mtiri stomgc d rtriwei gt<r, itLut prir riu<n jrrcin run Turo< rvuiihe

Strikinq

vh o u qh I
s
B R II C E L E E S W I l3 D O M

F O R D A I L Y L I V I N CI

Bv BRu c Er E
E

T h e B r u c eL e e
ry

L i b ra

All rigbii rescind. No paix of itiii jxibliciiion may lx reproduced r oiiJirol in my firm or bj' my nwe

John Little. I ccl

#t3tOI /03 Oivim funding

08 07 O 05 OI

9 8 7

Bo A 14 lIo I7

D E D 1 C A T I O N

To all men and women of every culture and

background who recognize with Bruce
Lee that under the heavens rhere is but one

family
and who dare to question those who wotild say otherwise.

ft is your courage and your own striking

thoughts"
that will create a brighter future for
os all.

C O N T E N T
S

On FIrsI Principles
3.
4
5
6

Existence
Time
The Roor

t
t

The Now

8. The Laws

IO The Void

11 On Dcarh

23
25

FA R T 1 I
O n B c I n q H ii in n n
12. The Human Being .
13 Action
Wit-wei (natural action) .

28
31
.
32

Concepts (Abstracting) . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 50
The Rgo (Self-consciousness) . .
. . .

Happiness

27 \ViIl
Creed \Vil1
tt Dreams
ee. Spirittialiry'.

. .
. 53

64
. 65

71
73

31

Health

34. Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
35. On Raising Children . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

tt. tteeeetee

tt

tt. teetteg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tt
39
97

Racism

40. Adversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 98
42. Adaptability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
43. Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

44
45.
46.
47
48.
. .

On \X7ork
I f4
Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Goals
121
Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 123

49
125

Success

Marne
. .
.

. .. . . . . . .. .. .. .. .
128

52. FJarrcry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 130

53
Film making .
.

54 Acting
.
55
.

142

PA R T
V I
O nP c r s o n n I L 16 c r n
IIon

Cond{:ion}ny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
.
Detachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
69. No-mindedness (Wit- . . . . . . . . 15
Zen Buddhism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
160
60. hem)

61. Vs:adon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62. 164

6Z. On Being Centered

Freedom . .
167

. .

167

. .

T h r r r o c c s s o I B c c o in I n g
65.
Self-help . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 178
66. Self-knowledge . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 181
67. Self-expression . . . . . . . .
. . .
. . .
185

189

69. Simplicity .

On

LI I I I in e I c
Pr1ncIplc s

( F I n at )
192

70. Yin-yang.

7L To::d!
72 Tao
73. Trurh . .. . . . .
.
.
202

. .. . . . .

200
. ..
.

THOUGHT OF BR UCE LEE

phy and In

doin
to uphold wha

p1

spre

The i

ith ich tice ed

he b lieve o be righ hisha

of how it o

you e dot

deli Ie

le ge

o b don

aJ ho es

co

Il

Karecm Abd1-Jabin
Bruces philosophy seemed alwzys co be point back. to the
Zen origins, where contradictory advice era les the simplest of all traths. Bruces lessons were lessons without
being lessons; he was not a teacher, yet he was the greatest teacher Ive ever known.

St Irl Irig
Iplant

ltIll

For every question you asked him he would

never have to rhink about it, he would just
blurt it right otit. Bruce would cver every'
point with a little saying. ID he would see that
you were having trouble with something, he

R ECOLL CTION$ ON THE

would always know jtist what to tell you. It

would sem like he was always dusting of your
"bogie man. Like if there was something that
you were scared of, Bruce would notice and then
say, "Ah, scared of that, well look at it this way.
He would change your whole idea about it.
Bruce had sayings for everything.

Bob Brewer,
student of
Brocc Lee
I thought
philosopher

Bruce was a brilliant,

fine
about everyday living. He was very

much

finding out

into

who he was.

His
comment to people was Know yourself The

good head that he acquired was through his

knowing himself He and I used to have

gteat long discussions about that. No matter

what you do in life, if yoo dont know yourself,
youre never going to be able to appreciate
anything in life. That, I think, is rodays mark
of a good human beingto know Rommel?

l3tcvc
McQueen
\t'ed work one for an hour, then wed talk for
an hour about a lot things. He didn't separate ll$e from
the exten- sion in his arm. And he is the only one I
know of that car- rted it to the point of real art.

P R E F A C E

Th c Fh:1o s o p h y
o1 Bruce Lee

IR

cvi

we e d

many

eopl

Fa s o

by his physic brit

rat arts practiti re were aw d by his

de

ding of the combative whi oth rs ton

dance in hi

rlying

osop
rat
int

d physi
pec
og her
way
ife.
His s dy of phi osoph co ege was the sp
won d 6 come a like-l

he ajor thi em of the wo lcL

I
Ie

ancient. and in

or

or

e di

hil

of con

ophic

d avi
died h
of p ilosophyWeste
Ie I to gle
hose ten
Ow

dem

at won d con

ugh he constant process of learning

evolve a p rso ph osophy,
ce

which was the liberation of the spirit through

greater self- knowledge. To free ones self from
preconceived
notions,
prejudices,
and
conditioned
responses
is
essential
to
understanding trth and reality. Martial art was
the medium that gave Bruce the means to
expand his poten- tial
and
re share with
others. As a teacher of the arts, Bruce had
extraordinary talent. He ofren said, A leaner t
sament mustfirid for himself. A good her is merely a catalyst.
One of his favorite stories thar he woold tell new students

was the story of the empty tea cup:

A learned man once went to visit a Zen teacher

re inquire about Zen. As rhe Zen teacher

ralked, the learned man frequently inrerropred
to express his own opinion about this or that.

Finally, the Zen teacher stopped talking

and began to serve tea to the learned man. He
poured the cup fell, then kepc pouring until
the cup overflowed.
Stop, said the learned man. The cp is

full, no more can be poured in.

Like this cup, you are full of your own
opinions, replied the Zen teacher. Ifyoo do
not first empty your cup, how can you raste my
cup of tea?

Since lie himself would not wholly accepr any particular

sty'le of martial art or philosophy, Bruce encouraged his
students not to accept, without question, his teachings.
His main message was to keep ones mind, artittide, and

senses pliable and receptive, and, at the same time, devel-

op the ability to think critically. This process of inquiry,

debate, and practice would lead not only to knowledge of

ones physical strengths and weaknesses but also to the

discovery' oFbasic ttuths that allow one ro grow toward a
srm of harmonious iiniry of spirit, mind, and body.
Bruces teaching affected people in various ways. He

ofcen disturbed

martial ari practitioners

by opsiting

chemm set patterns of rraJning and causing them co recon-

sider the blind acceptance of philosophical tenets. Those

who studied with Bruce personally, or knew him through
his writings, have been inspired to develop their potential

beyond previously imposed limits, and to coordinate

their minds and bodies to rhe point where
confidence overrides fear.
By his example, Bruce encouraged his followers to be

say with a smile, itch, Imuc circaaiiiaorci! In

his drive to realize his goals, Bruce refused to be
hampered by adver- sity'. His answer to problems was
to turn a stumbling block into a stepping stone. For
instance, when he was confined to bed rest for six

injory, he used thai

opportunity ro compile his training methods and his
months beca ii se

of

Liack

philosophical thoughts into several vol- umes. [Editor's

nore: Apart fcom this volume, please see

for many of these

writings.]
Broce Lee was a man born with a purpose who fulfilled a purpose much greater than even he had imagined.

