Wise or Foolish

A Traditional Moo Doe Moral:

The Two Paths : Chung Doe and Pa Doe

Throughout the history of Moo Doe in East Asia, there have been two paths that Moo Doe could follow. One is “Chung Doe”, or the “right path”, and the other is “Pa Doe”, or the “wrong path.” Chung Doe is one of the main principles of correct Moo Doe.

Practitioners who follow Chung Doe value the principles of honor, integrity, loyalty and compassion above all else, and live their lives accordingly. Someone, who follows the Chung Doe of Traditional Moo Doe, before making any decision, will fully consider the consequences to others involved. When Moo Doe follows Chung Doe, the focus is on building character, confidence, self-esteem and strength. Individuals are extremely strong, even past their seventies and eighties, and their movement is very powerful. This same strength will carry over to their daily lives, which will be enriched and enable them to find balance. Chung Doe uses the power of Moo Doe only for the right reason (correct justice), to strengthen family relations, friendships, religion and daily activities. Chung Doe leaves behind within the community a good seed of knowledge (Traditional Moo Doe morals), which bears the good fruit of right communication, compassion and integrity for the next generation. Over the centuries, a tremendous number of people have followed Chung Doe for success in their lives. This path earns the recognition of others and leaves behind good memories and a respectable name.

Practitioners who follow the Pa Doe (wrong path) are known for their egotism, jealousy, and lack of honor, morals, discipline and stability. Their selfishness and tendency toward instigating trouble cause them to believe in a distortion of reality that is far from the truth. Pa Doe influenced instructors would like others to believe that they acquired superior knowledge and techniques from past training with the best masters, when in fact they did not. Their capability deteriorates rapidly after age forty or fifty and they are in very poor mental and physical condition (unbalanced). As a consequence, they resort to fabricated movement and, ultimately, fear exposure through such things as videos, photos, Moo Doe knowledge and correct morals. Their students do not develop properly because the result of what they are learning is similar to a street fight. In Pa Doe the focus is on the “violent” aspects of martial arts, with little regard for the effect of one’s actions on others. Pa Doe is the “bad seed” of Moo Doe morals and leaves behind within the community a reputation of inferior technique and ability, uncontrolled anger and failure.

 

One way to prevent confusion

 

The fable goes that when the tiger is absent, the foolish rabbits jump everywhere pretending to be tigers. When the real tiger returns, these rabbits will either hide in their burrows, showing their true nature (returning to the level determined by their true skills) or become food for the “Tiger”.

A person cannot understand a 24-hour day, knowing day only; hence the person must also know the night. Both day and night comprise one full day. When making a correct decision a person must know all the facts and factors, the complete picture, in order to prevent being led by the foolish (deceived). Without seeing the full picture, a person’s judgment is skewed and therefore credibility may be devalued or lost. Because of emotion, the closer your ties are to the speaker (a relative or friend), the further removed you must be in order to use good judgment. This prevents you from becoming the fool.

This kind of ignorance has become somewhat of a virus, spreading germs of dissension through many people, creating an infectious disease that society does not need. The source of this disease is unfounded gossip and rumor. This disease can destroy lives, families, friendships and communities. This societal evil has plagued mankind for centuries. Individuals can fool themselves for a brief period, but they cannot fool God, and eventually the truth is known.