Sun Tzu said “The General receives orders from his lord, assembles and settles harmony among his forces, and takes the field”. Let’s interpret this, because it has deep meaning. The General can be seen as the mind, the “forces” can be seen as the body, and the field can be seen as circumstances in life, which can be likened to a battlefield. Every theory has to fit the circumstances of the the times, or if you like every symbolic truth takes a different form according to the demands of the environment. There was a time when men were under the dominion of warring factions, and everyone is familiar with the analogy of the General leading his troops, it can be seen in endless stories, fables, and historical accounts. In fact, people saw no possible way out of this arrangement and simply accepted their outer restraints as reality. However, now the war often takes a different form, and the soldiers have a different means of attacking people.
Just as the army should be well organised, so should our inner forces. Martial artists constantly think about sharpening their physical tools, but often they don’t spend as much time building a relationship with the General, namely the mind. To become influential, wealthy, and recognised by others, people gradually started to use the powers of suggestion and personal magnetism to dominate others thoughts and feelings, rather than their physical bodies. In other words since the days of Dynasties and warlords, the methods of attack and defence have changed and evolved. The attack on the inner harmony and well being of an individual, for example when pressurizing others into buying things they don’t need or want, can indirectly affect the physical body of man who loses will power in such an exchange. This situation is worse than ever today, even though we generally live in relative material ease and security, many of us will in inner poverty.
Generally speaking, lots of people let the ground troops dictate to the general what should be happening. In other words, they let there fancies take over. For example, they allow their limbs to flail around mindlessly when they are punching and kicking, without much thought. Or in the example of the salesman, people bend to his will just because he sounds convincing, and they become victims of manipulation. This shows a lack of guidance by the General, or the Mind, who would see this as an infringement on his authority. People say they like the things they waste their money on, but what exactly about them likes to endlessly consume and enrich themselves from the outside? Certainly not the inner general, who should be in charge of making wise decisions so that he acts upon any breach of his defences. It is the inner General we should identify with more than the troops.
Darwins theory of survival of the fittest says that only the strong survive, and indeed those directed by the best intelligent use of their forces develop bodily health to survive longest. We are no longer living in the primitive jungles where its dog eat dog. Only rarely is this the case nowadays. Instead, we have ought to maintain our defences on the level of the nervous system, rather than the instincts, which people ignore as others around them manipulate and tempt them with all sorts of offers to gratify the instincts. This gratification and lack of control can be detrimental to health. Aware of this problem, in Yoga they have developed many exercises in breathing to help balance the energy currents within the channels of the body, which share certain correspondences with the Central Nervous System1. In fact, The Premise of systems such as Tai Chi and Yoga for instance, is that the Nervous system is a Storage battery, drawing elements into it through various exercises. When one is too aggressive and active in asserting himself in the world, there is a great flow of positive energy into the world, and it often depletes the Human Battery. If this expenditure is not balanced out by negative (receptive) energy from the environment, the nervous system is put under strain and loses its vitality, which can compromise health.
Whilst there is a certain surge of energy when we uncontrollably gratify the instincts, there is often also a heavy cost afterwards, an emptiness. It is as if one runs out of reserves and is too exhausted to do anything, such as maintain attention, or concentrate. This is the problem with the “Hard” styles of Martial Art training, which have been adopted in the West without the whole philosophical way of life typical of Eastern training. I’m not against hard training, developing physical strength for combat, this is excellent, but its not the ultimate goal in life. We shouldn’t think that by adding muscular power, and going through merely technical exercises that we will become stronger and healthier for longer. In fact, this is the strategy of the predator whose life expectancy is quite short, and whose life amounts to little more than an all out attempt at mating and hunting, before dying off. The older wiser animal knows better. We must see whether, much later in life, we are left more robust and energised as a result of our work. Otherwise its just hardship that wears us out.
