The Zen Art of War

Sam Lea

Description

The Zen Art of War is a collection of meditations on the psychological principles of war.
It weaves together the wisdom of great thinkers on the subject, such as Sun Tzu, Miyamoto Musashi, Bruce Lee and more, to present a modern guide to becoming a warrior.
The value of this book lies in the fact that it illuminates the martial arts for what they really are: a way of life. At their core is the aim of achieving self-mastery.
The Zen Art of War is a distillation of those principles of self-mastery presented in a simple way that everyone can understand, from novice white belts to the most advanced black belts.
The pages within this book teach that true power comes from within. When you master your mind, you master your life. And when you master your life, you become a master of the art of war.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
• Date de parution: 30 novembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528978040
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Zen Art of War
Sam Lea
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-11-30
The Zen Art of War About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgement Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
About the Author
Sam Lea is a writer based in London, United Kingdom. She has an honours degree in psychology and is a qualified yoga teacher. Her life path has led her to study every facet of eastern and western philosophy, which she tries in every way to integrate into her writing on various topics. Her primary area of interest is the ‘theory of mind’.
Dedication
For the Witches
Copyright Information ©
Sam Lea (2020)
The right of Sam Lea to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528978026 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528978040 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgement
To Justine, for your inspiration and guidance.
To all of my yoga teachers over the years, the Witches, each of whom has taught me something magical.
To all of my teachers and friends at Stellenbosch University.
To all of my teachers and friends at the University of Johannesburg.
To all the martial artists and self-defence teachers I studied with and learnt from.
To Bruce Lee, for his artistry and relentless pursuit of Truth.
To Sun Tzu, upon whose lofty shoulders I stood creating this book.
And last but not least, to my partner, Megan, without whom this book would not be possible. I love you with all my heart.
Introduction
I wrote this book because it is the book I needed when I was growing up. My early life was violent. My parents were dangerous people. Neither of them should have ever been entrusted with a child.
Strangely, however, I very recently studied their surnames, and found that they both refer to war. My dad’s family name traces back to the Roman god of war, and my mom’s family name traces back to an old Scottish-Gaelic word for ‘battlefield’. That fascinated me. It got me to thinking that the old adage ‘everything happens for a reason’ must be true. I mean, someone had to write this book. So why not me?
By now I suppose you are wondering what my credentials are to write a book called The Zen Art of War . Fair enough, so let me tell you. A number of years ago my partner and I were attacked in a dark alleyway by three men. It wasn’t a literal dark alleyway, but it was a narrow and secluded area where we should not have been in the first place. That was our first mistake: a master of the art of war never puts themselves in such a vulnerable position, ever.
What I later came to learn through studying the martial arts is that situational awareness is the foundation of everything. In yoga they call it ‘present moment awareness’. Basically it’s the art of being in the present moment. Easier said than done, I know. But when it comes to self-defence, it is literally the difference between life and death.
If Megan and I had been in our right minds that day, we would not have gotten ourselves into that situation in the first place. The truth is that a series of bad choices led us to that dark alleyway. It wasn’t a once-off random incident. Like so many people, we were not being present enough in our daily lives to see where the proverbial train was taking us.
Fortunately, we escaped unscathed, but it was a very close call. South Africa is a country with a frighteningly high rape and murder rate. We are very lucky to not have become another statistic.
What saved us, however, was not fighting back against our attackers. What saved us was something else. Something I am still trying to understand.
Something inside me awoke that day. Thanks to my traumatic childhood, I know how to think clearly in chaos. I am good at staying calm under pressure. When the three men appeared, I immediately realised that fighting wasn’t an option. We were outnumbered. They were stronger. Fighting physically was out of the question. It would only make things worse. My only other option was to get into their heads. To shake them internally. So I screamed. And when I screamed, I made sure that my voice sounded like it was connected to all other voices. Like help was on its immediate way. As though Batman was going to fall out of the sky and beat them to a bloody pulp. It worked. Our attackers panicked and froze, giving us the chance to escape.
After the incident, I kept replaying it over and over in my mind. What was that feeling that came out of me when I screamed for help? The men were on top of Megan, frantically trying to take her clothes off. I stood watching them calmly as though it was a movie. I didn’t feel scared at all. Then I opened my mouth and some kind of bright light came out. What on earth was it? I had to find the answer.
I began to study the martial arts. I wanted to become an expert at self-defence. I wanted to make sure that Megan and I never found ourselves in a dark alleyway again.