The Art of War, Love, and Benevolence, Part 1

Most people in the world are aware of one of China's oldest texts, "The Art of War". This text has been analyzed, translated, and broken down to understand its meaning, after all it is one of the main texts studied at West Point. The name of the text is misleading, and the translated text is also misleading. Yes, this book deals with war and strategic formations of troops, but there is a more subtle, and hidden meaning in its words. Americans and people who think in a western nature cannot understand its true meaning at face value, one has to read between the lines. The words in the text hold so much more meaning, than what we initially preconceive them to mean. Sun Tzu (author of the Art of War) would state "attack your enemy from many different places..." In English this sounds pretty straight forward. What Sun Tzu was trying to convey, "attack your enemy, in their heart or their mind,or in there dreams or from the left, or from the forest behind them.(tactics include, troop formations, time of attack, peace talks, fright, politics, propaganda...)" Something so small like the word place, means many different things. One of the main points in the Art of War is that if you have to kill your enemy you have both lost. There are many ways to win a battle, and an Eastern way of winning, is not always on the battle field...