170. Genchitaofu Baguazhang's Bingfa - 艮氣道福八卦掌の兵法 (4/4)

In this moment I chose to delve deeper into the mysteries of war. And to understand that, which is not easily understood. A lot of things to do with war is an admission that those who are fighting it, have lost control of that thing we call reality. In peacetime, reality is the ability to hold sway over one's surroundings to the degree that what we hold to be true is a reflection of what we want. War is the undeclared admission that we are not absolute in that ability. For most people this makes no sense. Especially when we come from cultures and societies where violence is just an everyday occurrence in our homes and on our streets. As an internal martial artist, most of what we experience around us, is a manifestation or reflection of the war raging within us; a vast sea that separates us from who we are meant to be. A being that resides at our centre. The sea is calm and sailing it is a breeze, and yet by the rules of our respective cultures and societies, we become blind to what we see and instead experience the maelstrom as we go to war with ourselves. And so, you may argue that your enemies are real and that you bleed when you get cut. True. You do. But have you ever noticed how much your enemies fulfil a role that must be played out like a specific chess piece for the conflict to have meaning? Perhaps it's just a game where the players are nothing but pawns, or an endless cycle on the Monopoly boardgame. Does the shedding of blood get you any closer to the original reason of why you got into war? People who go back to their original reasons, tend to make the decision that it's time to leave the game and get back on the path they're meant to be on. And as a result, their inner sea calms down and they drop anchor at their centre. The subsequent stillness they experience gives them gravity. In martial arts and war, gravity is the force, that by its very existence bends reality around them. There is no need to force one's will upon others because gravity will draw into one's sphere of influence what wants to be influenced. The sages, gurus, prophets and other wise people of the ancient past knew this. Like measuring the stars, they measured the influenced around them. And so knew in advance, that should they die, their war was already won. And that death was just a spiritual door that leads off the lower game board and up to a much higher and larger game above.