Oneness and
Nothingness are to be Born Together as One
“How should I begin Taekwondo?”
Master stood up without a word and I followed him.
Man
is by necessity born with his mind and body on earth, and it is impossible to
maintain one’s mind and body in harmony unless one relies on the principle that
has existed since before human existence. This principle, according to which
everyone can control his own mind and body and live his life, has been called
“TAEKWONDO”[1]
by senior masters. There are ways in which the planets move through the sky,
ways in which birds and beasts travel along the earth, and also rules that
mankind should obey in society. Likewise, there is also a right way by which we
should control our hands and feet whenever we make a motion. This is another
aspect of TAEKWONDO. Man’s life can be constructed only by his own motions, and
such motion contains within it everything of him, including inherent nature.
Owing to these reasons, we may term Taekwondo a Do (도[道]),
which contains the eternal principle.
Do
is what makes everything such, i.e., it is the principle that penetrates all
things. The very principle that imbues and penetrates and constitutes the
natural “suchness” of all things is called Do. It transcends every distinction
and discrimination. So there is neither a part nor a whole in it. Because it
has neither part nor whole, to know it is to know everything. Therefore, every
single word written here is not a piece of knowledge on TAEKWONDO. It is an entirety
of itself that includes everything.
Since
early times many men and women, relying on what each of them had attained, have
divided TAEKWONDO into three aspects; i.e. Musool (martial technique), Muyae
(martial art), and Mudo (martial principle). Musool (martial technique) refers
to those techniques with which you can control and conquer your opponent. Muyae
(Martial art) is the method of obtaining harmony of mind and body with which
you use the martial techniques at the level of art, sublimating distinctions
between mind and body into perfect harmony. Mudo (Martial principle) refers to
the comprehension of the ultimate truth beyond the more practical level of
Muyae. All of these distinctions among Musool, Muyae and Mudo, however, will
and must disappear in the end. Thus, talking about Taekwondo, as merely Mudo
will hide its true Do. Things people distinguish look as different from one
another as if such distinctions were real. What is real, however, is the
existence of the entirety of everything mixed in changes with one another.
Therefore, Do reveals itself in the simple practice of Taekwondo. Therefore,
everyone should know that even the truth of the words you read here are not in
the book but rather in the right motions of those who perform Taekwondo.
Do
(도[道])
exists in reality. However, since it transcends every distinction though you
may grasp it you cannot explain it. Therefore, there is no one who can talk
about Taekwondo only as Mudo (martial principle). For this very reason ancient
masters referred to it only as “Muyae” (martial art) but not “Mudo” (martial
principle), even though such a profound martial principle has not been kept
alive and vibrant for several thousand years now. It is to instruct people in a
direct way the meaning concealed behind words that I employ the word “Mudo”
(martial principle). But Taekwondo must be understood as the total Oneness of
Musool (martial technique), Muyae (martial art), and Mudo (martial principle),
in the past as in the present. Do is inherent in every aspect of Taekwondo.
[1] In this
work the concepts of “Taekwondo” and “TAEKWONDO” are distinguished from each
other. “TAEKWONDO” refers to the philosophical principles that man should
follow in his life (and which are revealed in the practice of Taekwondo)
– in other words, the “Do” (도[道]) of
Taekwondo. “Taekwondo”, on the other hand, refers to the
principles of motion for controlling one’s mind and body – in other words,
the visible features of Taekwondo as series of trained movements. Naturally,
both are pronounced the same, and indeed both refer to the same thing,
only each to respective aspects of it. This distinction is made simply to
provide a logically clearer explanation of what the old masters have
always taught. Some readers may consider this distinction unnecessary, in which
case they may certainly choose to disregard it and think of TAEKWONDO and
Taekwondo in the same way.
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