Bruce Lee (1) (1940–1973)

Without a martial arts background, I failed to understand any of the middle section of the book regarding physicality. But I liked the beginning and end where Lee is philosophical.

'A teacher is never a giver of truth-he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. A good teacher is meerely a catalyst.'-Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee's phenomenal life and career were energized by his ideas. They made it possible for him to live a happy and assured life, overcoming difficult obstacles with seeming ease. And they inspired his family, friends, students, and colleagues-helping them acheve success in their own lives.

Within the pages of Striking Thoughts show more you will find the secrets of Bruce Lee's amazing success-as an actor, martial artist, and inspiraton to the world. With over 800 entries, covering more than 70 topics from sprituality to personal liberaton and from family life to filmmaking, it offers an amazng direct transmssion of the beliefs Bruce Lee lived by.

Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living provides a great legacy-a book for all who seek truth, but have not yet found it.

Bruce Lee studied gung fu in Hong Kong under the legendary master Yip Man. After attending the University of Washington as a philosophy majjor, Lee established a gung fu institute in Oakland, California, in 1964, to teach the art he later named jeet kune do. From a young age, and throughout his seven-year television and film career, he wrote prodigiously on all topics that attracted his interest-particularly philosophy. He died of cerebral edema in Hong Kong in 1973, at the age of 32. John Little is the world's foremost authority on the life and work of Bruce Lee, his training methods, and his philosophy.

Contents

Recollections on the thought of Bruce Lee
Preface by Linda Lee Cadwell
Introduction by John Little
Part I On first principles
1 Life
3 Existence
4 Time
5 The foot
6 The now
7 Reality
8 The laws
9 Interdependency
10 The void
11 On death
Part II On being human
12 The human being
13 Action
14 Wu-wei (natural action)
15 The mind
16 Thinking
17 Concepts (abstracting)
18 Knowledge
19 Ideas
20 Perception
21 The ego (self-consciouisness)
22 Concentration
23 On reason
24 Emotion
25 Happiness
26 Fear
27 Will
28 Good will
29 Dreams
30 Spirituality
Part III On matters of existence
31 Health
32 Courtship
33 Love
34 Marriage
35 On raising children
36 Education
37 Teaching
38 Ethics
39 Adversity
41 Confrontation
42 Adaptability
43 Philosophy
Part IV On achievement
44 On work
45 Quality
46 Motivation
47 Goals
48 Faith
49 Success
50 Money
51 Fame
52 Flattery
Pat V On art and artists
53 Art
54 Film making
55 Acting
Part VI On personal liberation
56 Conditioning
57 Systems
58 Detachment
59 No-mindedness (Wu-hsin)
60 Zen buddhism
61 Meditation
62 On being centered
63 Freedom
Part VII The process of becoming
64 Self-actualization
65 Self-help
66 Self-knowedge
67 Self-expression
68 On growth
69 Simplicity
Part VIII On ultimate (final) principles
70 Yin-yang
71 Totality
72 Tao
73 Truth show less

Very cool, not just a form of martial arts, but a philosophy. The wisdom contained in this book really hasn't aged much, in that the simplicity of the words but the depth of the meaning has held up well.

Bruce Lee Words of the Dragon: Interviews and Conversations 1958-1973 edited by John Little is a non-fiction book consisting of articles published about the movie star throughout his career.

I have always enjoyed martial arts movies, I still remember as a kid waiting for the Sunday afternoon martial arts Chinese movie, their staple being badly dubbed and full of action. These movies later got their own homage with the now classic 2002 movie Kung Pow: Enter the Fist.

Every once in a while, a show more Bruce Lee movie would be shown on those lazy Sunday afternoons, a cause for celebration indeed. At the time, I had no idea why they don’t show more Bruce Lee movies, of course now I know better.

The book is a collection of articles, most are written to accommodate the readership of movie magazines and for PR purposes. The way many are written and structured, I have to think they are translated. Many of the articles rehash the same information (after all, Bruce Lee’s career was fruitful, but short), but it seemed all the writers fell to the charming movie star. In the interviews, Mr. Lee shares some of his philosophies about life and work.

The strength of this book, I felt, was in the interesting footnotes the editor provided at the end of each chapter. The footnotes shed more light and context on the bland articles, and include many interesting anecdotes themselves.

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