those affairs that conform to this target and strives to do them with all one's might, taking them as the means of attainment. Only then can it be said that one has a will. A will such as this is a true will, and not a will of blind obedience. What was initially called "establishing a will" can only be called a propensity for seeking goodness, or a propensity for seeking truth and seeking beauty; it is but a kind of impulse, not a genuine will. Is it evident that this will is easy to establish? If one has not obtained the truth in ten years, then for ten years one has no will. If one does not obtain it in a lifetime, then for a lifetime one has no will. This is also why learning is valued in youth. ...