01.001 Warfare is a great matter to a nation...

[STIELEINC]

To me this means that matters of great importance to nations/myself must be studied/examined and prepared for in order to accomplish victory. Not being prepared is the difference between life and death/winning and failing. Every angle, outcome and every consequence of warfare/conflict must be examined for your desired outcome to occur.

[Quicksilver]

Warfare is a great matter to a nation; it is the ground of death and of life; it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined.

The survival of a nation may very well depend on military action, so we must not take it lightly. If we do not have the forethought to examine what might happen in defense and attack, then we are in a sense defenseless in our own ignorance. This is where the sense of strategy comes in: being one step ahead of the other in every sense of the way.

Therefore, do not take strategy lightly in your life. Prepare for every day and lead from the front, and you will not lose a single day to anyone else.

[HALBLEU]

The focus of conflict should be looked upon as last resort to a country. The decision-maker's does not only look at the primary impact of the decision. He or she focuses on the 2nd, 3rd and the nth order of its impact. Whatever the decision is, the country will feel the impact from it.

[Lonestar]

Yes,
The topic of war is of vital importance to literally everyone. It can be argued that "war" begins as soon as any relationship is established. Individual and collective needs begin to stress the relationship so that some form of negotiation begins. The consumate warrior will artfully set out to negotiate in an effort to avoid war if at all possible. However, because the only control that anyone truly has is that control over themselves, then, as Dr. William Glasser stated in his work "Choice Theory" "the only problem is that people don't do what we want them to do" and this, of course, creates conflict. This conflict may result in a "war" if negotiation fails.

The beauty of the AoW is it can so easily be applied in virtually all areas of life. As discussed above, these interactions and relationships apply to individuals and countries in affairs of state and in the "break room" at work.

Matter of life and death?
Oh yes - both in the literal sense on the battlefield and in the metaphorical sense on the "battlefield" of business.

Humbly submitted,

Lonestar

[jebusan]

regardless the philosophy of any collective group of people{{nation}} wether peacefull or warmonger , the fact is human beings are carnivorous,and bound by an infinit number of dilusional systems of ideas wether its nazi or communism,islam,zionism etc, therefore the threat to a nation is a constant ,mankind will always have war and always be a threat,from outside therefore warfare is a great matter to a nation warfare cannot be avoided because independent nations conflict in laws ,so knowledge is power, survival is the first human instinkd {the first rule of life is to breath}, therefore all of the mechanisms of war must be analised , every possability must be imagined, all information must be systemised and equated,knowledge of the situation is the most powerfull weapon ,
sun tzu was no warmonger in my opinion,he mearly accepted war as a reality,in fact the art of war is much like zen,it is the result of pure reason and logic

[chali]

"The military is a great matter; it is a matter of life and death, of survival or extinction. There is no path but to examine it."

In Sunzi's time, and in ours, the greatest of matters of the State is its means of war or defense. We cannot choose whether or not to examine and understand war and military matters; they are essential to our survival. Even pacificism is such a choice: when confronted, even a pacifist makes a life or death choice.

[Sr_Tokes_Alot]

Warfare is a great matter to a nation; it is the ground of death and of life; it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined.

The “ground of death and of life” meaning is obvious if you think about an individual soldier fighting on the battle field. He is, most likely, fighting for his life and in constant danger of loosing it. However, war can also be the death or life of the nation. Empires rise through warfare, and they fall through warfare. It is the birth and death of nations, and this is why it “must be examined”.

How many nations exist without conflict? None.
It would be naïve to think that your nation, your team, or your company will not encounter conflict. Therefore, prepare for it before it comes.

Toker

[Theo17]

I think it means that the strategy in which you go about your battles, and how you fight them, means alot, and is very important. Which is very obvious, you must think about what you do before you do it, as well as it's consequences. every action has a reaction, use that law, do the right action to get the right reaction you want. Be smart about what you do, and moves you make.

[Choe]

__{*}__

"The state's ''weapon-ness'' is a big deal."

The inferior might not think about it at all, and the mediocre might think about it only very little. Who but a fool, however, would think it other than a "big deal"?

[JC]

Warfare IS a great matter to a nation - it's finances, people, current world standing, and future standing. The 'way' to examine it is to live it.

[worldlystudent]

“Warfare is a great matter to a nation; it is the ground of death and of life; it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined.” Sun Tzu

This decree issued by Sun Tzu is proven by studying history. This first principle answers the question “why” and its completeness leaves no room for doubt. The gravity of this opening statement requires that one charged with command must completely understand and thoroughly apply Sun Tzu’s principles.

[KaLoS]

“Warfare is a great matter to a nation; it is the ground of death and of life; it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined.” Sun Tzu

Warfare is the ground and the way... it is a path. Actually, it is the path of death and life, for all that can take life away from a state or from its people, save the calamities of the body or the earth, is warfare. Life is of such importance that as mankind has, to preserve life, continually poured its collective energy into the study of the body and the earth, the way of warfare must similarly be examined.

Sun Tzu said, "Warfare is a great matter to a nation; it is the ground of death and of life; it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined."

War is about conflict and killing and chaos and evil and if you ignore it you will be asking for it to knock on your door. To survive war you must know what it is and be prepared for it. If you are not prepared then you will not be able to help yourself or anyone else.

"Warfare is a great matter to a nation; it is the ground of death and of life; it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined."

A war is a crucial event in the history of a country, it could result in the destruction of its army, government,economy and people. therefore a ruler must pay attention to warfare, and he have to examine warfare as one of the main matters (and dangers) of his government.

It where feudal times when these words where written. The leaders where the nation. As such all that mattered to the leader might not matter to the people, but mattered too the nation anyway.

If the leader dies and a foreign leader takes over, .... the nation can be considered dead and a new one, ... one part of a larger one, ... emerged from the ashes of the battles fought in dispear.

Perhaps not a single battle, but a war lost, ... could have grave consequences for the leader personally, but for his people too.

If a leader wants to sustain his power, ... he must ensure that his nation survives with him.

Their is no feudalism if a nation has no leader neither will there be feudalism if a leader looses his nation.

Too survive, he must be prepared. Must be prepared to survive and be willing to take a beating too because surviving might include some destruction too on either opposing part.