The spirit of Bruce Lee coniinMes to be the inspirational

force that motivates young people to care for and nurture
their bodies and soLlls and to bring oMt the best that rhey
have within themselves. As many bans have commentccl
Bruce Lee made a diference in my like."

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A B o o k Fo r
Free Spir
i Is

Asi
fan

ave

d A

transformed by his b
ianc
Fa

tuft
e, Le
nsp re an Emulate the mi
de o individ
decade
ce
he
nI
as a
porary hilosop
d visi ary, di evening in hi
an antido

tempoiag problems, as well as finding him a model of discipline, strength, and wisdom. Lees philosophy forms for
us a vision of a world of progress, a world free of suffering, and a world of enlightenment iinflawed by igno-

rance, superstition, and corruption. In Lees words, a

world oflore, pesce ard ten.
To Bruce Lee, philosophy was not the professional

playground of academics, but evety human beings gareway to the greatest adventure of the human spirit. It illo-

initiated the frontiers of human possibility and obliterated the shadows of doubr and insecurity. Unlike others,
content to follow, Bruce Lee insisted upon charting his
own course toward truth, and he encouraged
those who wished to share his insights to do likewise.
'iVhile Lee was a champion of individual rights and
individual develop- ment, both of which stress the
sovereignty of the individ- ualas an end in
himself, he also spoke to something deep- erthe
commonality of all
hitman beings
and
the
removal of such artificial
barriers to true
brotherhood as nationality, ethnicity', arid class
structure, so rhar human beings
could
live
together peaceably as independent equals.
BrMce Lee rejected blind obedience to external

authority. He urged human beings co hold themselves

and their lives as their highest values and wrote in praise

ofthe artist of life who lives by his own judgment and

who is u'il1ing to stand alone against tradition and popular o(ilnion. Lee pointed out that "he bare more jail in
thut we imitate tLian in mLiut e orignate, with the result
that we are encouragedand have optedto look to any-

one but onmelves for the answers to our most

unsettling questions. Too litany are confused about
whom to rrasr, sospicios of rheir own impulses and
uncertain of their futures. Spirits have been

malnourished and minds stunted by allowing

others to take overor decide what
h
constitute ' eal problems.

then,
for the free spirit who chooses to
live by the power of his or her own mind rather than

relying on rhe dictates of creed or institution in

making decisions abour life and how to live it.
Consisting of eight sections,

72 topics, and 825 aphorisms,

Striking

is for all
platitude

who have sought truth but not

found

dogma Within the pages of5iriliiiig Tboagbti you will find

that Bruce Lee has not so much prepared a banquet of
en assets in outlined a means by which you can pre-

pare your own way. And if you are suffering, dispirited, or

anxious, in his words yen will find observations and
ingights that can fortify you and pacify your troubled
How
can I say soch
things?
Simply
because Bruce Lee's words have done as much for
meand for thou- sands more from all walks of life and
from all over the world who have taken the crane to
write or emai1 The Bruce Lee Educational Foundation
offering identical tes timony. It is easy to see the appeal
oLees thought, for he dares to say that which others

dare only to think; his rari dor disarms our

insecurities and cars. Lee is capable o infusing

a single sentence with a profiindiiy that would take

others ar least a chapter to convey; his every
apho-

new is a mountain peak, offering a higher vantage point

for viewing the unfolding of lifes means and mysteries.
The title Striking Thoughts is taken from a head-

ing that Bruce Lee created for a series ofmaims

he wren down aftec reading the philosopher)iddii
Krishnamurtis book hint and L4n F'tcedom.
However, the committing to pper (rid, lacer,
to atidiotape) of striking thoughts was a
habit of Lees that extended back to his early
days in Hong Kong. Included within the pages

of this book are those striking thoughts that

issued forth in conversa tions, interviews, and
correspondence that Broce Lee shared with
journalists, friends, and colleagues. Other
entries
are postulates that Lee had been
moved to type outperhaps with an eye toward
one day making use of themothers were
down before they escaped his
concentration. Still others were noted in book margins
as he read; the result ofa striking thought
thac had come co him as he was closely
quickly jotted

regarding a particular writer or philosopher's

point of view.
Lees pemonal library contained the worhs of many
great and diverse philosophers and sages from
many dif- ferent cultures and provided him with a

broad compre- hension of how all peopleas opposed

to only pople from his own personal experience
actually viewed life, wirh ice joy and suffering. Their
varying viewpoints served as jLlst instrument, too, for
such a man as Bruce Lee, who wished to exercise the

varied possibilities of speculation, who cared ro clarify

his own mind rarher rhan to /L1t

forrh finalities when life itself was so blind and inconclusive. Afrer all, a dogmatic conclusion, Lee believed, was all
too often merely the point at which the sails of thought

had lost their mind.

Btuce Lees most common educational arid liretary

form was the aphorism, and this presentation follows

rhat style. This book could be read like BartletPs Frontier
Qiioietinnr, but what one ultimately gets out of Bruce Lee
will be directly proportionate to the sustained attention

one accords him. It was always the individual whom Lee

chose to address and ir most be remembered that he
wrote primarily to express his own personal feelings on
life, mthcr titan to be read as a dogmatic arsenal of arguments for of against something. Lee grasped the poinr
that in the realm of philosophy less is more, and iCs
precisely lot this reason that Lees writingsparticularly
his aphorismsgracefully transcend the plodding com
plexiry of rradirional philosophy and serve a breath of
fresh air to those accustomed to raking theit philosophical medicine wirh heavy doses of metaphysics and epistemology'. The intent of rhe aphorism is to arouse a heartfelt call to arms arid rice intellectual abstractionhow-

ever valid siirh abstraction may prove to be. As Lee himself says in one of his aphorisms:

Bruce Lees Use of aphorism generally

consists
of starting wirh a familiar ancl
important aspecc of life, then

positioning it to awaken people to the problems inherent

in the conventional assumptions made on the topic. The
result of Lees statement is that the reader is now compel1d ie think for himself about the issue, which lcacls

the individual to produce his oii'ii answer. Lee always challenged his students (both in the classroom and through
his writings) not to agree or disagreebut to grow'.

