Part 7 of 12 空kū
Emptiness
空: not the emptiness of someone who knows nothing.
By MoroMoro · · 1 min read · moromoro and the Stance of Great Emptiness
From here, we can begin to understand 空 (kū) more clearly.
moromoro does not describe 空 as simply “nothingness.” In the 空之巻 (Kū no Maki, “The Book of the Void”), we encounter the statement:
「有る所を知りて、なき所を知る、是則空也」
“Know what exists, and know what does not exist. This is 空.”
This is essential. Not knowing something and calling that ignorance “emptiness” is not genuine 空. It is merely 迷い (mayoi): confusion, delusion, or being lost.
Therefore, moromoro’s 空 is not the emptiness of someone who knows nothing. It is emptiness that emerges after knowledge and practice.
One trains in 兵法. One studies other arts. One refines the mind. One refines perception. One clears away what might be called the clouds of confusion.
Only then does 空 become visible.
From form to emptiness
We may therefore synthesize the philosophical progression as:
- 型kata, form
- 修練shūren, disciplined training
- 熟達jukutatsu, mastery
- 無構mukō, non-attachment to stance
- 空kū, emptiness
One begins with form. But the goal of training is not to make form sacred.
The goal is to internalize form so deeply that it becomes adaptable without becoming obstructive.