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Posts Tagged ‘Book Of Five Rings’

Is The Art of War still relevant today?

Whenever I read classics such as The Art of War, The Way of the Samurai and The Book of Five Rings, I always look for metaphors to make the text relevant for today. I often use competition as a metaphor for war.

Sun Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, military general, and strategist from 722–481 BC wrote The Art of War, which is one of the earliest books on military strategy. Many military leaders and strategists from all over the world have studied the contents of The Art of War. In a nutshell, The Art of War by Sun Tzu is about two things:

1. How to prepare your defense to prevent attack.
2. How to defeat your enemy.

I asked the question “Is The Art of War still relevant today?” And I think it still has some relevance today. I have read The Art of War twice, and the second time I got far more from it than I did the first time. Whenever I read for information or the further my knowledge, I try to place the book’s text in my world, to determine what ideas I can extract and apply. There are lots of nuggets that I can apply to leadership and business. But, there is also lots of information in The Art of War that I would discard today. And that’s okay for you to do that, because it shows that you have a discriminating mind.

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says that there are five constant factors that you have to consider when you are planning your military strategy.

1. The Moral Law: The people have to be prepared to follow their ruler, despite any danger they may face by doing so.
2. Heaven: This signifies day or night; heat or cold; spring, summer, fall or winter; and time of the day.
3. Earth: Signifies distance to cover, open ground and narrow passages to travel, probability of life and death, danger and security.
4. The Commander: Stands for courage and strictness, benevolence, sincerity and wisdom.
5. Method and Discipline: How will food get to the troops? How will military expenditures be managed? How will the army be subdivided? How will officers be ranked? These are all things to consider and figure out.

When determining military conditions, objectively and honestly, compare your “enemy” to “yourself” because this can often decide success or failure; victory or defeat.

Seven Things to Consider That Determines Victory or Defeat

Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral Law (as defined above)?

1. Which of the two generals have the most ability?
2. With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
3. On which side is Discipline most rigorously enforced?
4. Which army is stronger?
5. On which side are officers and men more highly trained?
6. In which army is there greater constancy in reward and punishment?

No one ever benefits from a lengthy war and the object should be victory, not lengthy campaigns, says Sun Tzu. There are however five essential for victory.

Five Essential for Victory

1. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all ranks.
4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
5. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

Five Dangers That 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 honour which is sensitive to shame.
5. Over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.

Great Ideas from The Art of War

1. Do everything to prevent defeat and wait for the opportunity to defeat the enemy and attack their weaknesses. This teaches patience.
2. It is just as easy to lead a large army of men as a few men, it’s all in the way you divide the men. A test of true leadership.
3. Whoever is first to the field has the advantage as they wait for the enemy who will be rushing to catch up. Don’t squander the lead you have, work to gain more of an advantage.
4. Do not repeat the tactics that served you well in the past, shake things up and try new methods and techniques based on the circumstances. The past is not always the perfect predictor for the present and future.
5. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and succeed is a “heaven-born captain.” This is flexibility in leadership.
6. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with our neighbours. Get to know someone first before getting into a partnership or alliance.
7. We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account unless we make use of local guides. The best way to enter a foreign market is through the locals.
8. Do not rely on the enemy not showing up, but instead prepare to receive them. If you know your enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and Earth, you may make your victory complete. Preparation takes away a lot of anxiety and fear.
9. Throw your soldiers into positions where there is no escape and they will prefer death to flight. If they face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Face your fears and you can conquer anything.
10. The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact. Let go of arrogance and keep your ego in check.

During and after reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu, I realized that a lot of wisdom he shares can be used in many different contexts, and some can be applied to business. I recommend The Art of War, but I suggest that while you are reading it, do not think of the book as one about military strategy, but a metaphor for something that’s relevant in your world, whatever that might be.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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“…He who shows himself is not conspicuous;

He who considers himself right is not illustrious;

He who brags will have no merit;

He who boasts will not endure…?