Lees constant questioningof himself as

well as of
assumed truthmore often than not reveals to
us the inadequacy of the conventional position

on such matters. Its rhis questioning

that
provides the necessary basis for real understanding
ro occur. As Lee himself said, it is only /rr r8e c0rtrrrr
o/comurfr4 some c r/x/trg t/g5tg." Lee was firmly
insistent that even if he were to hnow the
answers, and even if he were to tell them to
its, they couldnt do us any good. In other
words, its in the nature of Lees statements on
life that you have to puzzle out their validity for
yoorselC To Lees way of thinking, any answer
he could provide is worth nothing to arty
other individual, unless that individual has
come to see its validity as result of his own
independent thought on the matter. This is why
Lees philosophical writings are so successful as
instruments for drawing you into your own mind
and, by extension, into the realm of philosophy.
The processes of search and inquiry are
important, bite they must be followed with an
alert
ondemcanding
thatbecause
oor
assumptions and beliefs are in Fact open ro
perpetual questioningour conclusions dont hold

any

special

or

privileged

status. They

are

merely

staging posts on the road to further inquiries we must

continue to make throughout one lives.

Recognizing thai his own positions on such issues
could easily be made dogma b/ his students, Lee
instead chose to deploy the Socratic method
of
challenging his students (and now the reader) to
confront or address, from within, the prob- lems of
existence that were bescrring rhcm. Lee held that if there
is a way" then it most assuredly is somebody elsesnot
youmwith the result that following it would lead you
further away from the truth that resides within you. It is
for this reason, as Lee indicates
below, thar it is

imperative that the free spirit not mistake any book

including this oneor its contents for the truth, for then
it will simply become yet another external authority:

Or, as Lee cautioned in his last film, Enter the onto.

The objective of this volome, rhen, is twoo1d; ro have Bruce Lee communicate with yoo and to
have you communicate with yourself This counsel
given by Lee with regard to his teachings is particularly
pertinent:

What Bruce Lee commits wares to you in

these pages is for you alone ro interpret, and it falls

solely to you to make oic whar jou stlt.

Independent inquiry is needed in yor search

for rrurh, not dependence on anyone elses
view or a mere book.
'Bruce Lee

On FirsI

mpiiueii be zoning point. In order to taste

my cup of water you must first empry yoiit cup.
My friend, drop all of yoiit preconceived fixed ideas
and be neutral. Do you know wh/ this cop is so seful?
Because it is enip.

Finn' in the proven oIiJi:. Yoo can never step in the same
water twice, my friend. Like flowing water, life is
perpetu- at movement. There is nothing fixed.
Whatever yoor problems happen to be in the future,
remember well thar they' cannot remain stationary but
must move together with your living spirit. Otherwise,

you will drift into arti- ficialiiy or attempt to solidify the

ever-flowing. To avoid that, you must change and be
flexible. Remember,
emptiness.

the usefulness

of a cup is in its

LQ M nofret. tbe is wide, limitless. There

is no bor- der, no frontier.

process ofrelacing, so come on out of that shell ofisolacion

and conclusion, and relarc DIRECTLY to what

is being saicL Bear in mind I seek neither your
approval nor to inf1u ence yoir So do not make

tip your mind as to this is this" orthat is

that.I will be more rhan satisfied iF}ou begin co
learn to investigate everything yourself from now
on.

LQ imply n.
Living exists when life lives
through its iinhampered in in flow, Doc he
who is living is not conho w of living and, in this, is the life ii lives. Life lives;

and in che living flow, no questions are raised. The reason

is that life is a living now! So, in order to live life wholeheartedly, che answer is life simply ii.

"live and not live for.

Iti, and it is not

conceptualized and

ro

be

traded

and

squeezed turn a pattern ofsysrems.

ijfr ? th' e@ri o//Iing. Life
feelings do to us.

is simply what our

W sieooiag i /ijfc. All in all, the goal of my planning

and doing is to find the true meaning in life peace
of mind. In orcler to achieve this peace of mind, rhe

reaching of detachment ofTaoism and Zen proved ro be

valuable.

heart so is he" conrins the secret of life. )ames Allen forther added A man is literally what he thinks. This
might be a shocking statement, but everything is a sta Ie

oFmind.
3fcniiiiig ii)buiid in relationship. Meaning is the relation-

ship of the foreground figure to the background.

iIfoiiipiilnon and control are tint t#c ultimate jg o/fi@. We
realize that manipulation and control are riot the uIti-

to develop ones center, to rhe support o oor

toral per- sonaliry, a release to spontaneity yes,
yes, yes!
TLie essence of life. The essence: free movement of spirit.

Original essence.
Violence
is u part oflife. It should be
remembered thar vio- lence and aggression is
part of everyday life now. You see it over the TV.
Yoo canr jest pretend that it does not exist.

l'Iore: This is zlso found in Proverbs 23.7 which u t be

rhinkcrh in his

the principle o//. Life is never stagnation. It is a consiuat move ment, iinrhytlimic movement, as well as constant change. Things live by moving and gain strength as

they go.
Life u sometimes unpleasant. Life is an ever-flowing
process and somewhere on the path some unpleasant
things will Top up it taught leave a scan but then like is
flowing, and like running water, when ii stops
ir grows stale. Go bravely on, my friend, because each
experience teaches us a lesson. Keep blasting
because life is such that sometimes it is nice and
sometimes it is not.

adon lasts, and that persists through all time. Only the
midpart of anything is preserved because the pendulum

of life must have balance, and the midpart is the balance.

Pliabi1ifis life. Be pliable. When a man is
living, he is soft and pliable; when he is dead,

he becomes rigid. Plia- bility' is life; rigidity is

death, whether one speaks of mans body, his

mind, or his spirir.

EU or educator Life itself is your teacher, and

you are in
a stace oconstant learning.

To lix is to rate. To live is to express, and to

express you have to create. Creation is never merely
repccicion. To live is to express oneself t:reefy in creation.
t
procen of li[e. 8 race life is an ever-evolving
process, one should flow in chis process and discover how
to acrii- alize and expand oneself
The oneiieii ojfliJi:.' The oneness of all life is a truth
that can be fully realized only when false notions of a
separate self whose destiny can be considered apart
from the WHOLE are forever annihilated.

plainness, in which profit is discarded,

cleverness aban- doned, selfishness eliminated, and
desires reduced. It is the life of perfection which seems
to be incomplete, and of fullness which seems to be
empty. It is the life which is as bright as light, but does
not dazzle. In short, it is a life of harmony, unicy,

contentment, tranquillity',
peace, and long life.

constancy,

enlightenment,

LQ man be oiideriiood )inm moment to recurrent Life is

something for which there is no answer; it must be undrsrood from moment to moment the answer
we find inevitably conforms to the pattern of
what we think we know.

