The Opponent Relationship Is Not A Contest

The framework of combat (like competition) by definition introduces the principle of "better than"; the measure of success (or not) over another is integral, and our western culture encourages this. Structured combat (and practice for it) is a traditional tool used in the east for developing awareness, but for both eaast and west it seems all too easy for egoic identity to become attached (or even identified) with an adversarial approach to all relationships (which the author does warn of). Human interactions in a spirit of cooperation seem a better fit than those of combat to me...

Thanks for your stimulating insights. I believe 'we are one' is integral. If we accepted that, we may eliminate competition, combat, and concern about 'better than'.