Mushin no Kokoro

無心の心

The characters/ideograms mean "heart of no mind." The first character means, "nothingness; none; ain't; nothing; nil; not," the second and fourth character means, "heart; mind; spirit."

The meaning as it applies to martial systems of practice is one must train the mind to be empty of all thought and emotion when acting. It can also be to have a detached mind, a mind free from encumbrances to respond to any stimulus. The mind shall not be set to any specific place or thought, but free and flexible to respond to any situation. This is thought to be the essence of the state of mind of martial arts. This explanation seems to fit for the term, as stand alone, mushin. What does mushin no kokoro then mean?

It means heart of no mind. It might mean that to have mushin or no-mind/empty-mind is the "heart" of all martial arts. This is merely my theory. It is literally the mind, heart and spirit of nothingness of the mind. Martial artists philosophically speaking must remove all distractions of the mind, heart and spirit. To achieve a clean and free mind from mindless meanderings, a heart free from encumbrances of the heart that speaks to the emotional side of humanity and the spirit or mind-set that promotes the ability to take appropriate actions in a conflict be they simply avoidance to the extremes of physical violent battles for survival. It is a moral compass for the martial artist. It is the ultimate state of present moment presence.