Reflections on Existence and the Final Knowing: I Do Not Know

[진영]

In Korean
https://m.cafe.daum.net/enlightenment-k/dcM5/545?svc=cafeapp

존재에 대한 성찰과 마지막 깨달음: 나는 모른다 - 공항에서 적어본 단상

Subject: Reflections on Existence and the Final Knowing: I Do Not Know

“Meditations on Existence and the Final Awakening: I Do Not Know”
— Thoughts Written at the Airport

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🌕 The Structure of Human Existence and Awakening — Reflections Written at the Airport

Earlier this morning, just before leaving for the airport,
I happened to watch a YouTube video of an elderly man—nearing eighty—
striking a rough boulder with his bare fists
and performing a push-up balanced on a single finger.

There was not a trace of negativity or judgment in watching him.
If a person chooses to challenge the physical limits of the human body
until his final day, simply because he loves it,
there is dignity in that choice.

But as I watched him,
one question slowly rose to the surface:

What is the ultimate purpose of human life?

This question alone compelled me to write these reflections.

Physical training certainly brings confidence and a sense of achievement.
But by itself, it does not reveal the full truth of human existence.

That is why, through the martial art of Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu,
I continue to teach both the visible training of the body
and the invisible training of the mind—
to share what the true essence of martial arts really is.

Today as well, while waiting at the gate to depart
—passing through Hong Kong on the way to South Africa—
I take a moment to return to myself.


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🌕 1. Humans live within the movement of the whole, yet rarely perceive it.

The world turns endlessly.
It flows, shifts, and transforms without rest.
Human breath and human life are but brief expressions
of that immense current passing through the body.

Yet most people spend their entire lives
without realizing they are part of the movement of nature itself.

In truth, everything in the universe must turn and circulate
for life to breathe and continue.

Even in martial arts, the foundational principles
originate from circular movement.
Depart from this principle,
and the very logic of movement collapses.


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🌕 2. Within the Heaven–Earth–Human (天地人) structure, each person becomes the protagonist of their own world.

From the perspective of the “I,”
a human being stands at the center of their world—
the protagonist of the Heaven–Earth–Human structure.

Thus, when I disappear,
the world I see, feel, and inhabit
collapses together with me.

A world without “me”
cannot exist in any meaningful way.

This is not merely a misunderstanding,
but a truth rooted in the essential position humans occupy
within the triadic structure of Heaven (天), Earth (地), and Human (人).

This self-centeredness also becomes one reason
why humans must live earnestly and do their best—
because it is the “I” who experiences, interprets,
and chooses the meaning of life.

And all things in existence
follow a single, unchanging procession:

They appear → change → and disappear.

This cycle is the unalterable law of nature,
and humans, too, are simply beings
who briefly appear within this vast flow
before fading away.


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🌕 3. Even when humans realize this truth, they cannot prove it.

Even if someone awakens to this structure,
there is no way to verify or prove it.

No one knows where the “I” goes after death.
No one can confirm‎ what remains,
if anything remains at all,
once consciousness has dissolved.

This is a fundamental limitation
inherent in human existence.


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🌑 Conclusion — Ultimately, all awakening arrives at one simple truth: “I do not know.”

The final awakening is not a grand revelation
born from the end of knowledge or reason.

It is the simple, unembellished realization:

“I do not know.”

To spend a lifetime trying to force
the unknowable into the realm of the known—
that is the greatest foolishness.

True practice is the ability to discern:

what must not be done,

what does not need to be done,

what must be done,

and what is truly worth doing.


Through this discernment,
life becomes—little by little—

less painful,
less difficult,
less burdensome,

and at the same time,

a bit more spacious,
a bit more peaceful,
and a bit more abundant.

The principles and truths of nature
are always simple and clear.

Mystical, superstitious, abstract, or unrealistic ways of living
only accelerate the exhaustion of one’s life.

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📌
Founder & President
Jinyoung Ssangkum Ryu ☆ United World Haedong Kumdo Federation
Jeong Seong, Kim

November 21, 2025 (Friday)
Morning — Gimhae International Airport (International Departure Gate)

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