The Tao of Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee, the man most people identify as the face of martial arts, had another passion most people do not associate him with: philosophy. With a degree in philosophy from the University of Washington and over 2000 books on the subject, Lee was as great of a philosopher and intellectual as he was a martial artist. After reading several books written by and of Bruce Lee I was able to open my eyes to the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism, a school of thought of which Lee himself was a student. The following are several quotes from the master.

If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting, If I tell you I'm no good, You KNOW I'm lying.

Be Formless, shapeless like water. Now if you put water into a cup it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle, you put it into a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash, be water my friend.

If there is a God, he is within. You don't ask God to give you things; you depend on God for your inner theme.
Before I practiced the Way, A cloud was just a cloud and a mountain was just a mountain. After I'd studied the Way, a cloud was no longer a cloud; a mountain was no longer a mountain. Now that I understand the Way, A cloud is again just a cloud; a mountain is just a mountain. (The clouds and mountains are simply kicks and punches).

The mind is like a fertile garden in which anything that is planted, flowers or weeds, will grow. Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it. The more relaxed the muscles are the more energy can flow through the body. Using muscular tensions to try to "do" the punch, or attempting to use brute force to knock someone over, will only work to opposite effect.

Mere technical knowledge is only the beginning of Kung Fu, to master it, one must enter into the spirit of it.

There are lots of guys around the world that are lazy. They have big fat guts. They talk about chi power and things they can do, but don't believe it.

I'm not a master, I'm a student-master, meaning that I have the knowledge of a master and the expertise of a master, but I'm still learning, So I'm a student-master. I don't believe in the word master, I consider the master as such when they close the casket.

Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there.

Jeet Kune Do, It's just a name, don't fuss over it. There's no such thing as a style if you understand the roots of combat.

When I look around I always learn something, and that is to be yourself always, express yourself, and have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate him. Now that seems to be the prevalent thing happening in Hong Kong, like they always copy mannerism, but they never start from the root of his being and that is, how can I be me?

Put every great teacher together in a room and they'd agree about everything, put their disciples in there and they'd argue about everything.

By adopting a certain physical posture, a resonant chord is struck in spirit. Wine may become so dilute that few will drink of it.

Eventually, you learn to read groups of words. Where a student will see three motions, the experienced man will see one, because he sees the overall energy path.

The void is no mere emptiness, but is real, free and existing. It is the source from which all things arise and return. It cannot be seen, touched or known, yet it exists and is freely used. It has no shape, size, color or form, and yet all that we see, hear, feel and touch is "it". It is beyond intellectual knowing and cannot be grasped by the ordinary mind. When we suddenly awake to the realization that there is no barrier, and has never been seen, one realizes that one is all things, mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, sun, moon, stars, universe are all oneself. There is no longer a division or barrier between myself and others, no longer any feeling of alienation or fear. Realizing this, results in true compassion. Other people and things are not seen as apart from oneself, on the contrary, as one's own body.