How
can the teaching of a military strategist and the Chinese Art of Astrology intertwine?
When
it comes to fundamentals and applications, both systems share similarities.
Both are more than 2,500 years old but remain ageless in their relevancy to
modern times. A military strategist like Sun Tzu advocates that one should
always be prepared in battle as can be read from his brilliant mantra -
“Know
yourself; know your enemy and your victory will be assured. Know heaven; know
earth and your victory will be complete”
How
does this relate to Chinese Astrology? In one of the systems of Chinese
astrology, a person’s fate is sealed at the time of birth in a set of pillars
known as “The Four Pillars of Destiny”. Accompanying these four pillars is a
set of luck pillars which chart the course of a person’s life over 10 yearly
intervals. Together, these pillars formed our destiny’s chart and by the
reading of this chart, we can foretell what destiny awaits us in life and see
in the same light as Sun Tzu’s Art of War, it can be said that “to be
forewarned is to be forearmed”.
According
to “The Art of War”, the five important virtues a general must have in order to
be successful in battle are - Wisdom, Courage, Sincerity, Benevolence and
Discipline.
Based
on “The Four Pillars of Destiny”, a person’s destiny is governed by five important
elements i.e. Resource, Self, Output, Wealth and Influence.
The
five virtues and five elements are mutually reinforcing as follows:-
Wisdom
<> Resource
Courage
<> Self
Sincerity
<> Output
Benevolence
<> Wealth
Discipline
<> Influence
By
wisdom, we mean that a general should employ his resource element which is his
thoughts, intuition, knowledge and experience in devising his strategies. If
his resource element is weak, he will not be able to plan wisely.
By
courage, it is taken to mean that the general needs to be strong and brave in
facing adversity. He has to show fortitude in overcoming challenges and
obstacles in the battlefields. If his self element is weak, he leans towards
cowardice and risk being captured.
By
sincerity, it is perceived that the general should exhibit honesty in his
communication and be able to convey his message incisively in a heartfelt and
convincing manner. If his Output element is weak, he lacks persuasive prowess
and will find it hard to gain the trust of his men.
By
benevolence, the general is seen as generous with his wealth and willingly
share his spoils of war with his men, care for them and appreciates their
efforts and toil. If his wealth element is weak, his men will lose confidence
in him and thus, feel demoralize to fight on.
By
discipline, the general will have to exert his influence over his men through
leadership by example. He will have to be strict with his men so that orders
are consistently carried out and will not hesitate to punish if his reports
fail in their duties. If his Influence element is weak, his men will not be
loyal to him and may rebel against his control.
“So, are you destined to be a five star general? “ Stay connected for part 2.