Martial Arts practice, as conceived by the Ancient Chinese Philosophy at least, does not require you to go off and learn all sorts of technical exercises which are not guided first by intelligent use of the inner forces (The General). Nor does it train solely external strength. No, it is thought or intelligence (the mind) which should be enhanced and cultivated as this symbolically speaking is the General in the battle. This process of the mind directing intelligence and the body’s actions is known as “The Way” in Daoist thought. In other words, according to this perspective, and the one I support, it is better to pay attention first to the mind, then the feeling cultivated by clarity and intelligence, and then afterwards the technical aspects. The general (mind) does not actually go to war himself, because he is from an entirely different order to the troops. Thus, “The General receives orders from his lord, assembles and settles harmony among his forces, and takes the field”.
As I was just saying, the general can be seen as manifesting in the mind. But in fact he works through the troops as well, which is why in the Human being these two manifestations of energy are one and the same, separate yet united. The act of thinking is associated with neurological activity, a kind of bio electrical energy which gives birth to thought on the mental level, and feeling on the physiological level. The direction of this dynamic combination of thought and feeling is an act of will. Will is thought in action, whether that action is breathing, movement, or wielding a sword. And so by breathing exercises such as found in meditation, yoga, and tai Chi, we are “taking to the field”, that is, the field of life. This is why there is such emphasis on the science of breathing traditionally, as well as energy cultivation in mediative exercises. This activity of the will, can create a harmonious link between the body and mind, so that the two act in concert. To be sure, it takes a lifetimes work to achieve this satisfactorily day in day out.
The troops, symbolically speaking, can be seen as the limbs and other body parts (even the lungs and other organs). And the field can be seen as resulting activity within the environment, which takes place from a synthesis of mind and body (General and troops). A scout might simply perform a recon mission (seeing a hostile enemy), and in this act of seeing the energies would be concentrated on vision. Do you ever think about how much energy it takes simply to concentrate the eyes properly, so that the ambient vision is attentive, ready to pick out subtleties cues in the environment? The eyes are snipers, keenly alert to read the facial expressions and the body language of those around us. If you train them well and give them enough resources, you will see enemies easily so that costly battles can be avoided. But instead, people are too preoccupied satisfying their soldiers inherent bloodlust rather than training them for such advanced missions.
And what is the role of the body in maintaining health of the army? Just as a medic might regenerate wounded soldiers, so to might the internal organs be harmonised with the breathing and energised through meditation to regenerate the body’s cells (troops). There are different aspects of war and not all of them are focused on attacking foreign soldiers, but such practices need energy and and resources that are usually plundered in pointless battles. Everybody thinks that the Sages of the Past were just sitting around Idly, but in fact they were often engaging in work of the greatest significance. Of course this work is pointless unless you have cultivated a taste for the more subtle realities, and this is where the great confusion lies: differentiating between inner and outer work, mental and physical. Tai Chi and other inner practices are for developing the inner energies and don’t take physical form. So when someone talks of proper form, they must mean correct use of energy not technical exercises and their exactness. Whereas outer Martial Arts, the hard styles, are for training the physical body, and they simply manifest more or less well depending on how they are linked up they are to the centre, or the human battery. Those who have travelled quite a path of inner development will receive this energy, this centre, more effectively than those who have concentrated only on the material physical manifestations.
In summary, we have the mind (thought) acting to create a feeling, a life force (energy), which is willed to action by the general. In fact this energy can be felt by concentrating on the Centres, such as the Hara Centre. The will of the general is carried out by the troops, who rely on Him for Inspiration and Energy. To me, this is the basis of martial Arts, I’m not interested in other interpretations which are purely mechanical and “practical”. It does me no good at all to wreck my nervous system and deplete my energies to dominate others, so personally I adhere to this philosophy as closely as I can for my own benefit, even if no one cares to hear it. For me, the purely Physical styles are half right, but lacking in meaning. Even the Art of War, which most people think is a guide to enriching yourself physically, talks about the soldiers and the General in such a way that you’re left with the impression that it might as well have been giving you a practical guide to health, first and foremost at least. In other words, there are certain universal truths which are evident in the human being before he goes off and looks for battle or physical enrichment.