Sum, eigo cogiio. The trurh is Som, etgo

cogito; I am, therefore 1 think, although not
everything that is thinks. Is not conscious
thinking above all consciousness of being? Is pure
thought possible, without conscioiis- ness of self,
without personality? Can there exist pure knowledge
without feeling, without that species of mate- riality
which feeling lends to it? Do we not perhaps feel
thought, and do we not feel ourselves in the act
of know- ing and willing?

think, and thought the

the universe whose existence cannot be denied,
because to deny is to thinh. When one says that
thought eists, it automatically includes saying that
one exists because there is rio thooghc thai does
not contain as one of its el- ements a subject
who thinks.

On part, pretext, and /iure. My friend, do think of the

past in terms of those memories of evencs and
accom- plishments
which were pleasant,
rewarding, and satisfy'- ing. The present? 'tell,
rhink of it in terms of challenges and
opportunities, and the rewards available for the
ap- plication of your talents and energies. As
for the future, that is a time and a place where every
worthy ambition you possess is within your grasp.
The iiiiicfcii moment The moment has no
yesterday or tomorrow. It is not the result of
thought and therefore has no time.
Ktiou'Jedge, Itriou'izig,
i4iid tii'iie. knowledge,
sorel(, is al- ways of time, whereas knowing is

noc of time. Knowledge is from a source, from

an accumulation, from a conclu- sion, while

knowing is a movement.

out the bondage of time, for freedom lies

beyond the field of consciousness care for
watching, but don't stop and interpret I am
free," then you're living in a memory of something

thai has gone.

lessly or carelessly. We all 1iai'e time to eirl ter spericl or

TH e R o o
I
The rent iii tiJii. Be aware of doing your best
to under- stand the ROOT in life and realize the
DIRECT and che INDIRECT are in fact a
complementary' WHOLE. It is to see things as
they are and not to become attached to any-

thing
to be unconscious means to be
innocent of the working of a relative
(empirical) mind when there is no abiding of
rhooghi anywhere on anything rhis is being
unbound. This not abiding anywhere is the root
of our life.
71x' roor ojfroarciimnien. Concentration is the ROOT of
all the higher abilities in man.

Seek to ind tbe taar. ft is Futile to argue

as co which single leaf, which design of branch,
or which attractive flower yoti like; when you
understand the root, yoo nn demcand all ice
blossoming.
71ie root vi. rlie branches. \I/hat we are after is the ROOT

and not the branches. The root is the real knowledge; the
branches arc surface knowledge. Real knowledge breech
body feel" and pemonal expression; surface knowledge
breeds mechanical conditioning and imposing limitation

and squelches creativity.

Exprcii /or total preirare jSeei W root. Be ar

once ab- sorbingly open and roorily relaying
your captivating total presence with appropriate
inward time.
The root ii tie sorting point. The root is the
fiilcrom on which will rest the expression of your soul;
the root is the starting pointofa1l natural
manifestation. If the root is right so will be all its
manifesrarion. It cannot be, when the root is neglected,

that what should spring from it will be well-ordered.

TLie Now is trutLi.

his evening 1 see
something totally new, and that newness is
experienced by che mind; but to- morrow that
experience becomes mechanical,
want to repeat the sen
ation, rhe

because I

of ir the dc-

scription is never real. What is real seeing the truth instantaneoiisly, because troth has no future.

THE HERE AND NO\V.

The Nam cor an trial exists. The part is rio more, the fu-

ture is not yet. NO\t' includes the balance of being here,

experiencing, involvement, phenomenon, awareness.

I'Ion' iii t#e firing momrnt We are always in a process of

becoming and NOTHING is fixed. Have no rigid system
in you, and youll be flexible to change with the ever

changing. OPEN yourself and flow, my frirnd. Flow in

rh TOTAL OPENESS OF THE LIVING MOMENT. If

nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Moving, be like water. Still, be like a
mirror. Respond like an echo.
The Now u total awareness. The space created between
what is
and
what should
be. Total
awareness of the now and not rhe disciplined

stillness.
You parrot[orcc the Now. 8ut can you neither condemn
nor justify' and yet be extraordinarily alive as you walk
on? Yoo can never invite the wind, bet you must leave the

window open.
Btng in tire Now. Peter. Can you hear the wind? And
can you hear the birds singing? You have to
HEAR IT. Empty' your mind. You know how water
fills a cop? It BE- COMES that cup. You have to
think about nothing. You have to BRCOIvIE
nothing.

The Moment isfreedom. I couldnt live by a rigid schedule.

I try to live freely from momenr to moment, letting

things ha(iperi and adjusting to them.

TLie Now 'u incentive. If you are in the NO\V, you are

Tbrre ii no aiiie(y iii the Now. When you are in the NOW,

you cant be anxious, because the excitement

flows imme- diately into ongoing spontaneous
activity.
The Now and its ynori'yms. One and the same thing:
' Living in the NOW

' Responsibility for ones action/life

Respo

- Having the Creativcness of the NOW available

live now, there inner be dying to everything of)zesterdny.

Die continually to every newly gained experiencebe in a

state of choicelcss awareness of VHAT IS.

No-limpest 'u a form of prowi. ' In science we have

finally come back to the pre-Socratic philosopher,
Heraclitus, who said rhar everything is flow, flux, process.
There are no things." NOTHINGNESS in Eastern
language is no- thingness. \Ve in the West think of
nothingness as a void, an emprines, a nonexisrence. In
Eastern
philoso- phy and modern physical science,
nothingness no- thingness is a form of process, ever

moving.

wore important than WHAT SHOULD

BE.
Too many people are looking at what is from a
position of think- ing what should be.
denial ojf rectify.

t7cstcm
reality'

The

ap-

mosrl through theory, and

theory' bey

gins by denying

reality' to talk
aboot reality, to go

around reality, re carch anything that attracts

our sense
intellect and abstract it away form realm:y'
itselC Thus philosophy begins by saying that

the outside world is nor a basic fact, rhat its

existence Lao be doubted and that in which
the
world

reality

of the outside
affirme
evident proposition but
d
one
that needs to be divided, dissected, and analyzed. It is to

stand consciously aside and try to square a circle.

There ii tin method to rcali. Do not reduce reality

to a sta- tic thing and then invent methods by
which to reach it.
Remit end perception. There is a dift:erence:

facing is believing. A fat belly cannot believe that

such a thing as hunger exists.

Be ardor in locating tLiis. \V'hile walking or resting, sitring or lying, while talking or remaining. . . quiet, while
eating or drinking, do not allow yourself to be
indolenr, but be most arduous in search

ofTHIS.
Tl:/l reaii(y o/u t#iiik Wharever exists has certain
realm:y'. Nonrepresentation of an object is not a formal
reality.
On calid. Everything has to have
a cause.

