Hong Ik Martial Arts of Tarrytown The Map to Reveal Conscience
When you see someone who is sick, do you feel sympathy for them and want to help them get better? This is called compassion. When you see bullying taking
place at school, do you feel anger towards the bully and do you want to go help the person being bullied? This is called justice. Would you like to treat others the way you want to be treated? This is called respect. Would you like to have the
knowledge to distinguish between what is right and wrong and take action so you can avoid mistakes? This is called wisdom.
We are talking about compassion, justice, respect, and wisdom. What are all these things a part of? All four of these form a part of our conscience. Do you have a
conscience? Do others have a conscience? Does a bully have a conscience? The answer is yes. Even bullies eventually have a conscience. Everyone has a conscience in their heart; it is part of their soul. Whoever has a soul has a conscience. The difference is that in the case of bullies, their conscience is almost sleeping, in
darkness. On the other hand, those who take action to help victims of bullies have a conscience that is wide awake and bright, like the sun.
We have to work sincerely to reveal our conscience rather than cover it up. So would you like to brighten up your conscience? Then you need to know what
interrupts conscience. What could interrupt the brightening of your conscience?
- Only taking care of your own happiness, and not that of others.
- Being angry at something or someone that does not work in your favor.
- Purely engaging in self-indulgence rather than devoting yourself to others.
- Succumbing to sadness when you feel discouraged or disappointed.
All of these factors working against our conscience are called emotions.
Here is an example of emotion and conscience:
Suppose Tommy is driving his car, and someone driving behind him keeps beeping his horn, making Tommy really upset. On the other hand, Jerry who happens to be
driving next to Tommy and also hears the beeping, is not upset at all, thinking the person beeping from behind must be busy, and allows the beeping car to pass. Now
suppose the beeping person races past both Tommy and Jerry and then crashes into a tree, becoming critically injured. When seeing this accident Tommy feel
compassion and sorry for the person who crashed, and Jerry also feels compassion.
Even though Tommy was locked into angry emotion before witnessing the crash, upon seeing the accident, his conscience was revealed and he became free of his
angry emotion.
There is a way to control emotions and deter behavior that covers up our conscience. What should we do?
Keep promises you make to yourself. For example go to bed on time to avoid unnecessary things and do your necessary work. Whether or not you believe in God,
pray on how you will prepare for your day. When difficulty comes, be strong instead of getting angry or sad. You also need to exercise at least 20 minutes a day, helping
blood circulation. Lastly, do Sushik (method of controlling emotions) at least 30 times before bedtime to take good care of your energy. If you follow these steps,
your compassion, justice, respect and wisdom will work in harmony. With consistent practice, your body and thinking pattern changes, making you ready to reveal your
conscience.
— Lectured by Master Yoo, JM
Edited by Chun Shim HyunSa (Carlos Stern)