Thursday, September 14, 2017

The Best Doctor (Book Excerpt The Art of War - Sun Tzu)


By Manuwant Choudhary

I've been reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu and the book never fails to amaze with stories and insights.

You need to read it again and again to let the ideas sink in.

The translator Thomas Cleary in his introduction tells this ancient Chinese story.

A Chinese lord once asked his physician, a member of a family of healers, which of them was the most skilled in the art.

The physician, whose name was such that his name became synonymous with medical science in China, replied, "My eldest brother sees the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house.

My elder brother cures sickness when it is still minute, so his name does not get out of the neighbourhood."

"As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time my name gets out and is heard among the lords."


This the translator says is the essence of  The Art of War.

He writes, "What is essential for leaders, generals, and ministers in running countries and governing armies is no more than this."

You can try guess which doctor our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ?