Be water, my friend

I grew up watching Bruce Lee movies with my dad. I absolutely love how Bruce Lee combined philosophy, art and sports to express himself. I’ve always been curious on how he came to be, his self discipline, his positivity and alertness hence I picked up this book ‘Be water, my friend’ by his daughter Shannon Lee. It’s short but deep.

Shannon wrote her interpretation of her dad’s words based on her journey of recovery from loosing her brother. I think all of us would interpret Bruce’s word of wisdom based on own life’s journey. This book is a great ‘pick me up’ and recharge.

Some parts I loved :
(Bruce’s quotes are in ‘ ’ )

1. The art of detachment — to respond intuitively to an opponent rather than get caught up only in your own strategy

2. ‘Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation’.

3. Water is not deterred, it will find a path, and if met with obstacle, it changes its course and keeps flowing. If blocked, it’s ever ready to be unleashed.

4. ‘To grow, to discover, we need involvement, which is something I experience every day, sometimes good, sometimes frustrating’

5. If you are snapping at people out of pure emotional reaction, then you are not responding — you are reacting

6. ‘Here is natural instinct, and here is control. You are to combine the two in harmony’

7. He created his version of Kung Fu called Jeet Kune Do (JKD)

8. He did not publish his ideas because he thought of his art as a living thing capable of change and evolution and did not want practitioners to believe that what was written down was set in stone, the gospel truth

9. On-guard position: It allows complete relaxation, yet, at the same time, gives a muscle the tension most favorable to quick reaction time. The on-guard position must, above all, be a “proper spiritual attitude” stance.

10. Yin yang is not considered opposite but complementary. Water is gentle yet powerful. Soft, yet strong. Flowing, yet deep.

11. ‘A learned man once went to a Zen master to inquire about Zen. As the master talked, the learned man would frequently interrupt him with remarks like, “Oh yes, we have that too,” and so forth. Finally, the Zen master stopped talking and began to serve tea to the learned man; however, he kept pouring, and the tea cup overflowed. “Enough! No more can go into the cup!” the learned man interrupted. “Indeed, I see,” answered the Zen master. “If you do not first empty your cup, how can you taste my cup of tea?” ‘

12. Predetermined and unquestioned preferences are the mind’s worst disease.

13. Awareness only works if it is allowed free play without interference. Above all, don’t start from a conclusion.

14. Stop making everything and everyone right or wrong

15. Our reaction to difficult situations is what matters most, and not the situation itself.

16. Being present is simply not getting wrapped up in your thoughts and emotions but rather letting the emotions past and just fully appreciating your present moment

17. When Bruce gets upset, he practices purposeful quieting / “emptying the cup” moment to get back to a neutral state in order

18. He broke tradition and old ways, to open Kung fu to folks of all races and background (1964 in San Francisco) — he called the old restrictive traditions a “classical mess” that crams and distorts a fluid man.

19. He considers himself an eternal student, not a master. Always learning, always discovering

20. The philosophers he read : Lao Tzu, Alan Watts, and Krishnamurti

21. A teacher, a good teacher that is, functions as a pointer to truth but not a giver of truth.

22. Learning is discovery, the discovery of the cause of our ignorance; Don’t be in a hurry to “fix” things; rather, enrich your understanding in the ever- going process of discovery and find more of the cause of your ignorance.

23. Understand your fear. There can be no initiative if one has fear

24. For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes maybe a lifetime.

25. From Enter the Dragon “emotional content’ — not anger!” Means being in current and appropriate relationship with the situation, feeling and sensing the energy of the present setting

26. You are in response to your environment all the time, your environment becomes a reflection of you

27. ‘I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.’

28. Out of the Six Diseases: one is the desire to resort to technical cunning (to outsmart, be overly clever in a showy, flamboyant manner)

29. The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of an engagement

30. There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for actions, which are prompted by our own questionable impulses and inclinations.

31. It is not a shame to be knocked down by other people. The important thing is to ask when being knocked down, “Why am I being knocked down?” If a person can reflect in this way, then there is hope for that person.

32. Instead of opposing force by force, one should complete an opposing movement by accepting the flow of energy from it and defeat it by borrowing from it. This is the law of adaptation.

33. ‘I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once. But I fear the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times.’

34. The literal translation of kung fu is skills achieved through hard work and discipline

35. Bruce Lee charted his progress. He set goals. He created reminders, exercises and tools for his growth — physically, mentally, and spiritually.

