Issue nº 225

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The Five Laws of Sun Tzu

“The Art of War,” written by Sun Tzu in 490 A.C., speaks of the five laws of combat, which are as follows:

Faith: before entering a battle, it is necessary to believe in the reason for the fight.

Rabbi Zuya had so much faith that he wanted to know the divine mysteries. To do so, he decided to imitate the life of Moses.

For years he tried to behave like the prophet, but he did not obtain the results he had hoped for. One night, exhausted from so much studying, he fell asleep. In his dream, God appeared to him.

“What disturbs you so much, my son?” He asked.

“My days on Earth will end, and I am far from being like Moses,” answered Zuya, “though I have tried with all my strength, I have not succeeded.”

“If I needed another Moses, I would have created him already,” said God, “when you come before Me on Judgment Day, I shall not ask why you were not like Moses, I shall as why you were not who you should have been. Try to be a good Zuya.”

The Companion: choose your allies and learn to fight while accompanied by others, because nobody wins a war alone.

A baker wanted to get to know a great guru in his town a little better, so he invited him to dinner. The day before, the guru went to the bakery disguised as a beggar, picked a bread roll off the display and began to eat it. The baker saw this and tossed him out into the street.

The following day, the guru and a disciple went to the baker’s house and were treated to a splendid banquet.

In the middle of the meal, the disciple asked, “How does one tell a good man from a bad man?”

“Just look at this baker. He is capable of spending ten gold pieces on a banquet because I am famous, but is incapable of giving a piece of bread to feed a hungry beggar.”

Time: a fight in winter is different from a fight in summer; a bad warrior pays no attention to the problem when he is young. And when he grows up, he feels unable to overcome it.

A camel dealer reached a village to sell fine animals at a very good price. Everyone bought one, except Mr. Hoosep.

Some time later, the village received a visit from another dealer, with excellent camels, but they were much more expensive. This time, Hoosep bought some animals.

“You did not buy the camels when they were almost for free, and now you pay almost double,” criticized his friends.

“Those cheap ones were very expensive for me, because at that time I had very little money,” answered Hoosep, “these animals might seem more expensive, but for me they are cheap, because I have more than enough to buy them.”

Space: you do not fight on a precipice the same way as you fight on a plain. Always consider what is most favorable around you.

I was walking down a small road in northern Spain when I saw a peasant lying in a garden.

“You are crushing the flowers,” I said.

“No,” he answered, “I am trying to get a little of their sweetness.”

Strategy: the best warrior is the one who plans his combat.

The Ninja warriors go to the field where some wheat has just been planted. Obeying the trainer’s command, they jump over the places where the seeds were sown.

Every day the Ninja warriors return to the field. The seeds turn into buds, and the warriors jump over them. The buds turn into small plants, and the warriors jump over them.

They do not become bored. They do not feel it is a waste of time.

The wheat grows, and the jumps become higher and higher. In this way, when the plant is ripe, the Ninja warriors still manage to jump over it.

Why? As a result of their jumping over what many may have seen as insignificant, has allowed them to be keenly aware of their obstacles.