Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 8: 16 "By tempering thoughts of gain, he can accomplish his goal."

If you've been following along, by now, there shouldn't be anything surprising in today's verse, itself. Yet, as always, its implications and deep meanings may take a twist or a turn or two. We'll see.

The first mistake most of us make is to think of goals and gains as being equal. We set the goal, we wish for a benefit, and advantage, a reward. Of course, we want to win. So, if the goal is to win, what's the difference between it and a gain?

We've worked on this before, and will again. The first trap to extract ourselves is shallow thinking over gains, as if they were all good. They are ABSOLUTELY not! Remember? They come in two forms:

1) True
2) False

If you review yesterday's verse, you'll recall, the wise general always blends his thinking about gain and harm. He looks for the hidden harm, disguised as false gain. And, when he faces harm, he doesn't give over to it as if it were certain sure, and inescapable.

Maybe we need one more little concept map:

1) Blatant Advantage
2) Hidden Advantage
3) Blatant Harm
4) Hidden Harm

Picky, picky me. I have to fess up that Giles doesn't use gain and harm, he uses advantage and disadvantage as his translation, and Ames follows Giles' choice as well. I don't know why, but blatant and hidden sounded better for advantage to me. Go figure.

You're going to hate me now. I'm sorry. But we have to lay down some fierce, brain breaking logic again. I'll start out by just asking. If you think it through, do you know the difference between 'necessary' and 'sufficient?' And do you realize we just leaped to cause and effect?

Let me show you. Pitcher throws super-fast pitch. Batter connects perfectly. Home run. That home run would be really hard to achieve if pitcher pitched slow. The speed of the pitch is met and equaled, with a bit of extra oomph from the batter's mighty arms. Together, home run.

Fast pitch is necessary for the home run, but NOT sufficient. Mighty armed batter's perfect swing is necessary for the home run, but not sufficient. Maybe a double or so, but not out of the part home run without the fast pitch. Both together are sufficient. Two causes one effect.

Back to gains, and tempered thinking. Will the causes of your goal work? Again, there are those horrible false gains to tempt you. Who knows how to hit a knuckle ball? Curve balls can be so tempting. But, even when a gain is actually advantageous, do you know how to win?

The wise general knows which gains are necessary, and how to mount them up in sequence to land upon the sufficient cause of real victory. And yes, that is precisely to say that all winning generals are scientists, philosophers and masters of logic. There's no other way to win.

And that is precisely what it means to temper one's thinking about gains, which are actually possible gains, may be false, but in any case, even if actual, must be strung together necessarily to the point of sufficiency. Whew. I'm tired just writing that sentence. Poor you.

Let's close out today with my two favorite rules for swordsmanship. I must have shared them before, haven't I? They are:

1) No Flinching
2) No Pouncing

To flinch is to accept the threat of harm as real, and to publish your fear. It exacerbates the risk. To pounce is to believe the proffered gain is real. To pounce is to allow the hidden harm to bite. No, no, no! Oh, I have a quick story to share.

In reading about duels in times past, it was not an uncommon phenomenon that a swordsman had been dealt a mortal blow and had no idea. Can you say adrenaline? I saw one precise replication of this in one of my sword classes during sparing.

Remember, we wear protective gear, and no one ever actually gets hurt, well almost never. Anyway, the better swordsman came to a moment when the weaker one was absolutely wide open. With silent speed, he raised his sword and gently placed it on his enemy's sternum.

So elegant. So smooth. So deadly. Sparring over. But weaker fellow did not realize, and thinking he had his own winning opening, he tried to step forward and couldn't figure out why he couldn't get anywhere. He didn't know the sword was at his heart. So...

Frustrated and enraged, his victorious opening was still there, wide and awaiting. He winds up high and shoves his way forward, his enemy's sword still on his sternum. Victorious guy actually was forced to step back. And what I saw was Loser guy skewering himself.

Of course, not literally. No physical harm occurred. But, the losing fighter - who really was pretty good, just not as good - never returned to our practice sessions again. He could not live with the shame and could not honor his foe. So, friends, that is a morality tale of gain.

Please remember, causes, even if actual and good for the goal, must combine necessities into solid, winning sufficiency. And remember, not all that glitters is gold. Temper your gain thinking.

Got it?

215 verses completed, 207 to go.

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