Reality and the fun' o/cooie and e/ci. The case must have
the same reality' as the effect.

\S/\M 'SE9U/D/U SJ( U) JO 'SS8U\JDS S3) M)

JO

ooZ eat(q, iraJa ha jrijaarad Man

sauiooaq p

in its siichness because of our indoctrination,

crooked
and twisted.

T'me iluiiiieii and thought. True thosness is

without deFil- ing thotighr; it cannot be known
through conception and

what is only when there is no comparison at

all, and re
live wirh what is, is to be peaceful.

Realit
y

It is being itself, in becoming itself

the isness of a thing. Thus
isness

is the meaning having freedom in its primary sense

not limited by attachments, confinements, partializa-

tion, complexities.

The law of sel/will. A self-willed man obeys a different

law, the one law I, too, hold absolutely sacred the

hitman law in himself, his own individual will.

man's li be is the result of a definite cause mode arid

control are yours.

7te Iiw' o/ideiiii(y. The law of identity' sta les that A is

A. This means that every logical statement is
either true or false but that no statement is both true
and false in the

The law of harmony. The law of harmony, in which one

shouldbeinheonyeiih,aodoiiopposirioniogite
strength and force of
the

one should do nothing

Thts mens char

natural

that

neos; the important thing is not to strain in any way.

7e low oiioii-iiit/cr iriH nature. The law of non-interference with nature ii a basic principle ofTaoism [stating] that one should be in harmony with, not rebellion
against, the fundamental laws of rhe universe.
Preserve yocself by following
the natural
bends
of
things
and don'r
interfere.
Remember
never to
asserc you I self

against nature; never be in frontal opposition

to any problems, bin to control it by swinging
with it.

InIcrdcpcndcncy

supreme in Europe, dominating the development of

Western science. But with the advent of atomic
physics, findings $ased on demonstrable experiment
were seen ro negate the dualistlc theory, and the trend
of thought since then has been back toward the monistic
conception of the ancient Taoists.

isis, I who think and rhe world about which I

think also exist; the one exists but for the ocher, having no
possible separation between rhem. Therefore, the
world and I are both in active correlation; I am
that which sees the world, and the world is that
w'hich is seen by me. I exist for the world, and
the world exists for me. If there were no
things to be seen, thought
abot,
and
imagined, I wotild nor see, think, or imagine.
Tha: is re say, I wotild nor exist. One sure and
primary and fundamental
fact is rhe joinr
existence of a sob)ect and of its world. The one
does not exist without the other. I acquire no
understanding of
myself except as I take

account of objects, of the sur- roundings. I do

not think unless I thinh of things
and there I
find myself

AUDY1U O/SM/W dt Ot)PM. II IS

lLSi?

IO

TU

consciousness,

merely
whether

OF DO

abotit
objects
of
they are thought

sensations or wax candles. An object msr have

a subject, and subject-object
is a pair of
complementaries (not opposites), like all others,
which are two halves of one whole, and are a

function each of the other. \Vhen we hold ro the

core, the opposite sides are the same if they
are seen from the center oF the moving circle. I
do not ex- periencc; I am experience. I am not the

subject of an expe- tience; I am that experience. I

am awareness. Nothing else can be I or ran exisr.

The phenomenon of moon-in-the-warer is likened to

human experience. The water is the subject, and the
mon the object. When there is no water, there
is no moon-in-the-water,
and likewise when
there is no moon. But when the moon rises, the
water des not wait to re- ceive its image, and
when even the tiniest drop of water is poured
ot, the moon does not wait to cast its
reflection. For the moon docs not intend to cast
its reflection, and the water does not receive
its image on purpose. The event is calmed as
much by the water as by the moon, and as the
water manifests the brightness of the moon, the moon
manifests the clarity of the water.

Interde/ and Tuoism. Taoist philosophy, against

rhc background of si'hich acupuncture had its
origin and developed, is essentially monistic. The
Chinese conceived the entire universe as
activated by two principles, the Yang and the
Yin, the positive and negative, and rhey considered that nothing that exists, either animate
or so- called inanimate, does so except by virtue
of the ceaseless interplay of these two forces. Matter
and energy', Yang and Yin, heaven and earth, are
conceived of as essentially one of as ewe coexistent poles

of one indivisible whole.

On roidiicii. Voidness is that which stands right in the

middle between this and that. The void is all-inclL1sive
having no opposite, there is nothing which it excludes or

opposes. The all-illuminating light shines and is

beyond rhc movement orhe opposites.
71 firing imid. lr is living void, betause all forms come
out of it, and whoever realizes the void is filled wirh life
and power and the love of all beings.
75e ro/rJ r crtfie energy. The primordial creative cnergy affects the u'ho1e person and not a mere fragment ir
is <miion onconraminatcd by thought, the creative tide
in its that flows outward.

The mid rind notbiogneii.

NOTHINGNESS
means no thingness there is only process,
happening. When we ACCEPT and ENTER this
nothingness, the void, then the desert starts En
bloom. The empc)' vnid becomes alive, I5i BEING
FILLED. The sterile void becomes the fertile void.
I am nothing bui function. Nothing equals real.
TEr his mpecti othe mid. The void (or the unconscious)

may be said to have two aspects:

- It simply is whar ir is.

It is realized, it is aware of itself, and to speak
improperly, this awareness is in us, or
better, we are in ir.

The ultimate source ofi all things is bej,ond human un-

derstanding, beyond rhe categories o ctme and space. As

it thus transcends all modes of relativity, it is
called hav- ing no abode to which any possible
predications are ap- plicable.

Dont rife lifi by worrying about death. I dont know

what is the meaning of death, but I am not afraid ro di
and 1 go on, non-stop, going forward [with life]. Even
thogh l, Bruce Lee, may die some day wichot fulfilling
all of my ambitions, I will have no regrets. I did what I
wanted to do and whar lve done, I've done wirh
sincetiry and to the best of my ability. Yo can't
expect much more from life.
I7ie iz'a o/tut'. Through the ages, the end for
heroes is the same as for ordinary men. They all
died and gradually faded away in the memory of

man.
4ccepiuoce o/ det6. The round of summer and wincet
becomes a blessing the moment we give up the fantasy f
eternal spring.
Thart ofdying. - Yhe we for e else, you wanr to team
the way co win. But never co accepr che way ro lose. To
accept defeat to team to die is be liberated from ie.
Once you
mind and learn the art of
dying.

ricir what i.lie future Violets.

On Being

T h e H u in a n B c I n g
of myself?' As a homan
being.

t/ete et teg e/e tee teeeg. - te teeeeeee

et teg ete teee tetegg e gtt/' teee teteg,
etee teg is the sincere and honest development of
potential and sell-actualization. One additional
comment: the energy from within and the
physical strength from your body can guide you
toward accomplishing your purpose in life
and ro actually act on actualizing your ducy' co yourself
I- Conran heiiigi are integration.
analyze. \t'e IN-

\Ve

do not

TEGRATE
.
The goal ofa humun being. actualize oneself

The human goal: to

False people. - Wbat I detest most are dishonest people

whe talk niece chan thy are capsule of doing and also

people who use false humility as a means to cover their

obnoxious inadequacy.

