Reply to the Art of War
This post references the time of August 15th when it was originally was posted.Thank you to Punctual for posting, this reader has enjoyed what has been posted so far, much more to read. The Art of War is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.
1. the Moral Law
2. Heaven
3. Earth
4. The Commander
5. Method and Discipline
1. The Moral law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler so that they will follow him regardless of their lives undismayed by any danger. From this writer’s perspective, moral law is a binding contract that leaves a person no choice to have freedom of movement or thought by his or her own thought process of right or wrong. To only follow, to be unafraid of danger when only following would lead this writer, possibly to their own demise because to make true and pure movements of faith in battle; this has to come from one’s own freedom of thought. To achieve faith at the table or in life; the writer cannot be bound by a contract from a moral law of the ethical.
2. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. The writer is working on faith at the table, Heaven would symbolize true faith and the journey to heaven has not yet been achieved. To think of moving into faith would mean they have left the ethical, and this writer would have made steps to go beyond the knight of resignation from the finite of the impossible to the infinite of thought and movement at the table from achieving faith. Achieving this faith would allow this writer to think beyond any earthly thought, to go beyond tomorrow, or beyond the universe, or to go back to yesterday; meaning the writer goes beyond one’s self and is no more or no less than himself at any one point in time. This would only cease to exist if the writer ceased to exist. Now the writer would never fall short of one’s own possibility in life or at the table. The true existence of being “for itself” would be achieved, instead of being “in itself” because being “in itself” is just like a rock no more or no less it is just a rock and never changes; this writer does not want to be a rock at the table that can be kicked around.
3. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death. Earth represents the battles at the table the writer must go through on a journey towards what he seeks that is beyond the earth he is bound to. Going through these battles the writer has many crossroads to consider. Hoping he will not turn back or choose the wrong path; then only to fall into despair from the battles that bear the scars of the journey. Turning around or choosing the wrong path could lead the writer into the abyss, if this writer stares to long into the abyss; this could rob the writer the pure thought and movement to pick the proper path back to faith. The writer’s game goes through many journeys and to stay on the right path is a constant challenge.
4. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. To understand the story, so far, then understand one person is the one army of battle. The necessary experience must have been gained to have achieved what is represented by the definition of “The Commander”. Battles won at the table have translated to skill of play that will lead the confident commander into future battles. Instinct and mental fortitude will lead the commander to make the proper plays against their opponents. Thus, at some point the commander has stopped being reactive at the table to being active with their play; meaning the commander is thinking on more levels than any opponent he will face. This also can be observed as the movements in battle have come from pure thought gained from experience that lets the commander make the proper play at the table without thought of making a mistake; thus, faith of pure play at the table is achieved. Trusting one’s self will let skill take over in battle when the decisions are the toughest. Do not allow the opponent take this from the commander. Do not fall into the trap and play the opponent’s game, play the commander’s game; after all the commander is better at the game than any of their opponents.
5. By Method and Discipline are to be understood the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which suppliers may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure. The final battle to link this term to the writers thought process is challenging to say the least. Understanding these concepts to relate to one person and this person is still just an army of one and not an army of many people that have one commander because it is just one person leading chips into battle. The chips are just vessels of pure movement that is an extension of one person’s thoughts that are moving forward to the center of the table. The chips have no moral value. The value of the chips is the writer’s representation of the story being told at the table. Thus, if the writer
tells a good story and can read a good story; the writer then has no trail in which to be tracked and their play has successfully been disguised. For example, in
bluffing when the writer does not tell the story properly then the
bluff did not work leaving them with either having to make the best hand or fold. When the writer reads a good story then the proper play can be made even if this means folding and only paying the minimum. However, the chips of the writer hold more value than that of their opponents. Meaning the writer wants to accumulate chips and not give them back, and not necessarily take people out of the tournament.
Lastly, to disguise a strategy or any play at any given time; the element of surprise of a polarized play leaves the opponent to be constantly guessing against the writer for a time of which the writer has opportunity to take advantage of the opponent. This will lead the opponent into no pure movement of survival. Out thinking an opponent or just wounding them over and over is just as effective as taking them out. The mental anguish of a wounded opponent that is mentally beaten from thought also leads to having control over the tougher opponents at the table the writer will have to battle later. Being disguised by who the writer actually is at the table will let the pure movements of play be untraceable to their opponents that should lead a weary opponent into despair or failure. Whether the writer plays within the ethical or the religious he understands that at any given time and place at the table; the sheep sometimes will slay the butcher and this is the reality in which the writer lives. To underestimate an opponent the writer then would be forfeiting their faith.