As far as Martial Arts goes physically, in my analysis the brain is not just supposed to calculate and try try to remember all sorts of abstract theories, it is to sit in the trenches with the soldiers, in other words join with them and inspire them. Because it inspires them, there is love for the General2. So, the soldiers, or if you like the various organs and components of the body are required to serve, and they should serve the general who leads by example and inspires the best in them, rather than sending them to their doom. In doing so they experience love, which runs through them from higher up.
But the problem is, too often the soldiers are given free reign to go and take out an enemy, and we still get sick, depressed, or attacked later anyway. This is because they are lacking in will power and intelligence, in other words cut off from the General and start to act stupidly3. This to me is a poor defence system, short term survival at best. This is why purely animal like existence is short term. The soldiers, who ought to be serving the general end up going instead to the pub, the casino, or the night club, or any other things the workers might instinctively be drawn to. All the while, the poor General is taken captive and enslaved. This shallow perception of things is hardly surprising, because a lot of people think that an hour here or there of training is sufficient, and then off to flop in front of the telly! No wonder the General is in a feeble state. And it always surprises me when people say “I have no one to train me”. You have your mind to direct you and soldiers to train, however much in revolt they might be, and once you are convinced of this, freeing your inner General, you will never feel in need of external direction again.
Even if someone defeats and annihilate outer enemies in their path, whether that’s putting a neighbour or an attacker in their place, it is still no proof of your strength. For example, many fighters have gone on undefeated and then suffered with prolonged depression, and unremitting thoughts of aimlessness, or worse. And often from the most trifling matters. The human body was not meant to undergo prolonged states of tension and stress (warfare), and the nervous system is often weakened by endless chaotic practices. Yes less is more in that respect. There should be a lengthy training for war, and swiftness in the actual act4. The body is a great conductor of energy, but the circuits mustn’t be fried. And the utmost efforts should be taken to avoid war, with the actual goal of peace (harmony)5, rather than entering into risky adventures haphazardly. Yes Train for War, but work for Peace. Above all, strength is a faculty of the will not the muscles, which is developed through the process of the mind acting on the body, rather than acting on events external to the inner life. This is how I conceive it principally anyway, and this is the true strength to cultivate, because eventually it works on the physical health and vitality anyway.
Existence can be ruthless, a battlefield in itself. And by living fully, that is engaging mind, body and will, it is with thought that one can develop tools to tackle all problems. You just need to work at it diligently, and with wisdom. It is good to train the physical, hitting the bag, sparring, padwork, etc., however without some knowledge directing your training, it becomes empty. This is why people jump from one system to another, they are looking for reasons outside of themselves. Once again, as I was saying they confuse the truth with the particular expression of it.
And on a side note, concentration of forces (an attack), for example hitting the bag, cannot go on too long in duration per session. Otherwise such power becomes a waste of the overall war budget if you like. To hit with power at one hundred percent effort takes a lot of energy, and it is best engaged in training wise in short durations. For example, you wouldn’t run a hundred metre sprint for more than around ten seconds.
Ancient Chinese tradition says that the mind must lead the body by acting upon the energies, or chi, or life force. This is the morale of the troops, the driving force, led by the General. Chi, life force, Prana, whatever you want to call it, is a kind of bio electrical current (energy) animating the organism. More accurately, it is a kind of Embryo within the body which is gradually developed as a child is within the Mothers womb, and according to certain texts the Hara Centre is the area of conception, symbolically speaking. For an interesting account of this I suggest reading DR Yangs “Embryonic Breathing” and his other works too. According to this theory, the bioelectrical energy, which is associated with the sun or heaven in the religious texts (also associated with the mind), acts upon the moon or earth (The Body), which shares certain correspondences with the General acting on the ground troops.
The True Martial Artist works on his own body, using it as a canvas to become a living piece of art. He “creates” by means of his more subtle energies (bioelectricity), in order to enhance his health and power, his nervous system and outer appearance. By doing so he relates more and more to these inner forces, and identifies with them more and more, taking care not to waste them. The Chinese Sages believe this is the Way to stopping disease and Death from taking hold, and by cultivating the Chi properly it is said that you create the “Elixir of life” and enlightenment.
