PROLOGUE
孫子兵法
“The war is won in the mind.” — Sun Tzu (Sūn Zǐ)
Present day Shenzhen, China
Shenzhen lies in the neighbourhood of Hong Kong, neatly nestled in the Pearl River estuary, showcasing the gleaming monument of the phenomenal Chinese economic miracle.
Way back in 1980 before the country embarked upon opening up and introduced economic reforms, the township wore a dull and desultory look with a mere 60,000 inhabitants, struggling to find its place under the sun.
Today, it is a megacity dotted with skyscrapers and entrepreneurs, with a gargantuan inflow of foreign capital. It has emerged as a major technological hub housing nearly twelve million people. The city has leapfrogged into the economic stratosphere of the world over the last three decades. The transfiguration has been from iron-fisted communism to breathtaking market communism, from decadence to opulence. And yes, in this churning, women entrepreneurs, in
particular, have emerged and come to the fore as the economic space widens to the fairer sex.
The weather was salubrious at twenty-nine degrees Celsius, sometime on a mid-September day. The other parameters read: precipitation thirty percent, humidity levels at seventy-eight percent and wind velocity eighteen kilometres per hour; in short, all the makings of a perfect day for the denizens of this burgeoning city to go about their daily chores.
Xi Xiao Ming with an erect spine and wearing loose fitting clothes, was firmly perched on a low platform, alert and sporting a wide smile. A marathon session of the ancient practice of Tai Chi, followed by the equally ancient Indian practice of yoga and breathing techniques had been rounded off with deep meditation along with her seven tutees.
As the intense session arched towards a climax, in the background strains of the pristine Shanti mantra echoed and filtered through the house.
“Lokāh samastāh sukhino bhavantu.
Om shanti, shanti, shantihi.”
“May all beings everywhere be happy and free.”
“While chanting this mantra let us try to feel deeply for all living beings, and make a resolve to live in this selfless spirit. May peace and harmony prevail.”
“Take a deep breath in and breathe out. Take another breath in … breathe out completely. When you feel complete, whole and at peace, become aware of your body and surroundings and very gently you may open your eyes,” uttered a soothing male voice. The voice had a profound, magical impact on the teacher and her tutees. They looked radiant, like fresh dew on rose petals, absolutely pristine.
“Hmmm, today is the last day of this power-packed programme. We practised Tai Chi, yoga, breathing exercises and deep meditation. These six days passed by like the clappers,” Xiao Ming addressed the small gathering.
The plenteous and swanky house of Xiao Ming was located in an upmarket area of Shenzhen. The hum-drum of the city apparently did not interrupt the hush and shush of the six-day meditation programme.
“Look how radiant you all are! I wish you could see yourselves in a mirror,” gushed Xi Xiao Ming.
“You know these six days have passed by in a jiffy and the credit goes to all of you,” said Ming in her soft, soothing voice. “Each of you participated with absolute dedication and concentration,” she continued, addressing each participant by name.
“So why don’t we share our experiences? How the last six days have been? It will serve as a testimonial for me to spread awareness about the prowess of meditation, breathing techniques and launch further programmes among others. What do you say? Do you find any difference at all?”
“Maybe I have a selfish reason too. It will help me evolve and grow spiritually,” chuckled the teacher in a bid to assuage any fears that the group might have had about sharing their feelings and experiences.
What had started as an amorphous group, evolved into a cohesive unit over six days. The group included atheists, agnostics, technocrats and Buddhists. Most of them subscribed to an overlapping of more than one thought process. To bring about change in such a group with radically diverse ideologies was indeed an arduous task.
Guo Ping, Liang Hua, Xu Zhi Jun, Yu Cheng Dong, Xu Wen Wei, Ren Zheng Fei and Meng Wan Zhou, the seven tutees were top honchos led by one of their group leaders, Ren Zheng Fei of the largest 
Internet and technology companies in the country and the world’s biggest investment corporation.
Xiao Ming, with her background in the field of technology, could establish an immediate connect with the participants. The enormously trim and energetic, Ren Zheng Fei summarised the experiences of the tech-savvy and quick-witted group.
“Well, truth be told, initially we all were apprehensive about yoga, meditation and breathing techniques. All of us are of course familiar with Tai Chi. I myself footslog on the treadmill and work on the elliptic bedsides following a regime of several rounds of push ups and crunches. So, my energy levels are pretty high, even if I say so myself!” Zheng Fei smiled at his audience and continued, “However this course opened several apertures of our mind. We feel much calmer, with our frayed nerves soothed and soft. We all felt blank, peaceful, and emotionally placid and are in better control of our emotions.” Xiao Ming’s smile broadened as she heard this description.
Liang Hua added, “Some of us had experiences like floating amidst the clouds, seeing our ancestors, and parachuting towards an apogee. We thought such a thing to be weird, almost like voodoo, but then they merely passed away and we returned back to our selves. In the meditation sessions we all felt that the mammoth, azure sky was our mind and the clouds like thoughts that appeared and disappeared. All this was quite incredible. We felt tranquil at the end.”
“This unique programme would certainly enhance the productivity levels of those employed in tech companies and engineering firms. The clarity in thought process of the executives would grow manifold,” chipped in Guo Ping, the youngest of the group.
“All the credit goes to the tutor whose deliverables need to be complemented without fail,” Xu Zhi Jun added.
As the participants shared their experiences, Ming felt ecstatic seeing their faces. Guo Ping and Xu Zhi Jun quickly set up the table for the pot-luck dinner. The hot pot was brought in from the kitchen and bowls, napkins and chop sticks placed to one side. Around the hot pot were
placed a variety of delicious dishes, all vegetarian in keeping with the requirements of the programme.
The ravenous lot devoured delicacies such Qīngjiāo tǔdòu sī (stir fried potatoes with green peppers), sù jiǎozi (veg dumpling), xiānggū qīngcji (green vegetables with mushroom), dì sān xiān (stir-fried potatoes, aubergine and sweet peppers), gān biān dòu jiǎo (Sichuan dry-fried green beans), chǎo dòuyá (stir-fried bean sprouts) and liáng bjn huáng guā (cucumber salad) awaited the hungry group. The vegetarian fare satiated their hunger as they continued exchanging notes amidst plenty of cheery talk.
As they gathered again for the final instructions to mark the conclusion of the programme, Xiao Ming explained that each one of them should strive to inculcate four aspects in their lives - calmness in the mind, peace in the heart, silence in thoughts and ensure goodness and kindness in all deeds and actions.
X-axis: Time in years
Y-axis: Factors in life (Absence of siblings, poverty, no peace of mind, reliable relationships etc.)
The point of inflection was our inherent sadness and we are in quest of happiness.
Xiao Ming elaborated, “Well, we all have misadventures in life alongside numerous achievements. Someone looks for an emotional succour in a lover or a sibling. Many a time despite superabundance in our lives we feel certain lack. Fundamentally it is inherent in human nature to postpone the emotional quotient of happiness to a future date. This programme transmutes your thought process to reach the summit of happiness called NOW.”
“It is paramount to be happy in the NOW rather than deferring HAPPINESS to a FUTURE DATE,” were Xi Xiao Ming’s closing remarks.
Xi Xiao Ming’s face was radiant. She truly felt the deliverables of the course were rendered seamlessly.
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