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Ji Do Kwan  Jidokwan is one of the original nine schools of the modern Korean martial arts that became Taekwondo and was founded in what is now South Korea. Its name translates as "School of Wisdom". The Ji Do Kwan symbol consists of 3 circles. A circle represents wholeness, since there is neither beginning nor end. The large outer circle represents the universe. Within the outer circle, the larger circle represents Earth and the smaller circle represents life on earth. All of these circles are interconnected.
The center figure is a balanced figure that will not stay down if knocked over, it will right itself automatically. This automatic righting is representative of the Buddhist saying "Seven times down, eight times up".
The Ji Do Kwan symbol outer edge is represented by a lotus flower with eight petals. Each petal represents one of the "Eight Manners of Solemnity." The number eight is also symbolic of balance and harmony, organization and personal success.
Right Speech - Practice being true and courteous in all communications. Aim to promote peace, harmony, and unity. If one has nothing of value to say, one should keep a dignified silence. Practice being considerate in listening, become a student of life. Do not however, waste your consideration and time listening to inappropriate or negative communications.
Right Action - Arises from a clear mind state which must begin with basic wholesome conduct, that helps others and ourselves by our actions, to live a peaceful and prosperous life. Most of all, one must have in mind that proper motive for doing so, for the motive is more important than the deed. Refrain from destructive behavior such s killing, stealing, abuse, truthlessness, intoxication, unruliness, etc.
Right Livelihood - Participate in a trade, occupation, profession, organization, or group which is compatible with Correct Action, so that one’s efforts are contribution to the greater good. Mental Discipline - To bring about in the mind, orderliness and efficiency to its process, by rigorous training and habitually thinking of the positive good.
Right Effort - The incessant will to achieve self reliance, to give ourselves and others daily reminders of the good and wholesome properties of life. To be found participating in the friendship and encouragement of peers following the knowledgeable way. Apply effort to; 1. Prevent wrong and unwholesome states of mind for arising. 2. To remove all wrong and unwholesome states of mind that already exist. 3. To develop and perfect the good and wholesome states of mind that already exist. 4. To acquire still more good and wholesome states of mind unceasingly.
Right Awareness - The path of mental liberation, the breaking of the bonds of ignorance, and the striving for happiness. Not dwelling in the past, study the world and aim to live here and now with our mind and body. The present offers the greatest opportunities. All that we are is the result of all that we have thought, been and done. Each of us in this moment, whether consciously or unconsciously, is determining our future.
Right Concentration - Decide to be in charge of one’s thoughts. Do not let distraction take charge. Focus the mind like a laser beam to a single subject at hand, to the exclusion of all else, until the mind becomes that which is ponders upon, to gain a full comprehension of the subject. Intellectual Discipline - To exercise the action of applying the power of the mind by which one knows or understands, in distinction from that by which one feels and that by which one wills.
Right Thought - We will become what we think. Occupy one’s thoughts with subject matter that will enhance the lives of all beings, including oneself. Work to uncover and resolve unrecognized emotional obstructions and egocentric values. Observe that we do not always think and act with clarity and logic. Emotional obstructions can control the direction of our reasoning, preventing reasoning from moving beyond a familiar fixed point. Ultimately one must eliminate the tension and anxieties with the proper motive.
Right Understanding - Strive for an intellectual grasp of the truth. The ultimate reality is only visible to those who attain the highest wisdom. Observe the true nature of yourself and all things, without labels and names. Only when the mind is in a clear state, a state brought about by the development of freedom from the tyranny of the selfishness and self-destruction, is this deep, penetrating insight possible.
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