Those who
awaken never rest in one place.
Like swans, they rise and leave the lake.
On the air they rise and fly an invisible course.
Their food is knowledge. They live on emptiness.
They have seen how to break free.
Who can follow them?
Those who
awaken never rest in one place.
Like swans, they rise and leave the lake.
On the air they rise and fly an invisible course.
Their food is knowledge. They live on emptiness.
They have seen how to break free.
Who can follow them?
The general
is the bulwark of the nation.
When the bulwark is strong, the nation
is strong. When the bulwark is
weak, the nation is
weak.
There
are three ways
in which a ruler can bring
misfortune to his army: if he orders
the army to retreat or advance when it cannot
effectively do so, this is called “hobbling the army”;
if he attempts to administer the army when he does not
know how, its warriors will become frustrated;
if he commands the officers without proper
insight into how they function, this
will undermine their
confidence.
Once an army
has been confused like this,
trouble will arise from every direction.
This is known as “inviting chaos
and handing victory to the
opponent.”
💀
from The Art of War, Chapter III
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No want
is the greatest bliss.
It can be realized only by experience.
Even an emperor is no match
for a man with no
wants.
Accept
everything which happens,
even if it seem disagreeable, because
it leads to this, the health of
the universe.
We are all
chained to fortune:
the chain of one is made of gold,
and wide, while that of another is short
and rusty. But what difference does it make?
The same prison surrounds all of us, and even those
who have bound others are bound themselves; unless perchance
you think that a chain on the left side is lighter. Honors bind one man,
wealth another; nobility oppresses some, humility others; some are
held in subjection by an external power, while others obey
the tyrant within; banishments keep some in one place,
the priesthood others. All life is slavery. Therefore
each one must accustom himself to his own
condition and complain about it as
little as possible, and lay hold
of whatever good is to be
found near him.