Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 5: 6 "The warrior skilled in indirect warfare is infinite as Heaven and Earth, in exhaustible as river and sea, he ends and begins again like sun and moon, dies and is born again like the Four Seasons."

How did I miss this verse, before? I absolutely did. Reading and meditating upon it just now, in preparation to write today's commentary, I have none of that normal sense I usually have, about knowing this verse well. How did I miss it?

Do you remember my rule about how to define a text as 'scripture'? It is when each verse is the most important and powerful verse, until you read the next one which is even more so. Well, for today, this is by far the most important verse in Master Sun's work.

And wouldn't that just be so damned typical? Of the 422 verses, the single most important is one I never paid slightest attention to in all my decades of study. So it goes, eh? Enough pining. Time to dig in and get to work. But how did I miss this one?

We'd better count this one out. The Skillful Warrior is:

1) Infinite as Heaven and Earth
2) Inexhaustible as river and sea
3) Ends and begins again like sun and moon
4) Dies and is born again like the Four Seasons

We are taught that there are three great things in Ancient Chinese thinking, Heaven, Earth and Man. Not merely mankind, but man, as in one person. Heavens above and Earth below, a single man is the great connector. Man? That is, YOU, be you male or female. You are great.

I know you often feel exhausted, but you are truly - at least until you die - inexhaustible. Rivers and seas die too, eventually. In the meantime, they are obviously inexhaustible. Can you do this? Can you make the equivalence that Master Sun so simply states?

As the Earth turns, the Sun rises and sets, the Moon rises and sets, every single day. So also, do you. You rise and set and rise again. During the day, you are the Sun. During the night, you are the Moon. Can you fathom that? What could that possibly mean?

There are four seasons in the year. One strange, wonderful definition of a season is that 3-month period in which you are born, live, and die, only to repeat in the following 3-month season. In a typical 3 score and 10 lifetime, that would be 280 yous that live and die and live.

There is an extraordinary lesson that the great sword masters of Japan taught to even the most freshly minted swordsman, no study completed yet. Under Heaven, and upon the Earth, you are the one and only greatest swordsman of all. How could that possibly be true?

There is a logical answer. In battle, even the rankest fledgling can defeat the greatest expert. How? Combat turns only on first principles. The great one is often tempted to believe his greatness is his own. A fledgling, who knows he will die otherwise, will do but one thing.

A fledgling will strike from high right to low left and repeat. This alone is the most likely strategy to win. But go again from a different perspective. At the end of the day, both die, or one dies. Whoever walks away was the greatest swordsman. One battle. One life, one death.

He who lives is the greatest swordsman. What's more, the greatest swordsman in the world in that moment. To enter into a sword fight is simply, and clearly, to state that you are the greatest swordsman. Other than that, do not enter. Evade. Escape. Disappear.

When you have 3 or 4 feet of steel in your hands, you MUST be the greatest swordsman in the world, or you must not fight. Master Sun goes farther. You must be Heaven and Earth, river and sea, sun and moon and the four seasons, each following the previous, birthing the next.

Yet he opts to NOT command. Rather, he simply states that you are. Well, he qualifies, the Skilled Warrior is. This is intense, serious business. Can you be infinite as Heaven and Earth? I know you can be. But, do you know that? No? Okay. Will you let me teach you that you are?

Please allow me to assure you that you already are. You have obviously already mastered direct confrontation, everyone has. Those who think they haven't simply don't know how to initiate. But everyone knows how to defend against direct attack, and that's the same thing.

Master Sun's true qualifier is the term "indirect warfare." Direct? Attack in the enemy's face. Indirect? Send a contingent to attack from the rear or either flank. Yourself, you attack directly. Your friend attacks on your behalf, indirectly. And this can be repeated infinitely.

Allow me a single, local example. You have a conflict with the mayor. Your best friend is friends with the mayor's wife. You show up at city council. Your friend has sweat tea with the mayor's wife. You oppose the policy. Your friend indicates shame on the mayor to his wife.

The key here, like the key for the young swordsman, is to enter in, to make all of this 100% personal. Where evil is, it has been allowed to be. Don't do that. Do not allow evil to be. You are infinite as Heaven, Earth, river, sea, sun, moon and the four seasons.

You literally and truly have power beyond your wildest dreams. The world waits for you to embrace your power. You fight directly. You win indirectly. Both methods are yours and are infinitely renewable. I'd tell you to imagine your power, but I know you can't.

What I know you can do is meditate upon Heaven, Earth, river, sea, sun, moon and the four seasons. And, I know you can discover each within yourself if you but focus on the charge. So, I say, do so. Find them all within yourself. And master both direct and indirect combat.

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

94 verses completed, 328 to go. And also, be sure to purchase John Minford's translation, here:

amazon.com/Art-War-Pengui…

The local MAGA leader’s library needs three other books. The first is by my great friend, hero, and today’s greatest constitutional scholar, @shestokas. His most important work so far is:

amazon.com/Creating-Decla…

The second is available free. It is the combined Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

uscis.gov/sites/default/…

Last is my own book. I'll give you the link here, and then conclude with its ten MAGA principles:

amazon.com/America-First-…

1. Remember The Forgotten Americans
2. Rule Of Law
3. American Jobs
4. Quality Of Life For Every American
5. Heal Our Cities
6. Build The Wall
7. Make America Wealthy Again
8. Make America Strong Again
9. Make America Safe Again
10. Make America Great Again