This passage is from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, a guidebook of Chinese philosophy and tenets to live by. Lao Tzu lived in the 6^th century BC and is believed to be a contemporary of Confucius. Tao Te Ching is comprised of 81 wisdom teaching, so it’s a short book to read.

I’m always amazed at how books written centuries ago still have relevance for us in our lives today. The Tao Te Ching reminded me of the books on eastern philosophy that I have read so far like The Book of Five Rings, Analects of Confucius, The Art of War and so on, which are loaded with ancient and timeless wisdom. This is not a book that you read through quickly, but instead one that you take time to savour and digest.

There are a myriad of lessons embedded in the teachings. For instance, opposites are a part of life:

“The difficult and the easy complement each other;

The long and short offset each other;

The high and low incline toward each other;

Before and after follow each other;

…Between yea and nay

How much difference is there?

Between good and evil

How great is the distance?”

If you are interested in strategy, you’ll find something to delight your palate, if leadership is your thing Tao Te Ching has something to serve. Politics and philosophy are also included on the menu. Whatever your interests, the book offers something to you.

The Tao Te Ching surprised me because one of the things that I have often found difficult to digest with some of the best books on Eastern philosophy, which were written centuries ago is the horrific war imagery included. So it was a welcome change to hear what Lao Tzu had to say about war.

“The gentleman gives precedence to the left when at home, but to the right when he goes to war. Arms are instruments of ill omen, not the instruments of the gentleman. When one is compelled to use them, it is best to do so without relish.”

I enjoy reading books on Eastern philosophy and you can often translate the harsh imagery by using them as metaphors for today’s reality. I recommend Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu because it’s a little book that makes you think. And it is the kind of book that the most successful read to become wiser.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book link is affiliate link.

My friend and I attended Four Seasons of Gardens in Kyoto, Photographs by Mizuno Katsuhiko, an exhibit at the Japan Foundation, Toronto, which runs from June 17 – August 27, 2009. The exhibit consisted of the photographs, as well as two documentaries: Japanese Gardens,1993, 25 minutes and Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden, 1992, 57 minutes. Japanese gardens do not have many flowers, but instead have moss, rocks, water elements, plants,  and pebbles which look like sand. And, most importantly, each element in a Japanese garden has a special meaning, so great care is taken when designing the garden.

I was enthralled by the imagery,  and what I liked most about Katsuhiko’s photographs, was that he took photographs of the same gardens during all four seasons, so that you could compare and see the stark differences.

Did I really hear what I thought I heard?

The documentaries were a great complement to the photographs. During Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden, they mentioned a zen priest who was a Japanese garden designer from the 14th century whose name sounded  to me like Mooso, and they recited one of his many poems which I was intrigued by. I wrote down as much of the poem as I could, to research later for this blog post. They also mentioned what sounded to me like Riku, a  16th century Japanese tea master, and talked about the concept of emptiness. I was piqued by what I saw and heard and wanted to learn more. I never knew that there were tea masters.

I went to the office at the Japan Foundation and asked them how they would spell “Mooso” and “Riku.” It turns out that the designer’s name was Muso Soseki and Riku was in fact Rikyu. So I actually did not hear what I thought I had heard. Has this ever happened to you? Can you swear by what you think you have heard?

Here is the poem by Muso Soseki mentioned in Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden:

The sounds of the streams splash out the Buddha’s sermon,

Don’t say that the deepest meaning comes only from one’s mouth,

Day and night, 80,000 poems arise one after the other,

And in fact, not a single word has ever been spoken.

What does this poem mean? Was the Buddha delivering a silent sermon since  ”not a single word has ever been spoken?” Is this poem really about contemplation? I think it is, but I also think that we can make it what we want it to be. Does the deepest meaning comes from one’s heart? What are your thoughts?