36. Bruce Lee was not promised or fated to become phenomenal. He was phenomenal because he worked relentlessly to be phenomenal.

37. “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do”

38. Set your goal in life, career, finance, family :
‘I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return, I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.’

39. Being clear of what you want can sometimes be half the battle

40. ‘Be a practical dreamer backed by action’

41. ‘In great attempts it is glorious even to fail’

42. ‘Action is a high road to self-confidence’

43. He wrote often and in many forms.

44. ‘When you drop a pebble into a pool of water, the pebble starts a series of ripples that expand until they encompass the whole pool. This is exactly what will happen when I give my ideas a definite plan of action.’

45. He had his own weights and training equipment, such as punching bags set up on the back patio — no fancy gym for him.

46. “It is not what happens that is success or failure, but what it does to the heart of man.”

47. Some books he read : Happiness Begins Before Breakfast by Harry and Joan Mier, The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm, Anxiety: A Condition of Modern Man by Heiri Steiner and Jean Gebser, Give Yourself a Chance: Seven Steps to Success by Gordon Byron, Joy: Expanding Human Awareness by William C. Schutz,

48. As he was rising, he injured his back and could not do martial arts. He spent his time reading and writing. His wife had to get a job as they could not meet ends meet.

49. An important component of being a highly skilled martial artist is absolute sensitivity for timing. You cannot strike too early or too late

50. “Patience is not passive. On the contrary, patience is concentrated strength.”

51. Sometimes it takes all you have just to wait

52. ‘The power of will is the supreme court over all other departments of my mind.’

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

54. Our obstacles are among some of our greatest teachers. They will show us how to benefit most from our strengths and our weaknesses.

55. ‘With adversity you are shocked to higher levels, much like a rainstorm that is so violent, but yet afterwards all the plants grow.’

56. Faith maintains the soul

57. You are the person whose soul can learn to rise no matter how long it takes.

58. Hold enthusiasm in your heart. Because enthusiasm is a natural by-product of conscious growth and healing. When we are enthusiastic, we are inspired by life.
‘Enthusiasm is the godhead within us and
instinctively becomes the art of the physical becoming.’

59. We don’t stop having distinctions or feeling limited; we just decide not to let them control us.

60. The gap, most simply, is the space between you and your target or opponent. Whoever can bridge this gap most efficiently and effectively without getting caught in harm’s way themselves is the one with the higher skill or the best kung fu — you need mobility, understanding, timing, spontaneity, sensitivity

61. ‘Simplicity is a quality of perception in approaching any problem.’

62. ‘Being wise in gung fu does not mean adding more but being able to remove sophistication and ornamentation and be simply simple — like a sculptor building a statue not by adding, but by hacking away the unessential so that the truth will be revealed unobstructed.’

63. When he was granted to co-produce ‘Enter the dragon ‘ : He worked night and day to make the most of this opportunity he had been given.

64. When the Warner brother producers changed the script, and he refused to step out of his house, there was a standoff for 2 weeks (by Shanon : When I asked my mom years later if he had really been willing to lose the opportunity rather than submit to their demands, she said without hesitation, “You bet!”)

65. ‘To be consciously unconscious or to be unconsciously conscious is the secret to nirvana’

66. ‘If every man would help his neighbor, no man would be without help’

67. Bruce Lee is of a mix race — his mom is half European

68. Intolerance can teach tolerance. Judgment can teach acceptance. War can teach peace. Fear can teach love. Yin Yang — the opposites compliment

69. ‘I don’t know what is the meaning of death, but I am not afraid to die. And I go on, non-stop, going forward, even though I, Bruce Lee, may die some day without fulfilling all of my ambitions, I will have no regrets. I did what I wanted to do and what I’ve done, I’ve done with sincerity and to the best of my ability. You can’t expect much more from life.’

70. ‘I have to leave you now, my friend. You have a long journey ahead of you, and you must travel light. These paragraphs at best have been merely “a finger pointing at the moon.” Please do not take the finger to be the moon or fix your intense gaze on the finger and thus miss all the beautiful sight of heaven. After all, the usefulness of the finger is in pointing away from itself to the light that illumines finger and all.
From now on, drop all your burden of preconceived conclusions behind, and “open” yourself to everything and everyone ahead. Remember, my friend, the usefulness of the cup is in its emptiness.
— BRUCE LEE