GENIUS FORUMS

I accidentally put this in the worldly matters instead of genius forum. Could any of the moderators put it in the genius forum, since that is where it belongs?

Bruce Lee is mainly known as an martial arts expert who revolutionized the world of martial arts. He did this by examining all major styles of martial arts and concluding that styles are to be overcome.

"Unfortunately, now in boxing people are only allowed to punch. In Judo, people are only allowed to throw. I do not despise these kinds of martial arts. What I mean is, we now find rigid forms which create differences among clans, and the world of martial art is shattered as a result."

"Some people are tall; some are short. Some are stout; some are slim. There are various different kinds of people. If all of them learn the same martial art form, then who does it fit?"



Philosophy was Lee's main interest (studied at the University of Washington, and had knowledge of both Eastern and western philosophy).His wisdom goes beyond martial arts, and some of it can be seen in the following quotes -

"Using no way as way; Having no limitation as limitation."

"True observation begins when one is devoid of set patterns."

"Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."

''Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.''

''Simplicity is the key to brilliance.''

''It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.''

“Let the spirit out - Discard all thoughts of reward, all hopes of praise and fears of blame, all awareness of one's bodily self. And, finally closing the avenues of sense perception, let the spirit out, as it will.”

''To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.''

''The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference and heaven and earth are set apart; if you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between "for" and "against" is the mind's worst disease.''

''If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.''

''A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.''

''Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.''

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not you go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

''Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is specifically your own.''

'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.'

'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, colour 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.'

More Bruce Lee quotes can be found here http://www.eyeballsout.com/quotes/brucelee.html

and here http://thinkexist.com/quotes/bruce_lee/

I recommend you to watch the, as far as i know, only interview in which he expressed some of his philosophy. There's also talk of his acting career, and the host seems to understand very little of what Bruce is saying, but nevertheless, Lee's persona and thoughts are on display here with great power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ0RF_QetSQ

Be sure not to delay checking the interview, since it was once already removed from youtube due to copyright claims.

Very nice aphorisms. Although I can find room to disagree with some of them, I can see where he's coming from. He is definitely a philosopher -- but I doubt he would have been able to invent a working martial art had he not been one.

(Tae Kwon Do is a good example of a martial art invented by a non-philosopher. It's very showy, incredibly taxing, and would not work outside of the Olympic games.)

Trevor Salyzyn wrote:Very nice aphorisms. Although I can find room to disagree with some of them, I can see where he's coming from. He is definitely a philosopher -- but I doubt he would have been able to invent a working martial art had he not been one.

(Tae Kwon Do is a good example of a martial art invented by a non-philosopher. It's very showy, incredibly taxing, and would not work outside of the Olympic games.)

Regarding martial arts, not only did he is considered as a legendary martial artist (with many reported feats of physical or better said, mental prowess), but he is also considered the father of mixed martial arts (MMA), which is a form of fighting where the practitioner uses several styles of martial arts, often those that best suite him. And mixed martial arts is mostly what today keeps the fighting sports present at all.

In spite of having lived for no more than 32 years, he left some true wisdom behind him.

Where do you disagree with him? I haven't came across a discussion on his words. He is overlooked by philosophers it seems.

Some more quotes -

'Here is natural instinct and here is control. You are to combine the two in harmony. For if you have one to the extreme, you become over anxientific , and if you have another to the extreme, you become suddenly a mechanical man, no longer a human being.'

'To see a thing uncolored by one's own personal preferences and desires is to see it in its own pristine simplicity.'

'All vague notions must fall before a pupil can call himself a master.'

'Ultimately, all knowledge means self-knowledge.'



Did you watched the interview? You can hardly escape his magnetism and the power of convincing there.

''Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.''

This is the one I take most objection to. Many of the other ones are quite high quality, but this is one of those sayings that cause people to aim toward the wrong thing in philosophy. The average person has no problems emptying his mind, for instance.

What he's actually saying is something quite different; I would say that it is best understood as "always be confident with whoever you happen to be".

