"The strategies of war are not understood, and therefore you will study Sun Tzu and The Art of War. You will come to understand that every sign of weakness is turning over to the enemy additional ground . . . and you may take a lesson from the Israelis in the control of laggard evolutions bent on moving against the Light.

"The spine and the stalk of the lotus must be raised! Thus, we chant the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM! It is the raising up of the sacred fire of the spine and the heart that would give this nation the courage—the coming of age of the heart—to meet the enemy.

"And therefore, ladies and gentlemen and sons and daughters of Light, Keepers of the Flame, I appeal to you. If this will not be done by the leaders and the combined forces of the West, then we must look once again to Keepers of the Flame worldwide.

"And you must understand that the only way left to us to defeat World Communism is from the Within, by the power of the Kuan Yin secret rays from the heart of Cosmos and the Buddha, by the power of Light and the dynamic decree—the relentless moving against these forces day by day from the earliest decrees in the morning—to remove the cause and core of these forces and networks of Communism imitating the antahkarana of Life with a web of darkness to capture, hypnotize, manipulate souls and minds and bodies. All are considered fodder for the revolution. There is nothing sacred, and their smiles are deceptive and self-serving. [highlighted by webmaster]

"Beloved hearts, it is treacherous indeed, for I tell you, the capacity to misuse power and to engage in acts of cruelty by Red China is far greater than that of the Soviet Union by the very race, by the very ancestry of these individuals. And if they had the same power and development of technology, wealth, and organization as the Soviet Union today, I tell you, they would not hesitate to move and take on the entire world. Thus, you understand somewhat the forces of prophecy and realize that an amalgamation of Red China and the Arab nations against Europe is not out of the question and can be seen as a serious consideration by the powers of darkness."

"Read The Art of War by Sun Tzu and other books on strategies of war. [highlighted by webmaster] Read about how the Allies fought and won in Russia and Europe but came home from Korea and Viet Nam far short of total victory. Take note of the pride and intrigue of high-ranking officers and people in high levels of government, including President Lyndon Johnson.

"Fighting these no-win wars resulted in a great loss of life. So see it, beloved. So understand it. There is either the victory that comes because all are determined and know that they will have the victory come what may, or else there are those who are so halfhearted that if they could, they would even give away slices of this nation."

" . . . Soviet leaders are students of the great Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu taught that deception is the essence of strategy. The target of the strategist is the mind of the opposing general. The object of strategy is to defeat the enemy without fighting and, if fighting is necessary, to create the conditions whereby victory is assured before the war begins.

?Thus, Sun Tzu taught that when a nation is strong it should attempt to appear weak. He wrote: “When capable, feign incapacity . . . .Offer the enemy a bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him . . . Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”

"James Jesus Angleton, former head of CIA counter-intelligence, encapsulated some of Sun Tzu’s ideas in the maxim 'Hide order behind a cloak of disorder.' That is just what the Soviets are doing today. They are using their real weaknesses to hide their real strengths." [highlighted by webmaster]

Sun Tzu [circa 400-320 B.C.] was a native of the Ch`i State. The surname "Sun" was bestowed on Sun Tzu's grandfather by Duke Ching of Ch`i [547-490 B.C.]. Sun Tzu's father, Sun P`ing, rose to be a Minister of State in Ch`i, and Sun Tzu himself, whose style was Ch`ang-ch`ing, fled to Wu on account of a rebellion.

Sun Tzu wrote the ART OF WAR in thirteen chapters for Ho Lu, King of Wu and he was subsequently made a general by the king. He led an army westwards, crushed the Ch`u state and entered Ying the capital. In the north, he kept Ch`i and Chin in awe. His descendant, Sun Pin, born about a hundred years after his famous ancestor's death, was also an outstanding military genius of his time.

The Art Of War is one of the oldest books ever written, yet it is still used today. It is the world's first known treatise on war but the lessons it teaches can be applied to almost any area of your life where conflict is involved. People have been referencing this book for years in both military and civilian fields and now you can read it for yourself.

Although Sun Tzu named his first chapter in Chinese, which translates to “plan" or “planning" in English, his meaning is much closer to what we would call competitive analysis.

In the chapter's first section, Sun Tzu describes the major components that make up competitive systems, but throughout the book, the interrelationships between components are as important as the components themselves. The base diagram, the Five-Element Star shows the basic relationships among the five factors used in bing-fa for analyzing competitive systems.

In the Star, the core is tao, the philosophy that unites a competitive unit and focuses it on its position. The four arms of the Star are the other major components introduced in this chapter: the leader (jiang), the climate (tian), the methods (fa), and the ground (di).

The next major topic of this chapter is knowledge (zhi). Knowledge comes from the ground or situation (di) and passes to the leader (jiang). Knowledge is supported by comparison (xiao) and listening (ting).

The chapter's final major topic (Figure 9) is deception or illusion (gui), which means creating a false appearance. Appearance is the realm of vision (jian), which is the basis of action or movement (hang). By providing false vision, that is, an illusion, we can manipulate our opponents.


Chapter 1

Sun Tzu said: This is war. It is the most important skill in the nation. It is the basis of life and death. It is the philosophy of survival or destruction. You must know it well.

Your skill comes from five factors. Study these factors when you plan war. You must insist on knowing your situation.

1. Discuss philosophy.
2. Discuss the climate.
3. Discuss the ground.
4. Discuss leadership.
5. Discuss military methods.

It starts with your military philosophy. Command your people in a way that gives them a higher
shared purpose. You can lead them to death. You can lead them to life. They must never fear danger or dishonesty.