5 Important Takeaways from Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden

1. Be creative and take risks. Too many people are copying other people’s work instead of innovating
2. “Gardens float within the imagination of those who experience them”
3. “When you look at a garden, what you see depends on what you bring to it.”
4. Dreams are interior because you look within yourself, gardens are exterior because you look outwards
5. Plants change within the seasons and ultimately dies. Rocks stay the same.  The earth and sky envelop it all

After my experience researching Muso and Rikyu, I decided that I wanted to learn about Japanese Philosophy. I discovered that Japanese Philosophy consists of five elements: wind, water, earth, fire, and void or sky depending on the context. The five elements are also called godai, which are mentioned in the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, which we reviewed a week ago (See The Way of Strategy – Review of The Book of Five Rings).

How did I get here? I started by simply attending an exhibit at the Japan Foundation, Toronto and ended up with a book I enjoyed. When I attended the exhibit, I was like an empty vessel waiting to be filled. I expected the unexpected and I was not disappointed. Where will you end up, if you remove the self-imposed boundaries once in a while? As Heraclitus says, expect the unexpected or you won’t find it. And finally, everything is connected.

Photo Credits: John O’Neill, Panoramic view from the Symbolic Mountain Lookout at the Japanese Gardens, Cowra, NSW, Australia, 22 September, 2006.

Related Articles

Japanese Gardens Through the Seasons

The Way of Strategy – Review of The Book of Five Rings

Further Reading

Stress Management and Conflict Resolution via the Way of Tea?

The Psychology of Peace through the Way of Tea

Chado: Japanese Tea Ceremony and the Steps toward World Peace

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• Great Garden Design Ideas! (hbb2obm.com)

Review of The Book Of Five Rings: The Classic Guide To Strategy, Miyamoto Musahi

I reviewed Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategyfor my newsletter Ambeck Edge in November 2005, and I re-read the Summareview (Hybrid book review and summary) today and still find it very useful. We often forget things we know because they are not in the forefront of our consciousness, so we need reminders. I smile as I write this blog post because Johann Wolfgang von Goethe‘s quote “Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again,” comes to mind.

The Book Of Five Rings written in 1645 is about the “Way of Strategy,” which is using certain techniques to take down the enemy. Because of when the book was written, you have to be aware of the imagery and language used – enemy, weapon, combat, sword, cutting and so on. Once you get beyond that, and use those words as metaphors, a lot can be gleaned from the book.

To adapt the book to our time, an enemy could be a metaphor for competitor. The Book Of Five Rings emphasizes the importance of practicing and mastering your art – becoming adept at what you do. Your strategy should either be decisive or fluid. You have a fluid strategy when you have obstacles in your way. Musahi outlines Principles of the Way of Strategy. Though the principles are over three and a half centuries old, they are still applicable.

• Do not think dishonestly
• The Way is in training
• Become acquainted with every art
• Know the Ways of all professions
• Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters
• Develop intuitive judgment and understanding for everything
• Perceive those things which cannot be seen
• Pay attention even to trifles
• Do nothing which is of no use

From the book, I found the following to be insightful nuggets:

• Lay your plans with true measure and then perform the work according to plan, thus you pass through life
• The strategist makes small things into big things. The principle of strategy is having one thing, to know ten thousand things
• Everything is difficult at first
• If you do not look at things on a large scale it will be difficult for you to master strategy
• Do what you have to do, even if it means doing it alone
• Discern your competitor’s capability and know your strong points
• Do not show your hand. Do not let everybody know what you’re doing
• If your strategy doesn’t work change it. When you’re in a deadlock change your technique. Abandon efforts that do not work, think of your situation in a fresh spirit
• Whenever we have become preoccupied with small details, we must suddenly change into a large spirit, interchanging large with small

Five Great Ideas

1. You must train day and night to make quick decisions. In strategy it is necessary to treat training as a part of normal life with your spirit unchanging
2. There is timing in everything. Timing in Strategy cannot be mastered without a great deal of practice
3. In strategy, it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things
4. The Way to Understanding is through experience
5. People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be the void. This not true void. It is bewilderment.When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear way, there is the true void (By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist; that is the void)

If you can get past some of the disturbing imagery you could gain a lot from The Book Of Five Rings. This is a book where you can take its concepst and apply them to your work and life. I recommend The Book of Five Rings.