THE ART OF WAR (SUN TZU)

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun Tzu (also referred to as "Sunzi" and "Sun Wu"), a high ranking military general and strategist during the late Spring and Autumn period (some scholars believe that the Art of War was not completed until the subsequent Warring States period. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it is said to be the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and is still read for its military insights. The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It has been the most famous and influential of China's Seven Military Classics: "for the last two thousand years it remained the most important military treatise in Asia, where even the common people knew it by name.It has had an influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond.Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy, and that the decision to position an army must be based on both objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of other, competitive actors in that environment. He thought that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a changing environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Source: History.com

THE MIND

BEAUTIFUL CHINA

Of all ideological and cultural systems, Confucian moral resources are the most rich in the world. These moral norms and resources supervise the Chinese families, social relations and political relations, making China a country of high moral standards.

Almost all Shanghai women think they are the women of women. They love fashion, perfumes, cosmetics… just like they love their own bodies. Shanghai is a stylish city, destined to create a different temperament of beauties.

MANTRAS MUSIC RELAX MEDITATION

OM MANI PADME HUM

What does Om Mani Padme Hum mean?

• OM, composed of three sound A, U, and M, stands for the practitioner's impure body,
  speech, and mind; they also symbolize the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of an enlightened person, a Buddha
• MANI ( jewel) symbolizes the altruistic intention to become enlightened
• PADME (lotus) a symbol of wisdom
• HUM indicates indivisibility.

"Thus the six syllables, OM MANI PADME HUM, mean that by the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha." HH the Dalai Lama

Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying the mantra (prayer), Om Mani Padme Hum, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion. Viewing the written form of the mantra is said to have the same effect -- it is often carved into stones, like the one pictured above, and placed where people can see them. Spinning the written form of the mantra around in a Mani wheel (or prayer wheel) is also believed to give the same benefit as saying the mantra, and Mani wheels, small hand wheels and large wheels with millions of copies of the mantra inside, are found everywhere in the lands influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.

The Mani Wheel

SIMPLY: SOUTH KOREA

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Daehan Minguk), is a sovereign state located in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages. Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9.8 million. (Source: Wikipedia)

During Ceauşescu regime, Romania had no economical relations with South Korea, but with North Korea, due to the communist regime of both countries. After the 1989 Revolution in Romania, South Korea could be visited by Romanian tourists as well. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, but also has one of the world's lowest birthrates (1.21 children per woman). Dealing with this very low birthrate will be one of the major problems for this country in the 21st century. Confucian attitudes about the importance of a male heir have led to a strongly skewed sex ratio, with about 112 men for every 100 women encouraging many Korean men in rural areas to seek wives from other countries such as China, Vietnam and the Philippines. About 85% of South Koreans live in urban areas. Koreans believe that the things that set them the most apart from other Asian cultures are their cuisine, their language and their hangul script.