Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 2:8 "Without a full understanding of the harm caused by war, it is impossible to understand the most profitable way of conducting it."

I'm NOT recommending it, but did you know that Gandhi published his own translation of the Bhagavad Gita? Well, I do STRONGLY recommend it, but you don't need it for the moment. Just one point about it is needed.

Oh, my favorite Gita translator is Barbara Stoler Miller. She's a Minford class translator, one of the greatest in the English language.

amazon.com/dp/B000FC1MP0/…

In case you've never heard of the Gita before, it's an ancient Hindu scripture about a couple of guys, one a human the other a god, who are on a battlefield. The human doesn't want to fight. The god demands he must.

Here's the amazing thing about Gandhi's translation and commentary. He tells us, essentially, 'I know it says you should fight, but you shouldn't. By fight, it means fight your bad motivations. Never fight for real. I know, this is the opposite of what it says.'

Kind of amazing, really. Honorable too. It's straight up. Gandhi tells us an ancient text telling us to fight our wars well, means we must never be violent. Phenomenal. How do you not love Gandhi?

This matters why? Because many of Master Sun's translators and modern interpreters tell us EXACTLY the same thing about The Art of War. It is a book, they tell us, about NOT fighting wars.

Apologies, but, this contortion and reverse logic, this distortion of the text boggles my mind. I can't fight about the Chinese terms, I don't speak or read it. But, come on, its revered English title is The ART of War. It is not The Art of Peace, or The Art of Not Fighting.

To turn today's passage into an absolute principle, this is the simple statement we may employ:

There IS a profitable way of waging war.

And how do we learn precisely what the profitable way of waging war is? Our master teaches us, we must procure a full understanding of the harm caused by war. Yang and yin.

In this case, yang = profitable way of waging war. Yin = harm caused by war.

Dive deeply with me now. Would you understand a man (yang)? Then you must understand women (yin). I know, how politically NOT correct! And in fact, one statement about women today is they're kinda yang!

Let go of all that political correctness poisoning your mind. Well, try. Okay?

WWII = Good War
Vietnam = Bad War

Admit it, you know there are both kinds.

Profitable. Not Profitable.

There's another way to understand today's passage. Two words: Failure Analysis. Every bit of harm caused is actually a failure. Don't believe me? Wait for it! Master Sun will tell us again and again about winning without harming.

Every single innocent life lost - collateral damage - is a failure. It must be analyzed.

Every single bad guy killed is a victory, and SO profitable! Success.

The goal of war is to NEVER kill the wrong person AND to always kill the right person. And yes, it comes down to one.

One at a time. We save a life. We kill. Bad guys kill good guys. Good guys kill bad guys. How do we know who is who? That is a question the generals, and we, must answer. But, answer it we must. And there's a simple way to think about it.

Be a parent. Your child is innocent and good. Bad guys will kill, or sexually abuse your child. We should kill them. Good guys will protect and help your child. We should support them. it is truly that simple.

What is the harm caused by war? Buildings, homes, towns, villages, wells are destroyed. Horrible. Far worse, innocent people are killed or maimed. Far worse, children are killed or maimed. Look again at YOUR child. The harm of war is right there in front of you. That's the risk.

Master Sun is fierce. There is a profitable way of waging war. Kill the bad guys. Do it quickly. Know your timing. Don't start too soon. Don't wait too long. Prepare your weapons and soldiers. Wage war well. Deceive your enemy successfully. Win. Win fast, but you must win.

Would you hear his counsel? Then study the harm of war.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21.

And also, be sure to purchase John Minford's translation, here:

amazon.com/Art-War-Pengui…

And, to support this project please:

1) Like the first tweet in this thread
2) Quote Retweet
3) Retweet
4) Comment
5) Like any other tweets, or
6) Apply steps 1 - 4 to any tweets you particularly resonate with.
7) Use #WarForAmerica2020 & #SunTzuForMAGA often!