Ozi the Oniiiiziicezi RcJ8iiJiJic. I like the country and the peo-

ple. The Dominicans have the simplicity of a real human

being; there is not so mch hypocrisy like in the big cities.

On i!ie nun+re o[human being. h human being is an eating, sleeping, physically maintaining, reproducing entiry.
A homan being is an entiry of feeling. A human being is a
creating enticy.

and there
control. You arc to combine the two in harmony.
If you have one to the extreme you will be very
unscientific; iF you have another to the
extreme, you become a mechanical man, no
Here

longer a human

natural

being. So ii is a successful combina-

tion of both. It is not pure naturalness, or pure

iinnatM- ralness. The ideal is unnatural naturalness
or natural

A puritan eing? the creamvc animal. It is the

creative abil- ity of a human being that

separates him from all other animals.

On developing 6auisn potential. To promote the growth

process and develop human potential:
- To get through soclal role playing
- To fill in the holes in the personality to make [one]
whole and complete again.

lPe are capable omoc6 more. The fact [is]

that we live only on such a small percentage of
our potential:
' You do not allow yourself ro be locally }zoursefF

- Society' does not allow yen to be totally

yocselC

Tulk:ing and listening. - Most people can talk without listening. Very few can listen without talking. It is very rare
that people can talk and listen.
lIie)iztidotiieiit4f mioizd' qiieifioii)b'r Titian bony.
What is

rhe right (i.e., just, ethical, mraI) conduct for

a human

What the hell; yu are whac you are, and self-honesty occupies a definite and vital part in rhe evergrowing
process to become a real hman being and not a p lwii
c one. Somehow, one day, you will hear by, non' itei quo/
i(y; heir ii someone REAL Id like that.

The end of mun is net:ion. - Th end of man is action, and

not thought, though it be of the noblest. In this world
there are a lot of people who cannot touch rhe heart of
the matter but talk merely intellectually (not emotion-

ally) about how they would do rhis or do thai;

ralk abour it, but yet nothing is ever actualized or
accomplished.
7he re'ard odoiii The doer alone learns.

heir ii action mentally and p/iiraI/. Mental motion is

present with every' physical
action.

W n- wc I
nl

(nnInr
ncI ion)

It'ii-ii'ei ii natural semen. The basic idea of the Two Tr

Ching is NATURALISM in the sense of wnwei (inaction),
which really means taking no unnatural action. It means

spontaneity; rhat is, ro support all things in their nat

iiral stage and thus allow them to transform spontaneously. In this manner Tao Undertakes no activity and
yet there is nothing left ondone.

lFa-ueii expreiiion in daily life. In ordinary life

wu-wei is expressed in producing and rearing things
without tak- irig possession of them" ancl "doing
work

but

not

taking pride in i thus the

natural way"stands in comple- ment to all

artificial ways soch as vegetation, ceremonies,
etc. This is the reason why the Taoists dont like
formali- ties and artificialities.

conservation is shown to be a continuous

acriializarion and diferentiation of form. One
does not allow oneself to be influenced by
outward success or tailore, bet confi dent in

ones strength, one bides ones time.

You do not need ipeciol izniniiig. There is no
need to

exett oneself in special cultivation

the daily

outside

Wait in the calm

strength of patience he
should guard
it
rhar
with tenderness. One need not fear lest strong will should
not prevail; the main thing is not to expend
ones powers prematurely in ari attempt to
obtain by force something for which the time is

not yet ripe.

id MW / d FOR iS //id t/R. TO Il-FlCtlQ G, FIS / I / S O Al.t2 II I

lated, does not mean no accion, bur no such

action as begets opposition. "Right action is neither
to oppose nor to give way, btit to be pliable, as a reed in
the wind.
I:t1YS-

which Nature (Tao) was the grand practitioner. This action of Nature was real action. The second was action

raken wirh design, premeditated, and directed ro chosen

ends. This, however attractive ii might seem, was a forcirig o Nature and therefore unreal.

Action iii coiijhrini u'itb t#c situation. The person is[[in?]]

question is not in an independent position, bur is acting
as an assistant. It is not his task to try re lead rhat
would only make him lose the Way but to let himself be
led. If he knows how to meet fate wirh an attitude of acceptance, he is sure to find the right guidance. The supe-

rior man lets himself be goided; he does not go ahead

blindly, but learns from the sicuaon what is demanded
of him and then follows.
Dont reel:, but eller. Do not seek IT, for ir will come
when leasr expected. Let go. Dont seek or run away.

Oa rlie principle o/wt Wu-wei is spontaneous

superi oriry. Wu-wet is spontaneous action
without prcarrange- ment. \I/iiwei ensures the spirit
of harmony with nature. Im-wei sees no violence done,
with the resell of peace and freedom from disturbance.

Wu-wet is the nourish- ment of the spirit, left alone, so

it can find stability. Wti- wei is taking no action; all
efFort made with a purpose are sure to fail.
W-i ? entire intuition. The principle ofwu-set is entircly anaction ocreacive intuition, which opens
rhe well- springs It1TH1N
man. While the
action of assertion, mans common tendency,
is preconceptoal
and
rational, it cannot
penetrate the hidden recesses of creativity. The

action of assertion is viewed from rhe eEtetnals

of intel- lection, while the action of nonassertion is activated by the lnnec light. The ormec
action is limited and finite, the latter free and limitless.

An intelligent mind ? eminently framing. An intelligent

mind is one which is constantly learning, never conclud-

ing styles and patterns have come to conclusion, therefore they' [have] ceased to be intelligent.

As intelligent mind ii an inquiring mind. An

intelligent mind is an INQUIRING mind. It is
not satisfied with ex- planations,
with
conclusions; nor is it a mind that be- lieves,
because belief is again another form of
conclusion.

The qualities of mind. To be one thing and not to change

is the climax of STILLNESS. To have nothing in one that
testers is the climax of EMPTINESS. To remain detached

from all outside things is the climax of FINENESS. To

have in oneself n contraries is the climax of PURITY.

You are the commander offur mind ive always

been bf- ietd by circumstances
because I
rhooght of myself as a hamari being [afected
byJ outside conditioning. Now I relize that I
am the power that coinrnancls the feeling of my

mind and from which circumstances grow.

cup is in its emptiness.

Totality of

wind; cocaJiry
structure.