The Art of War: Analysis
Competitive Systems

The topic is war, but more broadly it is how competitive systems work. In many ways, Sun Tzu’s work anticipated Darwin in seeing that competition is a matter of survival, and that survival
depends upon having specific skills, but for human competition Sun Tzu teaches that these skills can be learned.

Sun Tzu taught that success in war depends on our relationship with the larger environment. He defines that position by five concepts. The Chinese terms for these are:

1. Tao: literally “way," meaning underlying motivation or direction

2. Tian: literally “heaven," meaning the trends in time

3. Di: the “ground" on which we compete

4. Jiang: the “general," but meaning the leader or decision-maker

5. Fa: our “methods," which include our procedures and systems

The most important component in this model is the Chinese concept of tao, which means “way” or “philosophy." In business, we might call this our corporate mission. Our philosophy must be people-centered, serving the real needs of individuals. It must attract supporters, employees, customers, and other allies. It must hold the organization together as the source of focus and unity.

Amazing Secrets: Competitive Systems

Next, you have the climate. It can be sunny or overcast. It can be hot or cold. It includes the timing of the seasons.

Next is the terrain. It can be distant or near. It can be difficult or easy. It can be open or narrow. It also determines your life or death.

Next is the commander. He must be smart, trustworthy, caring, brave, and strict.

Finally, you have your military methods. They shape your organization. They come from your management philosophy. You must master their use.

All five of these factors are critical. As a commander, you must pay attention to them. Understanding them brings victory. Ignoring them means defeat.

The Art of War: Analysis

Though translated as “climate,” the original Chinese character is tian, which means “sky" or “heaven.” This is the part of the environment that is beyond our control and changes constantly with time. Like the seasons, we can look for patterns of change. The terrain or ground, di in Chinese, is both where we fight and what we fight over. However, di also means condition and situation—that is, how we are placed or situated. The ground is literally the source of life and all income. Its characteristics both as physical ground and as types of situations are a major topic of bing-fa.

The leader (or jiang, for “general") creates and defines the competitive unit by his character
and decision-making skills. Our systems, organizations, processes, and procedures are all part of our methods, or the Chinese concept of fa. Methods must be efficient and effective, but they must also be consistent with our central organizing purpose or tao.

These five key elements are extensively discussed and defined in the course of the book. Each chapter focuses on one or more of these elements. Sun Tzu taught that our success is determined by how well we master these elements.


Amazing Secrets: Competitive Systems

You must learn through planning. You must question the situation. You must ask:

Which government has the right philosophy? Which commander has the skill? Which season
and place has the advantage? Which method of command works? Which group of forces has the strength? Which officers and men have the training? Which rewards and punishments make sense?

This tells when you will win and when you will lose.

Some commanders perform this analysis. If you use these commanders, you will win. Keep them.

Some commanders ignore this analysis. If you use these commanders, you will lose. Get rid of them.

Plan an advantage by listening. Adjust to the situation. Get assistance from the outside. Influence events. Then planning can find opportunities and give you control.

The Art of War: Analysis

The concept is xiao, which is translated as “learn," but it also means “compare" or “proofread," in the sense of “double check." Bing-fa teaches us to double check our facts when we compare ourselves with our opponents. We can never say how “good” anything is without comparing it to existing alternatives—in this case, our opponents. Our competitive decisions are made based on comparing our situation and abilities with those of our opponents.

The five factors provide the basis for this comparative analysis. We must constantly compare
our philosophy (tao), our timing (tian), our ground (di), our management abilities (jiang), and our procedures (fa) with those of our opponents.

This comparative analysis allows us to match our strengths against an opponent’s weaknesses. This alone lets us prioritize an infinite number of possible actions. To be successful leaders, we must insist on working with people who understand how to evaluate their relative position or power.

Sun Tzu attributes most failure to decision-making by people who refuse to do the necessary comparisons. The foundation of competitive analysis is knowledge (zhi), but the base of knowledge is ting, listening or heeding others, especially from outside viewpoints.

We must continually open ourselves to new ideas that come in from outside our normal channels of information. This new information is the source of li, opportunity.

About the Author:

Sun Tzu, Chinese general, [pron. sun dzu], c.500–320. B.C., the author of the sophisticated treatise on philosophy, logistics, espionage, and strategy and tactics known as The Art of War. It includes many commentaries by later Chinese philosophers. The core text was probably written during a time of expanding feudal conflicts, but the exact century is uncertain. Most authorities now support a date early in the Warring States period, c. 453–221 B.C.

Knowledge of Sun Tzu reached Europe shortly before the French Revolution in the form of a summary translation by Father J. J. M. Amiot, a French Jesuit priest. In the various translations, Sun Tzu is sometimes referred to as Sun Wu and Sun Tzi. The most fundamental of Sun Tzu's principles for the conduct of war is that "All warfare is based on deception". Another key Sun Tzu principle is that "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Sun Tzu's ideas spread to the rest of Asia and to Japan.

The works of Sun Tzu have been widely known in the United States since the mid-1970s. Diplomat Henry Kissinger has made reference to Sun Tzu and the principles for the conduct of warfare has been the subject of serious study in U.S. military circles for many years. The Art of War as applied to business, sports, diplomacy and personal lives has been popularized in American business and management texts. Sun Tzu may be the most frequently quoted Chinese personality in the world today.

The Art of War has deeply influenced Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese military thinking and has enjoyed growing popularity among businessmen. It stresses the unpredictability of battle, the importance of deception and surprise, the close relationship between politics and military policy and the high costs of war. The futility of seeking hard and fast rules and the subtle paradoxes of success are major themes. The best battle, Sun Tzu says, is the battle that is won without being fought.