Bruce Lee (1940 – 1973)
Chinese American martial artist and actor who is widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century.
Meaning is found in relationship. Meaning is the relationship of the foreground figure to the background.
Seek to understand the root. It is futile to argue as to which single leaf, which design of branch, or which attractive flower you like; when you understand the root, you understand all its blossoming.
Even today, I dare not say that I have reached a state of achievement. I'm still learning, for learning is boundless.
A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract; and when he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, "I" do not hit, "it" hits all by itself.
If one loves, one need not have an ideology of love.
Knowledge, surely, is always of time, whereas knowing is not of time. Knowledge is from a source, from accumulation, from conclusion, while knowing is a movement.
What you HABITUALLY THINK largely determines what you will ultimately become.
The man who is really serious, with the urge to find out what truth is, has no style at all. He lives only in what is.
You cannot force the Now. But can you neither condemn nor justify and yet be extraordinarily alive as you walk on? You can never invite the wind, but you must leave the window open.
The timeless moment. The "moment" has no yesterday or tomorrow. It is not the result of thought and therefore has no time.
If Bruce Lee wasn't the greatest martial artist of all time, then certainly he is the number one candidate.
Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
The meaning of life is that it is to be lived, and it is not to be traded and conceptualized and squeezed into a pattern of systems.
Life lives; and in the living flow, no questions are raised. The reason is that life is a living now! So, in order to live life whole-heartedly, the answer is life simply is.
One should be in harmony with, not in opposition to, the strength and force of the opposition. This means that one should do nothing that is not natural or spontaneous; the important thing is not to strain in any way.
The happiness that is derived from excitement is like a brilliant fire soon it will go out. Before we married, we never had the chance to go out to nightclubs. We only spent our nights watching TV and chatting. Many young couples live a very exciting life when they are in love. So, when they marry, and their lives are reduced to calmness and dullness, they will feel impatient and will drink the bitter cup of a sad marriage.
Be aware of doing your best to understand the ROOT in life, and realize the DIRECT and the INDIRECT are in fact a complementary WHOLE. It is to see things as they are and not to become attached to anything to be unconscious meant to be be innocent of the working of a relative (empirical) mind where there is no abiding of though anywhere on anything this is being unbound. This not abiding anywhere is the root of our life.
I remember many times my father (Ed Parker) talking about, pound for pound, Lee was the best martial artist, he΄d ever seen.
His martial art skills made Lee arguably the greatest martial artist of his time or any other.