Eiriptiness = Totality.

physical

Ta free IM mind. In order that the mind may function

manually and harmoniously it must be freed from all attachment to oppositional
notions. The mind
should be freed from rhe influence of the

external world. To let the mincl

take

its

course

the cultivated
innocence of a clever mind that wants to be innocent,
but that state of innocence in which there is no
denial or acceptance, and in which the mind
jest sees what is.
Unhindered among

phenomena. Not

All thau/t is [artial. All rhoughr is partial, ir can never

be total. Thought is rhe response of memory, and memory' is always partial, because memory is the resell of experience; so thought is the reaction of a mind
which is conditioned by experience
A limited mind cannot think freely. '
The mind
muse be wide open in order to function freel/ in
thought. For a limited mind cannot think freely.
The mind reipondi. The waters are in motion all
the time, but the moon retains its serenity. The
mind moves in re- spouse to the ten thousand
situations but remains ever the same.

Dont
be a slaue to learning. Learning is
important bor do not become ire slave. Above
all, do not
harbor anything external and
superfluous, the mind is the primary.

Seeing tabplace tiLi tLie inner mind. Sharpen

the psychic power of seeing in order to act immediately
in accordance with whar it sees the seeing takes place
with the inner mind.

7be cited? an ultimate reali. Mind is an ultimate

reality which is aware of itself and is not the seac
of oor empiri- cM consciousness by being
mind instead ofhaving mind.

Afind ? il'e d/numic eject o cmpiineii. All

movements come ot of emptiness and thai the
mind is the name given co this dynamic aspect
of
emptiness, and
further that here is no
crookedness, no ego-centered motivation, as the
emptiness is sincerity',
genuineness,
and
stralght- forwardness allowing
nothing
between itself and its movements.
Dant direct the mind. - Stand at the neutral point
between negative and positive, no longer directing one's

mind to anything.

out acctvig; the \tay is always wichouc

thought.

the iiiico-iiditiozicd undid iiiliiitx tixtffi. [To] bring the

mind into sharp focus and to make ii alert so

that ir ra ii imme- diately intuit truth, which is

everywhere, the mind miisr be emancipated
from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought
process, and even otding thought itself

Cultivate an u/eri mind To be on the alerr

means to be deadly actions; to be deadly serious
means ro be sincere to oneself:, and it is sincerity that
finally leads to the hay.
Keledge is ofthe mind. - By Icriowledge is meant
knowing the emptiness and tranquillity of the mind.
Insight raew realizing the ones original nature is not
createcL
is of the past. Knowledge is of the past; learnthe present, a constant movement, in
relation-

ship wizh rhe outward rhings, wirhour rhe

pasr.
Thr iooite mobilities o/Mc miad. The mind itself is endowed with infinite mobilities that know no
hindrances.
The rectijfled wind A rectified mind is a mind
immune to erooi:in nM influences free from fear, anger,
sorrow, anxi- eg, and even fond attachment
when the mind is not present, we look and do

nor see; we hear and do not un- derstand; we

eat and do not know the faece ofwhar we eat

Sincere though Sincere thought means thought of concentra:ion (quiec awareness). The thought of a distracted
mind cannot be sincere.
Inner thought end outer exQreiiioii ore one.
Mans mind and his behavior are one, his inner
thought
and
outer
ex- pression cannot
conrradicr each orher. Therefore a man should
set up his right
pri aci plc, and rhis riglat
mind (principle) will influence his acrion.

knowing which has no beginning and

no end.
Thought continued or isn unbroken rtment. It is mans origina1 nacure in its ordinary process, thought
moves for- ward without a halt; past, present, and
future
thoughts continue as an unbroken

stream.
lm,igiiiation. Recognizing the need for sound plans and
ideas for the attainment of my desires, I will develop my

imagination by calling pon it daily for help in the formation of my plans.

/kfemoy.
Recognizing the value of an alert
mind and an alert memory', I will encourage mine to
become alert by taking care to impress it clearly with all
thoughts 1 wish to recall and by associating rhose
thoughts with related subjects which I may call ro mind
frequently.

Subconsmous mind. Recognizing the influence

omy sub- conscious mind over my power of will, I
shall take care to submit re it a clear arid definite
picture of my Major Pur- pose in life and all
minor purposes leading ro my major purpose,
and I shall keep this picture constantly before

my subconscious mind by repeating it daily!

Recollection and onticipuiioii. Recollection and anticipa

tion are fine qualities of consciousness which distinguish

the human mind from that of the lower animals. They are
iisefMl and serve certain purposes, but when actions are directly related re che problem of life and death they must
be given tip so that they will not interfere with the fluidity
of mentation and the lightening rapidity of action.

The remembering of previously learned

Comprehension. The ability to grasp the meaning of material (usage of knowledge) by interpreting material or
projecting future trends in the usage of knowledge.

dpp/icutieii. The ability to use learned material in nest'

and
concrete
situations.

Analysis. - The ability' to break down material

into com- ponent parts so that its organizational
scrctiire may be undemtood.
Stntbeiii. The ability to put parts together to
fotm a new whole.
ca/nniioo. The ability to put parts together and to

jodge the value of the material lot a given purpose.

Tbon/t and licences.
substance of

True

thLlsness

is

the

and thought is the function of trite

thusness.
Ther
e

no thought except that of the true thusness.

Thiisncss does not move, but its motion and

function are

inexhaustible.

Coarrpti vi. udrnmnding

If you learn
decrepit, if yoo work for ink:orznation, chen you
dont anrfarsrdnd. You only cxJziow. YVhen a man is
thinking he stands off from v'hac he is trying to
understand.

per. Ir cxi srs HERE and NOW; it requires only one

thing ro see it: openness, freedom the freedom to be
open and not tethered by any ideas, concepts, etc. We can
go on rehearsing, analyzing, attending lectures, etc., until

we are blue in the face; all this will [not] be [o the slightest avail it is only when we stop thinking and let go
that we can sEart seeing, discovering. When our mind is
tranquil, there will be an occasional patise to its feverish

activities, there will be a let-go, arid it is only then in the

interval between two rhoughrs that a flash of UNDERSTANDING understanding, which is not thought
can take place.

time thinking aboot a thing, youll never ger

it done.

Shiona Kog#i bIindig in life. IL /ooie busy with your

we n th computer, your energy goes inro your thinking,
and you dont see and hear anymore. Instead of looking
directly into the fact, [one] cling[s] to forms (theories)

and go[es] on entangling oneself further and further, finally (tutting oneself into an inextricable snare.

Concepu ui. self-suction.

Instead o
dedicating yoor life to actnalize a concept of what you
should be like, AC- TIJALIZE YOURSELF. the process of
maturing does nt mean to become a captive of
conceptualization.
It is to come to the
realization of what lies in our innermost
selves.
Life 'u better lined than cometualimd ' This writing can
be made less demanding should I allow myself to indulge
in the usual manipulating game of role creation.
Fortu- nately
for
me, my self-knowledge has
transcended that and Ive come co understand that life is
best to be lived not to be conceptualized. If you have to
t#iii, you still do

Doat be earned uo'ay iii tMa,ht Absence of thought is

rhe doctrine, and it means not to be carried
away by thought in the process of thoMght
not to be defiled by external objects to be in
thought yet devoid ofrhonght.

