"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for each victory gained you will also suffer one defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

— Sun Tzu

This quote from "The Art of War" is attributed to Sun Tzu, a general and strategist who served King Helu of Wu in China during the sixth century B.C. The book has been studied throughout the ages by students of politics and management and is required reading for military officers even today.

Genuine success in business depends on knowing not only another’s intentions, but also understanding one’s own motivations, combined with the ability to appreciate the ramifications of an action over time.

Consider the decision by China to temporarily relinquish Hong Kong to the British. The Opium Wars, which led to British victories over China, resulted in the cession of the New Territories of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom, but the agreement was only for 99 years. By taking the long view of how the English would develop the settlement, upon Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, China received of one of the great pearls of the British Crown.

Ancient and deeply held cultural beliefs by China’s neighbors in Tibet, Mongolia and Bhutan echo Sung Tzu’s advice to look both inward and outward before acting, but offer in addition that prosperity, health, long life and freedom stem from compassionate intentions. This goes beyond working toward mutual benefit or "win, win" and involves genuine concern toward others. On the other hand, greed or aversion, which results from attachment and fear, breeds prejudice, clouds the mind and makes sound judgment more difficult.

Whether in the pursuit of war, politics or business, modern society is too often shortsighted.

Wasn’t the shared intention of the sequester to force bipartisan cooperation before a self-imposed deadline and to avoid an outcome too harsh for either party to stomach? As it turned out, both Demo­crats and Republicans were willing to sacrifice elements of their own agenda to cut costs in areas the other party would never accept. To what end?

"This cut will likely lead to increased hospitalizations, increased involvement in the criminal justice system and homelessness," according to a White House report.

As many as 12,000 scientists and students could be hurt because the National Science Foundation would offer 1,000 fewer research awards. The Food and Drug Administration could be forced to implement fewer drug approvals and conduct 2,100 fewer inspections at facilities that manufacture food products.

Cuts to the Mental Health Block Grant program mean 373,000 adults and children would not receive mental health services. A pullback on funding for the AIDS drug assistance program could result in 7,400 fewer patients having access to HIV medications, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would conduct approximately 424,000 fewer HIV tests.

The National Association of Community Health Centers believes up to 900,000 patients might be turned away. Provider reimbursement by Medicare also will contract 2 percent, as will funds for physician training.

Could this outcome not have been anticipated? So much time and money would have been saved if our politicians could read the tea leaves.

The potential ripple effect on Hawaii is profound. Gov. Neil Abercrombie has initiated a Sequestration Impact Response Team made up of public and private stakeholders to identify "how we can help our citizens and segments of our community that will be most affected." The 2013-2015 biennial budget includes provisions to adjust to sequestration.

Hawaii always has benefited from being the crossroads of the Pacific and serves as a vessel to integrate wisdom from the indigenous culture, Polynesia, the Occident and the Orient. The island community would benefit from embracing these ancient truths more fully, enabling it to serve ever better as a model for the wealth of health. Washington needs it.

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Ira Zunin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., is medical director of Manakai o Malama Integrative Healthcare Group and Rehabilitation Center and CEO of Global Advisory Services Inc. Please submit your questions to info@manakaiomalama.com.