Importantly, the body must be emptied if it is to be filled by life force (chi), which is another way of saying get rid off all your old worn out ideas . In other words, all waste products in the areas of thoughts feelings and energies should be “emptied” before they accumulate or “condense” into misconceptions and later physical wear and tear. Just as manure is put into the ground to make it fertile, so to can our instinctive energies and negative thoughts undergo a kind of recycling. This involves toiling on the fields, in other words putting our ideas to the test, and using our energies for only the most productive endeavours, and in this way our inner raw materials are never wasted because they are reinvested or “sacrificed” for the better of the organism6. This is why work should take first place, because in doing you are already in the process of creating your future progress.
And so, this theme of heaven and earth, and life existing somewhere between (the bioelectrical energy or life force), is evident in Chinese Military strategy. This is the basis of warfare using the analogy of the General (mind), the soldier (chi energy) and the battle (action). This is one form (manifestation) of the formless truth. It is important to realise that whilst the purely Physical fighter identifies with his body, his muscles, his impulses, the titles he possessed etc., the other kind identifies increasingly with what his thoughts and feelings create within him. And we should not confuse the physical reality of the general and his soldiers with the psychic one, because on the psychic level the general and troops belong to a different order. In other words, the general corresponds to the mind, which creates and fashions physical reality – the troops, which correspond to the physical body. It is the job of the troops to merge with the will of the General, to serve it, as a high ideal7. Only on the physical level do we see them more imperfectly, tied together by hierarchy as physical soldiers and physical generals each with opposing interests and contradictions. This is normal but can gradually be improved upon by keeping to the high ideal.
The fighting spirit of the soldiers (Chi), is dependent upon the direction of the General (mind), and the interaction of both elements produces Martial action (life). This is the large scale military science applied to the individual, of warfare in life, of the different levels of reality and consciousness interacting. Of course, these principles existed before warfare and they are simply applications of natural laws which govern existence, as observed by Chinese Scholars and other philosophers for thousands of years across the world.
This should be clear: The Mind (General) really has nothing to learn, and does not need instruction because it draws from the reservoirs of energy in the environment, which is imperceptible. For example, this is why Tai Chi Practitioners get up for sunrise and exercise: They draw energy from the emerging sun. When I learned this I was suddenly struck by how much more beneficial the sun is to our health and intelligence than reading books or copying notes off of a white board. Of course the Brain can be taught a few technical things, but the mind actually resides in the Hara Centre and Solar plexus region8, which is the meeting point of the Brain and Body, and is strengthened by Nature. This is not something I have made up, it is the Theory of Qi acting through the Body. It is the “troops” which need teaching by clarity of the mind acting on the body.
The Negative energy of the earth (the physical body) is the purely instinctive animalistic nature, which needs instructing to receive wisdom. When left to its own devices the instincts can make all sorts of blunders in an effort to survive. The mind, by thought, can be likened to heaven or the sun, in that by intelligent use of the energies and willpower, a unified action can occur which is both intelligent and full of vigour. Only then do things make sense in terms of intuitive spontaneous action. Importantly, Intuition is a kind of synthesis between impulse and intelligence, and acts with clarity. The meeting ground of these two forces, heaven and earth, is in the solar plexus in man, and we achieve this synthesis of mind and body through breathing exercises first of all. There are other methods too obviously, but breathing is fundamental to life, and is central to all living activity. The Bible mentions that “Out of his Belly shall flow living waters”, and as you will know there is constant reference to water in Chinese tradition, for example when Bruce Lee discussed “being like water”. What is this water? It is the result of harmony between the inner forces.
The water acts upon the earth (body) through the impact of breath (air), and it is the thought of doing this by conscious breathing g exercises that this is achieved. In other words, the breathing assists circulation of the blood. Here we have another analogy of one force acting on another of a different nature, but actually water is used more to describe what happens when the general acts upon his troops, the masculine (assertive) upon the feminine (receptive)9. This is achieved by breathing in a manner similar to the nature of water, slowly and rhythmically, so that the physical water (the blood) massages and nourishes the organs in concert with the chi (bio electrical energy) which optimises functioning. The blood can be enriched therefore to carry out all sorts of tasks, such as martial arts practice, but it is the result of the invisible water if you like that this is actually a consequence of, not the training itself.