I think he chose a very poor metaphor that only prevents people from gaining wisdom. His other ones, such as, "a wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer,'' are very simple and direct. He doesn't use the bait of a poor metaphor, and just says what he means. Doing so, he creates an aphorism that is considerably more astute, insightful, and helpful.

When the metaphor gets in the way of the message, the metaphor must be removed.

Lee never impressed me as a thinker, though he was certainly an interesting character. Other than when he was spruking Shaolin mish-mash philosophy I could detect no appreciation of reality in his broader life. I doubt there's a Sifu or Sigung in any Kwoon anywhere that doesn't spout Shaolin philosophy. Some of it is obviously good quality because it comes from Buddhist and Taoist tradition. Beyond that it doesn't do much for me. Some of those quotes just read like New Age self-help jargon to me. Not bad, necessarily, but barely more than platitudinous.

I wouldn't read Lee's work at the expense of first-rate philosophers, but he is far enough above the mean that he is worth a bit of discussion (at least enough to explain where he needs to be overcome).

He is, to compare this to another thread, far more inspiring than Ray Bradbury. Although his conclusions may be a bit trite, the fact that he even has conclusions -- and not just a whole load of wild hypothetical questions -- shows that he had put some effort into resolving his angst.

...or, maybe I've just been reading very low-quality writing recently, and need to get my brain working enough to be able to tell the difference between strong and weak philosophizing.

Trevor Salyzyn wrote:

''Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.''

This is the one I take most objection to. Many of the other ones are quite high quality, but this is one of those sayings that cause people to aim toward the wrong thing in philosophy. The average person has no problems emptying his mind, for instance.

What he's actually saying is something quite different; I would say that it is best understood as "always be confident with whoever you happen to be".

I think he chose a very poor metaphor that only prevents people from gaining wisdom. His other ones, such as, "a wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer,'' are very simple and direct. He doesn't use the bait of a poor metaphor, and just says what he means. Doing so, he creates an aphorism that is considerably more astute, insightful, and helpful.

When the metaphor gets in the way of the message, the metaphor must be removed.

With the water metaphor he is yet again expressing his attitude against any fixed pattern, because it limits the individual, and separates men. - that is its meaning.

It is adding to his other sayings like - 'True observation begins when one is devoid of set patterns.' 'To taste my tea you must first empty your cup.'

There's a story behind the origin of the water metaphor, and the fact that it came to him in the way it did offers explanation of its form.

When he was at 17-18 years of age perhaps, his Kung Fu teacher Yip Man told him that he needs to be less stiff with his martial art, and that he should go and think about it. So Lee went alone to a ride on his boat, and while contemplating started to throw punches at water, realizing that water can not be hurt, or grasped in a handful, but it can crash rocks. And on that basis he came up with the whole water idea.

Dan Rowden wrote:Lee never impressed me as a thinker, though he was certainly an interesting character. Other than when he was spruking Shaolin mish-mash philosophy I could detect no appreciation of reality in his broader life. I doubt there's a Sifu or Sigung in any Kwoon anywhere that doesn't spout Shaolin philosophy. Some of it is obviously good quality because it comes from Buddhist and Taoist tradition. Beyond that it doesn't do much for me. Some of those quotes just read like New Age self-help jargon to me. Not bad, necessarily, but barely more than platitudinous.

True, I don't know how much of it is taken from Eastern philosophical traditions.

By self-help new age jargon, you mean this one for example -

''Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is specifically your own.''

The way it is formulated makes it come of as self-help like, but would you deny that it has merit?

What is inherently wrong with so called self help by the way? Are we not helping ourselves all the time? Why, I found this quote by Aristotle giving the same impression-

"All men seek one goal: success or happiness. The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society. First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal--a goal, an objective. Second have the necessary means to achieve your ends--wisdom, money, material and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end."--Aristotle

Lee's is saying something similar in fewer words.

And you can't put Aristotle in the new age bunch. It seems that this new age thing is making a bad name for some philosophers. This quote bu Aristotle is the first thing I found on a self-help website actually. Are we to become prejudicial about Aristotle because someone we don't value highly is using his quotes?