(圍魏救趙／围魏救赵, Wéi Wèi jiù Zhào)

The explanation for this... I don't like. Basically it says (on Wikipedia) to attack the weakest link.

When I read that... I was thinking, damn I am totally just not a 36 strategies kind of guy. But then I just read the title part again and even though the meaning might be the same, the emphasis is on rescuing Zhao... ie a positive.

In other words, yeah I attack a weakness but the goal is to saves something.

Anyway, I guess I don't really go around attacking people's weaknesses. I just take note of everyone's and of course my own.

Mostly my personal experience with this one is people pointing out my weaknesses and implying that they will attack them.

Again, I guess I am totally not a 36 strategies kind of guy but more of a Buddhist and a Bushido type of dude... which is kind of hard to say for me...

But I'm not going to go around looking for everyone's weaknesses and starting trouble.

But what I will do is to take into account my weaknesses... and then try not to have them be weaknesses.

What does that mean and why did I say Buddhism and Bushido?

Well, ultimately, you can't control anything really. Nothing is yours. In the Dhamapada it says something like "the fool says, sons are mine, wealth is mine," etc. but really nothing is yours. Once you recognize this, you can't be afraid of losing what you don;t really have. Not to be all depressed and also not care about gaining what "you don't really have"

And then Bushido?

It says that "nothing is guaranteed except honor."

In other words.., you don;t know if you will live, or in a less drastic situation if this or that was the factor that destroyed or helped you. But you can control how you reacted to the situation.... if you were honorable.

Honorable is a loaded term.

So for me it's more about, did I act how I wanted to act. Was I true to my self and my own honor or style of honor.

In other words, if the world were going to end tomorrow anyway... would you realy let the fact that someone was going to do this this and this to you be the reason that stopped you from doing what you wanted to do?

Now the 36 strategies are talking about war. But heck not only is all fair in love and war... but weather or many things can change the outcome. That is not to say act foolishly. But just because say... this country will destroy this weaker ally if you attack.... okay so maybe you shouldn't attack. But should you attack anyway? Also, are you attacking because you are afraid?

If nothing is guaranteed but honor... then just make sure you stay true to yourself. Don't attack crazily (unless that is the type of country you are, which would be a rogue country of bandits)  But also you can't let your life be dictated by another country all the time simply because of the threat of war. Because in the end... nothing is guaranteed anyway.