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Marvin's Reviews > The Art of War
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
by Sun Tzu
My wife says watching me read The Art of War is like watching Danny DeVito read The Joy of Sex. I'm not sure how to take that.
Bottom line, I'm a lover not a fighter. I started this because I know that many people love this work and say they get a lot out of it. But it became clear to me after quite a few pages that The Art of War really is about fighting a war no matter what other people might interpret it to be. So I'm not interested.
Besides the two things I need to know about fighting I learned from The Princess Bride...
1. Never get into a land war in Indo-China.
2. Never make a bet involving death with a Sicilian.
Bottom line, I'm a lover not a fighter. I started this because I know that many people love this work and say they get a lot out of it. But it became clear to me after quite a few pages that The Art of War really is about fighting a war no matter what other people might interpret it to be. So I'm not interested.
Besides the two things I need to know about fighting I learned from The Princess Bride...
1. Never get into a land war in Indo-China.
2. Never make a bet involving death with a Sicilian.
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Shovelmonkey1
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Jul 27, 2011 03:23am
Your wife is a funny woman!
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The Princess Bride also tells us that starting a war is a prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition. As for your relationship with your wife, I advise you to tweasure your wuv.
Jason is spot on. If you read it with a western mind then you will completely miss the point. I recommend reading Alan Watts (The Book is a good start) as he simply is superb in translating the eastern mindset to the western mindset. Also, Bruce Lee was a fan of The Art of War, and he in no way was a "Violent" person. Fighting truly is more about understanding yourself and how the way you act affects your surroundings than it is for mere violence. It's all in the Yin and Yang, they're part of eachother. To separate them and say "I'm a lover, not a fighter" says more to me of your slave-morality than it does of your ability to love. All my opinion, feel free to discuss and think with an open mind!
Vipul, For someone who claims to know Taoist philosophy, you certainly are judgmental. Also you lack a sense of humor, which Alan Watts certainly had. I did not explain this to Jason because he did not get the tongue-in-cheek attitude of my review, just as you did not. I never said one can not learn from The Art of War. I am well-versed in the writings of Shunryu Suzuki, Alan Watts, and others. While Sun Tzu was a Taoist philosopher, he was primarily a military leader and anyone who thinks The Art of War was not written foremost as a military primer is naive. I'm not saying he didn't have some amazing wisdom in his work. I am saying that personally I would rather go to the more direct teachings of Lao Tzu and the Buddha for my inspiration.Also, I love it when someone says "slave morality" and presumes to know the mindset of a person he never met, then asks that person to "think with an open mind". Amazing!
