Chapter 8, Verses 12, 13 and 14 - Sun Tzu

There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: (1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction; (2) cowardice, which leads to capture; (3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; (4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame; (5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble. These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war. When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be a subject of meditation.
~ from The Art of War, Giles translation ~

Go here to read the introductory post to the verses of The Art of War.

It-ness

While standing in line at a local store the other day, an acquaintance remarked, "If I remember correctly, you don't celebrate Christmas, do you?" Before I could say anything, another person I vaguely know turned around to declare, "What do mean? Everybody celebrates the birth of our blessed savior!"

The first person winked at me and replied to the second person, "Ooh, are you in for a big surprise!"

Of course, I explained to person #2 that Christmas IS a Christian holiday and, since I am not a Christian, Christmas doesn't hold much of any meaning for me. After person #2 (let's call her Jane) expressed a bit of consternation, the discussion turned to an explanation of philosophical Taoism and how it is a far different belief system.

Jane: Oh, I get it. Tao is just another name for God.
Me: No. God is viewed by most people as a specific "it."
Jane: God is not an it; God is a he, our heavenly father.
Me: He/she/it -- all the same concept. My point is that it-ness seeks to confine and limit.

Whenever we give an object -- particularly an object of affection -- a name replete with its own personality (set of parameters), it is as if we are trying to keep it in a box. We limit it to a set of emotions and actions that we can readily understand and identify with. If we look at the Judeo-Christian God (it's equally true of Allah) as reported in the Bible, he is as petulant, jealous, petty, inconsistent and revenge-seeking as any person is.

The concept of Tao runs counter to this. We don't seek to define the mysterious way. In fact, we readily admit that any definition places limits on that which is limitless. So, rather than trying to define that which is indefinable, we look to the world around us to see the manifestations and principles that apply to existence. We learn of the ways of Tao by watching how the cosmos actually works.

Are we able to understand it all? Of course not. But we try to apply those parts we do understand -- like harmony, desirelessness and the cyclical pattern of things -- to the way we lead our lives.

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Chapter 8, Verse 11 - Sun Tzu

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
~ from The Art of War, Giles translation ~

Go here to read the introductory post to the verses of The Art of War.

Line by Line - Verse 17, Line 2

In the next age they loved them and praised them.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Then comes that which people know and love.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The next level, people love them and praise them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

The next best leader is obeyed out of love.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

According to Lu Hsi-Sheng (quoted by Red Pine):

The virtuous lords of ancient times initiated no actions and left no traces, hence the people knew they were there and that was all. When their virtue began to fade, they ruled with kindness and justice, and the people loved and praised them.

While love and praise might seem a step up from hate and scorn, it can also be viewed as a step down from allowing life to unfold organically. When desire comes into the picture -- whether it is defined in a positive or negative light -- it has a tendency to go to our heads and this prospect can easily lead to disaster!

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

Chapter 8, Verse 10 - Sun Tzu

Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them; and make trouble for them, and keep them constantly engaged; hold out specious allurements, and make them rush to any given point.
~ from The Art of War, Giles translation ~

Go here to read the introductory post to the verses of The Art of War.

Tracking Santa

Here's an interesting observation connected to the Christmas season. I turned on the TV news last night and one of the stories being reported was one I see every year: NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) is tracking Santa Claus. There even is a website dedicated to this task.

What I can't figure out is that, while our armed forces appear very adept at tracking the specific whereabouts of a mythic figure, why is it that

1. They were never able to apprehend Bin Laden?
2. During 9/11, they couldn't figure how out to track 4 jumbo jets?

Just asking.

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Here are two short clips from the movie, Airplane!.

The Simple Way, Part 17

The Simple Way
The Life & Teachings of Zhouzi
by Scott Bradley

A discouraged monk asked, “ Master, how is it that some are able to quickly vanish into Mystery, while for others it seems forever out of reach? Is it not available to all?”

“This,” replied Zhouzi, “I do not know. Only I know that it does not matter. Thankfulness arises just where you are.”

If you're interested in reading more from this series by Scott Bradley, go here. To check out more of Scott's writings, please visit TRT's shadow blog and look in the Table of Contents in the left sidebar.

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This is a clip from the movie, Catch-22. What is a catch 22? "A situation where one thing must happen in order to cause another thing to happen, but because the first thing does not happen the second thing cannot happen."

Chapter 8, Verses 8 and 9 - Sun Tzu

If our expectation of advantage be tempered in this way, we may succeed in accomplishing the essential part of our schemes. If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.
~ from The Art of War, Giles translation ~

Go here to read the introductory post to the verses of The Art of War.

In Honor of the Tao Bible Series

Courtesy of The Life of Brian (Monty Python, for those of you keeping score at home!)

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There are several different videos of this sketch from Saturday Night Live posted on YouTube. I chose this one because, interestingly enough, there is no video, just the audio. However, since the bit has to do with a National Public Radio program, there wouldn't be any pictures anyway!!

I find it even funnier this way. See if you agree.

Chapter 8, Verses 6 and 7 - Sun Tzu

So, the student of war who is unversed in the art of war of varying his plans, even though he be acquainted with the Five Advantages, will fail to make the best use of his men. Hence in the wise leader's plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together.
~ from The Art of War, Giles translation ~

Go here to read the introductory post to the verses of The Art of War.

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Face it! There will be a lot of Whose Line Is It Anyway clips in this batch. For me, it was one of the funniest shows out there.

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You may have to be of a certain age to get some of these gags.

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Chapter 8, Verses 4 and 5 - Sun Tzu

The general who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops. The general who does not understand these, may be well acquainted with the configuration of the country, yet he will not be able to turn his knowledge to practical account.
~ from The Art of War, Giles translation ~

Go here to read the introductory post to the verses of The Art of War.

The Greatest Gift

Since this IS the proverbial gift giving season in western society, I was thinking about what could be the greatest gift of all. In popular culture, this designation tends to be Peace on Earth and Good Will to All. But how would one give peace?

Peace is not a static nor tangible commodity. It is the result of a complex matrix of interdependent harmony, in the best cases, and a strategic cost-benefit analysis of tolerance, in lesser cases. Peace and good will are the offspring of what the Taoist sages called supreme virtue.

There are many paths to peace. In my estimation, one of these roads is humor. It is very difficult to hate and wish others harm when everybody is laughing their butts off! I would like to think that, if more world leaders and average citizens would spend at least one-half of each day laughing uproariously, there would be a lot less strife in the world.

Over the next two and one-half days, my gift to the readers of this blog will be in the form of some videos that I find funny or hilarious. Of course, I can't guarantee that all of you will share my definition of humor, but in this season of peace and good will, I'm going to give it a try anyway!

Line by Line - Verse 17, Line 1

In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers).
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The very highest if barely known.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The highest rulers, people do not know they have them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When the Masters take charge, hardly anybody notices.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

I alluded to this verse in one of yesterday's posts. An organization runs at its best when people are not consciously aware of the various administrative duties being performed. If a staff member or volunteer has to hunt down crucial resources and material or needs an explanation of how something elementary is done, then the administration is failing the organization!

When I was the paid administrative person for the Pacific Green Party of Oregon, some of the new board members wanted to know what I did to earn my kingly $800/month. At the next board meeting, I handed them 2 pages filled with all the tasks I handled behind the scenes. In what I considered a great compliment, most of these folks just assumed that all these responsibilities were being magically handled on their own. They had no idea that I was the one doing them.

Derek Lin makes much the same point when he writes,

The most skillful rulers work behind the scene. They know how to achieve their objectives quickly and quietly. They use a light touch and produce seamless results.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.