Military strategists have a saying:
"Rather than act like the lord of the manor, I would rather behave like a guest.
Rather than advance an inch, I would rather retreat a foot."
We can be either "hard" or "soft" which leads us either forward or backward yet does not provide us the balance necessary to achieve great things. We train our spirits-minds-bodies to achieve a point of balance that allows the flow of energy to touch the Tao; constant battle to remain at that balance point is the crux of practice/training.
The point of the saying is that you should:
Advance upon them without going forward
Seize their property without even bearing arms.
Attack where there is no enemy.
Prevail upon them without weapons.
The true "Way" is to not fight! The true "Way" is to not strike first! Yet, when the opportunity presents itself we must fight by striking first. Our training is such that we strive to never have to resort to physical means of settling an issue but to settle the issue by other means, strike first with our spirits and minds with the physical as a last resort.
There is no greater disaster than to underestimate your enemy.
If I did that, I would lose my 3 treasures (benevolence, frugality, never trying to be number one)
In combat, the most reticent side will win.
Is not the way of the empty hand also to achieve a level of confidence and ability so that we apply "restraint" before "action". Do we not take this type of "action first" so that we can achieve more or do we simply take the easy path with violence.
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