Five of Bruce Lee’s Teachings that will Change Your Life
Bruce Lee was an inspiration to many people. Through his movies he not only entertained us but also taught us about a new way of living. “Be Like Water” is probably his best-known advice to young men and women who aspire to reach his level of success. In this article, we’ll share some of his brilliant quotes which give you a new insight on living your life. The following teachings, if applied into your daily activities, will bring about massive changes in your life.
Be Water, My Friend!
Empty your mind
Be formless, shapeless
Like water
Now you put water into a cup
It becomes the cup
You put water into a bottle 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
Let Go of The Past
To express yourself in freedom, you must die to everything of yesterday. From the “old,” you derive security; from the “ new,” you gain the flow.
Many people cling to their past all their life. Being identified with that past gives them a safe feeling. They think that they are their past no matter how good or how bad it is. This saves them the trouble of facing the real world and the situations of the present moment. However, the moment one ceases to identify oneself with that old being, one unlocks a new way of living. A living that is not only free but also open to powerful new ideas. You are not your past. Everything you are starts and ends right here, in the present moment.
Alan Watts - Living in the present (boat analogy)
Be Single Minded
The fighter is to always be single-minded with one object in view—to fight, looking neither backward nor sideways. He must get rid of obstructions to his forward movement, emotionally, physically or intellectually.
Get rid of all distractions so that you can focus only on your goal. Right now, there may be many obstacles standing between you and your goal. Focusing on your obstacles will lengthen your journey; instead, focus single-mindedly on your goal and you will reach it faster.
Cultivate Simplicity
The height of cultivation runs to simplicity. Halfway cultivation runs to ornamentation. In combative arts, it has been the problem of ripening. This ripening is the progressive integration of the individual with his being, his essence. This is possible only through self-exploration in free expression and not in imitative repetition of an imposed pattern of movement.
Cultivation, by definition, is the process of trying to acquire or develop a quality or skill. All skills, be it playing a guitar or writing, are tools for self expression. By merely imitating techniques you maybe able to “mimic” a seasoned artist, but you won’t be able to completely master the skill unless you’re one with the art itself. Thus, to master a skill or an art completely, you have to know yourself fully and then express that knowing of yourself through that art or skill In a seasoned artist, there’s nothing to add and nothing to take away. His or her core is expressing itself through the paint brush, the pen, or the kick.
Bruce Lee Stages of Cultivation
Knowing is a Process
Knowledge is fixed in time, whereas, knowing is continual. Knowledge comes from a source, from an accumulation, from a conclusion, while knowing is a movement.
Embracing the fact that knowing will never end is the most important quality you need to have to excel in any art or profession. Most people live a life wherein they are continuously struggling to accumulate new knowledge in order to grow. Knowledge, however, doesn’t lead to mastery. What leads to mastery is embracing the process of continuous growth. You must have a fundamental understanding of the importance of maintaining what most people call “The Beginner’s mind.”
Mindfulness 9 attitudes - beginners mind.
Empty your Mind
Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.
Empty yourself. Empty yourself from emotions, thoughts, or even ideas. A mind devoid of chatter is the mind of a true warrior.
Source: Tao of the Jeet Kune Do
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Bruce Lee’s Teachings
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for bringing to the world your teachings. Bruce Lee was actually a Wistleblower and broke the code of silence to the west!
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