War

The Art of War by Sun Tzu gives instructions on waging a successful war, while The Wisdom of the Desert teaches the lesson of "turning the other cheek" when faced with physical opposition. This is not to say however, that the desert monks did not vigorously fight against internal as well as external conflict, for conquering evil was their main purpose in life. One of the main themes in both these books is using strategy in facing conflict. Military commanders know how important planning and executions to winning a battle, not to mention a war. Sun Tzu explained strategy in his book. He states: The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but a few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat; how much more no calculations at all! (Clavell 1983, 11) Sun Tzu realized that to conquer the enemy, one must be fully prepared and consider all actions and consequences before going into battle. When speaking of tactics, Sun Tzu wrote: 2 He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated. (Clavell 1983, 7) So if the commander is thoroughly able to carry out his plans, he will have beaten the enemy before stepping onto the battlefield. Sun Tzu argued that success was in the hands of the commander since, "the consummate leader cultivates the Moral Law and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success." (Clavell 1983, 20) Strategy is key to success, not just in war but in any aspect of life

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