The Tao, Martial Arts, And The War In Iraq

May 24th, 2006 at 02:15pm Joshua Landis 65

The Taoists believe that life is like a river. Events unfold in a way reminiscent of water flowing eternally downstream. There are falls and eddies, narrow rapids and wide, meandering meadows. We are part of the great flow of life and our actions will have an effect on the quality of our future world – how much effect we can have as individuals or collectively is a great topic for debate.

 The Chinese character for ‘martial’ or ‘military’ is a composite of the symbols for ‘sword’ and ‘stop’. “Moo” or military in the Taoist/ martial artist’s view, therefore, represents a stopping of inner and outer conflict. Contrary to the perception of armies and weapons as war-making machines, the Taoist view of strength and military might can be described as defensive and even “peace-making” in nature.

Students of the martial arts often look to ancient eastern principles to guide their actions in training and in life. It is interesting to note that some eastern philosophers have looked upon the United States as the greatest example of these principles. One such philosopher is the founder of the traditional, Korean martial art known as Soo Bahk Do www.soobahkdo.com.

Grand master Hwang Kee, in a book that has not been released to the public, describes the way in which the United States epitomizes the principle of military might used properly – to prevent conflict. Great power can and should be used to achieve peaceful ends. The US has often provided a shining example of peace and humanity through proper management of great powers of destruction, and military might.

Hwang Kee passed away slightly before we began the war in Iraq. If he were alive today would he still praise the U.S. for its peacekeeping role in the world in spite of our preemptive actions? Or have we lost one of our greatest assets – our ability to lead the world by example? Our goodwill.

Events continue to unfold as time moves our world down the stream of cause and effect. We can only observe, and hopefully learn from our mistakes. We can venture into the eddies of contemplation in order to make sense of our past decisions, and to learn from our mistakes, but we must ultimately continue down-stream. Hopefully we can find a calm place in the river from which to make the right decisions for our changing world.

We, as Americans, need to hold ourselves to the highest of standards if we hope to remain a world leader. We need to gain wisdom from our mistakes, while never losing our ability to competently navigate the rapids ahead.

Entry Filed under: Fitness, Foreign Policy