I said earlier that strength is a property of the will, and it is this inner strength which should keep flowing like water. As such, the water flows in order to create a calmness, an alert calmness to be sure, and the activity of this “water”, which is not actually water, creates a harmony within. This allows everything to function well.
Importantly, fire (energy) can heat this water through the intermediary of air (thought). This is known as spirited action, or will power in action, which creates a kind of dynamic energy, or personal magnetism. And what is the magnetism? Love. This is the interaction of Yang, the positive masculine element, acting on the Yin, the receptive or feminine element. The thing to remember is that fire cannot act directly on water, it needs to act through the medium of air, and if we remember the from earlier, the air is associated with the mind. The mind (air) fans the flames (energy). I hope this is becoming clear now that there is no contradiction between the symbols and the realities they represent in different contexts. And so, only when there is unity within (mind) can our plans manifest physically (through the body) through the life force which is fire, or simply energy, without risk of combustion, symbolically speaking.
What is this energy I’m talking about? It is similar to the nervous system activity, and in fact the whole point is to enhance the health and vitality of the nervous system. Even the most powerful specimen, if they disrupt their harmony or misuse it (personal magnetism), they will weaken under strain. We all have felt this. So according to this system of practice, breathing and chi circulation, establishing harmony, activating the chakras, cultivating prana, etc., it all amounts to the same goal. That is, the breathing draws in oxygen which enriches the blood and then greater supply of hormones and other vital components can enrich the body (earth).
Confucius, like Jesus, emphasised the five qualities of Benevolence, kindness, honestly, integrity, patience (actually there are more than five), so as not to disrupt this inner Harmony. This is based on the understanding that letting bad currents through the nervous system upsets balance and energy cultivation. So never give way to negativity if you want to bring about this balance, because what is true as a principal in one domain (physical) is true on another (morality). In other words, practicing in one domain should reinforce or subscribe to the same laws as another if they are to synthesise. Otherwise you end up in contradiction.
You will say “It is a contradiction to speak of Kindness and Humility, and at the same time of war”. No there is no contradiction. When the Chinese Scholars talk of war, they are simply transposing the Notion of intelligence governing action, and applying it to warfare. It is not the fault of that eternal principal if People apply it less than perfectly, in other words fail to realise it in its ideal State. If people are constantly embroiled in war, then they have misinterpreted things. But this does not diminish such a great as an important truth, because the physical manifestation of this truth depicted by the the soldiers on the ground, is only one aspect of the overall reality, which originates formlessly in the mind.
It is in the mind that one reaches more closely to the perfection they are after, but falls short of it on the physical level. In other words, the war we see with the soldiers isn’t the full reality, which includes imperceptible elements such as the mind and energy first of all. Here we are touching on a realm which is almost inconceivable to the human brain, so it has to be looked at using symbolism and imagery, and there it loses some of its essence and meaning. It would take too long to go into more detail, however this is the basic premise for those interested. And besides, it is all explained differently, whether your looking and yoga, tai chi, Warfare, morality, etc., but it all gets at the same key idea: Thought, thought the intermediary of feeling (energy), leads to intelligent action.
References
1 Convergence at the Centre – The Solar Plexus, Fire and Water, and the Hara Centre https://intuitivemartialarts.com/?s=Nostril
2 The Force of Love https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/02/07/the-force-of-love/
3 The Higher and Lower Self in martial Arts https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/05/04/the-higher-and-lower-self-in-martial-arts/
4 High Intensity work and Balance https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/07/05/high-intensity-work-and-balance/
5 Inner Disharmony https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/01/05/inner-disharmony/
6 The Skill is not separate from the Work and Contemplation https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/07/04/the-skill-is-not-separate-from-work-and-contemplation/
7 The High Ideal https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2020/07/26/the-high-ideal/
8 The Marriage of the Inner and Outer Forces https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/01/24/the-marriage-of-the-inner-and-outer-forms/
9 The Left hand should know what the right is doing https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/01/13/the-left-hand-should-know-what-the-right-is-doing/
