Gichin Funakoshi

"5. Just as an empty valley can carry a resounding voice, so must the person who follows the Way of Karate make himself void or empty by ridding himself of all self-centredness and greed. Make yourself empty within, but upright without. This is the real meaning of the "empty" in karate.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

6. Once one has perceived the infinity of forms and elements in the universe, one returns to emptiness, to the void. In other words, emptiness is none other than the true form of the universe."  (Kodansha International- 1988- pg. 24)

(20)

"BE CONSTANTLY MINDFUL,

DILIGENT, AND RESOURCEFUL

IN YOUR PURSUIT OF THE WAY

This principle encapsulates all the principles that come before it. Whether from a spiritual or a technical standpoint, the practitioner must 'be constantly mindful, diligent, and resourceful.'

The legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi illustrates this principle:

I had my first match long ago at the youthful age of thirteen....
At twenty I went up to the capital, and though I met the top martial artists in the realm and fought in numerous matches, I never failed to win. After that I traveled from place to place, province to province, seeking out martial artists from various schools, and though I fought in as many as sixty duels, not once did I lose, and in that manner passed from the age of thirteen to the age of twenty-nine.

After reaching the age of thirty I thought back and saw that I won not because I was a superior martial artist. Perhaps it was because of some natural talent in this pursuit or because I did not deviate from the natural principles. Or it may have been due to inadequacies in the martial arts of other schools.

From that time I practiced fervently morning and night, seeking to grasp the principles of the Way more deeply, and around the age of fifty I came to a natural realization of the Way of Martial Arts.

                                                                     -The Book of Five Rings

Even for a martial arts genius like Musashi, who practiced ardently morning and night without rest, it was only around the age of fifty that he first gained enlightenment of the Way.

The founder of the Muto-ryu style, Yamaoka Tesshu, was forty-five when he said, "I have just now attained a wondrous understanding," expressing his breakthrough to enlightenment. That was the thirty-seventh year of his training with the sword, and his twenty-third year as a disciple of the famous swordsman Asari Matashichiro. Only after continuing his practice for decades with a courageous and intrepid spirit that earned him the nickname of "Iron Demon," and only after pressing toward his goal with a seriousness of purpose that penetrated his very core, was he able to grasp the true principles of the Way for the first time.

These examples emphasize how conceited it is to indulge in the idea that it is possible to become a master of martial art after five or ten years of leisurely practice. Such behavior misleads the practitioner and poisons the Way. This is why the final principle cautions us to "be constantly mindful, diligent, and resourceful."

Conceit or laziness are chains that impede our advancement. Karate practitioners must constantly examine and chide themselves, never failing to be mindful and diligent, until they can penetrate the innermost levels of karate-do. This must be the attitude of all who aspire to the Way.

In these few pages, I have commented briefly on the twenty principles. These principles should not be thought of as applying only to karate-do. If they and their overriding concepts of mindfulness, diligence, and resourcefulness are applied to your dealings in society as a whole, your understanding of life in general will be greatly increased."

(Kondansha International, 2003 pgs.111-114)