Philosophy Of War
69
The generals have a saying:
“Rather than make the first move
it is better to wait and see.
Rather than advance an inch
it is better to retreat a yard.”
This is called
going forward without advancing,
pushing back without using weapons.
There is no greater misfortune
than underestimating your enemy.
Underestimating your enemy
means thinking that he is evil.
Thus you destroy your three treasures
and become an enemy yourself.
When two great forces oppose each other,
the victory will go
to the one that knows how to yield.
Tao Te Ching by Lao-tsu, trans. Stephen Mitchell
We live “east of Eden” and sometimes coercive force is unavoidable. We exiles from paradise do what we can to live. To thrive is our ideal but nothing to be taken for granted. Life is hard. Only fools think otherwise.
These verses consider circumstances which compel the use of force. If news of events are any guide such conditions are becoming more prevalent. Ukraine comes immediately to mind, as does the military occupation of Washington DC and Portland, Oregon.
What rule-of-thumb serves in dire circumstances? The old Master recommends awareness before all else! Keeping in mind that aggression reverts predictably to enervation, and showboating arrogance to humiliation. Best the bully “throw the first punch” which reveals what he is capable of. Raw aggression, the preemptive strike, think “the bad-ass gunslinger” is precluded here.
Three treasures are mentioned as of paramount importance. These were introduced in verse 67. Mitchell translates these as “simplicity, patience, and compassion.” In short abiding respect for all things, that even the enemy perceives and acts according to his/her own reasons. His/her reasons even if flawed, damaged, incomplete are yet reasons… Nothing is “evil,” a demonic-irrational meriting a obliterating response of raw aggression. That assumption, if you give in to it – means that you’ve crossed over to become a mirror image of your enemy.
Know how to yield if you desire to prevail.
Thoughts anyone?
2 thoughts on “Philosophy Of War”
This is a tough one from the standpoint of mitigating one’s own emotional response to aggression. Trying to maintain a sense of compassion towards someone who is threatening your life or that of your family is next to impossible. To me, this path is only possible if the aggressor had the capacity to listen and act in a rational manner with an understanding of self-interest. Most aggressors are reactionaries, filled with self-aggrandizement and rage. Not so easy to have a salient conversation in that situation.
You mention Ukraine (and we can also include dozens of other current scenarios). Putin is not a rational creature. He is bent on subjugating his neighbors specifically for the sake of ego and bravado, looking to piece together the delusional former glory of the USSR. Every authoritarian believes they have the answer, which is basically their own fantasy of domination over others, therefore making up for the vacancy in themselves.
“Simplicity, patience, and compassion” are wonderful dreams and of course this is something we should all strive to incorporate into our lives. But how do those 3 treasures help the world at large when someone is being led to the guillotine?
Tobin, I think the persuasiveness of the Taoist approach hinges upon what is meant by compassion. I suspect that compassion has little to do with any embodied affect, rather has to do with a sense of measure of what animates/drives the opposition, even ICE officers pounding one’s door, insisting upon admission. Could the Tao be recommending that feelings of fear aside, a decision be made whether of accommodation, or of resistance according to one’s sense of self-in accord with the flow of things, one acts without fear of consequences, or of expectation of reason on the part of the aggressors?
The Ukrainians have and will fight because resistance, fighting to the end, is the expression of the meaning of the Ukrainian heritage. This seems consistent with the teaching of Lao-tsu to me. I am sure if Putin were able to announce a cessation of fighting, and withdrawal from their land, they’d happily end their resistance. Hypothetically this is possible. (Even if we know Putin hasn’t this within himself.) Putin does not know how to yield.
To conclude “simplicity, patience, and compassion” are not muddle headed emotions but sober assessments of the terrain ahead, – exactly what we’d wish to muster even when being lead to the guillotine. After all everyone dies. How one dies is what matters.