Coiepti prereiit/eling. Dont think '

FEEL. Feeling
exists here and now when not interrupted and
dissected by ideas or concepts. The moment we
stop analyzing ancl let go, we can start really
seeing, feeling as one whole. There is no
actor or the one being acted upon but the action itself I stayed with my feeling then and I
felt it to the full without naming it that. At last the I
and the feel- ing merged to become one. The I no longer
feels rhe seJL to be separated from the you, and che whole
idea of tak- ing advantage of getting something out o
something be- comes absurd. To me, I have no other
sel (not to mention thought) than the oneness
oY I iimgs ot wbic6 I was aware at chat moment.
Abu unaljsts 'is not the aux. Thece is roo much ten
dency to looh inward at ones own moods, and to rry and

evali rate them. To stand on the outside and try

to look in- side is futile; whatever was thece will go
away. This also applies to a nebulous thing described as
Happiness. To try to identify it is like turning on a light
to look at dark- ness. Analyze it, and it is gone.

Attempting to defne t.nowledge. The object of

knowing is constantly changing. Feeling, tasting,
sensational experi- ment, erc., are dogmas and
not true knowledge as chey can be wrong.
Objects of perception, therefore, are ruled out
oLtrue knowledge.
Knou'/edgc ii nat simply perception. Objects of
thought, rather than objects of perception, are
real, more perFecr, intellectual, and constant.

Knnu'/edge ri. cburucter

you power,
but
character
respect.

Knowledge will give

On lemming.
Learning is discovery, the
discovery of the cause of our ignorance.
However, the best way of teaming is nor the
computation o information.

Learning

is dis-

covering, uncovering what is there in us.

When we dis- cover, we are uncovering otir own ability',
our own eyes, in order ro find our potential, to
see what is going on, to discover how we can
enlarge oor lives, to find means at nor disposal
that will let its cope w4th a difficult sitna- non.
And all this, I maintain, is taking place in the here

Ideas
The ualue of ideas.
beginning of all

Ideas

are

the

achievement in every industry, in every profession.

Ideas are e'hat have defned America. Ideas
arc what America is looking for. Ideas have

made America what she is, and one good

idea will make a man what he wants to be.
No ideas are always warded. It is z Lw I thar labor and
rhrift produce a competence, but fortune, in the sense of

wealth, is the reward of the man who can think of somerhing chac hasnt been thought of before.

Simple ideai and iimple impreinoiii. Simple ideas are

copies of simple impressions. For example, I see something exciting and that certain something mves me and
because of this impression 1 can later on have an idea of
it. Therefore simple ideas are direct copies of simple impressions and cannot be broken into parts, buc are a uni-

fying whole.

impressions and complex ideas are in general a copy of

the other (complex ideas ate copies of complex impressionsJ, in some unusual cases, they are not
so. For in- stance, I can imagine a place where

I have nevet been, or in rhe rase of a man who

is color blind of the color blue may make up his
idea of that color with his experience of rhe orher

colors.
7?ece (yies o/ideai.

Innate ideas
adventitious
ideas (from outside

(inborn),

facritious ideas (which one invents).

Four idea principles. The four idea principles are:

- Find a human need, an unsolved problem

- Master all of rhe essentials of the problem
- Give a new twist to an old principle
- Believe in your idea and act!

evenrs),

- Gather materials.
- Masticate the facts.
Relax and drop the whole subject.

Be ready to recognize and welcome the idea

when
it comes.
' Shape and develop your idea into
usefulness.

attitude, analyze, focus on rhe wanted SOLUTION; seek

out and fill your mind with the FACTS;
write down IDEAS, both sensible and seemingly wild;
let the facts and ideas SIMMER in yoor mind; evaluate,
recheck, settle on the CREATIVE IDEAS.
An Idea emotionalimd hecoinei pb/iirol. Any idea
that
is constantly held in the mind and
emotionalized, begins at once to clothe itself in
the most convenient and appropri- ate physical
form that is available.
An idea, @ itielf, is not erraneous, The thing in
which error arrives is judgment.
An idea, by
itself, is not erroneous but judgment makes it.

F e r c c p Ii
on
Peeption
Is the muy o[trutli. - Not conviction, not
method, but perception is the way of truch. It is a state of
effortless awareness, pliable awareness, choiceless
awareness.

ment
of
perception, but
a continuous
awareness, a consinuous state of inquiry in which there is no conclusion.
A umnd/l mental exercise. tVlien
awake,
you most br fully awak and

you

are

conscious

abonr everything. This is a wonderful mental exercise.

demnation, n demand for a pattern of action

in under- standing. Yen are merely observing )
ust look at it and watch it. The perceiving
mind is living, moving, full of energy', and
only such a mind can understand
what
truth is. To see a thing iincolored by ones own
personal preferences and desires is en see it in
ire own pristine Simplicity.

something existing
our petccp-

the genuine object of

tion. Sense data is car i ed by physical

objects, and yet irn sr data is not in complete

resemblance with the physi- cal object. Experience, in fact,

can be said to be a constant affecting by physical objects.

data is part of the surface of physical obJect one

is a hinction of the ocher. You cant cliscard either
one of them.

\Vhat we experience are the effects of physical objects.

be like

order

we

its to perceive? What do

Notes or sense data and[Perception. Sense data is caused by

objects. In order to find out aboot the

actual obessary. The statement I see a T means there
? (existent object I see) a T (an inference based
upon identity' of the ob)ect). There are physical
objwis

T1'e t/iire fly o/o'nirurii. Awareness covers rhree layers: awareness of self, rhe awareness of in-between (zone
of fantasy), and awareness of the world.

Eeor vr.
owrenesr.

The
enemy
of
development is rhis pain phobia the unwillingness
to do a tiny bit oFsiiffer- ing. As you feel unpleasant yen
interrupt the continuum of awareness and you become
phbic so tiierapeurically speaking we continue to
grow by means of integrating awareness/attention.
Choiceless awareness is total comprehension. Choice less
awareness: non-duality and reconciliation TOTAL underst and ing. The choiceless awareness oFa single and un-

divided mind.
lii the u'ntcbiug tier be under: )ost watch clioicelessly and
in the watching lies the wonder. It is rice an
ideal, an end to be desired. The watching is a
state of being"
already, not a state
ofbecoming.

To be a calm behalder. - Be a calm beholder of

what is hap- pening around yoo.
Peeption ? uu'areneii iz'itl:'out choice. There is
an aware- ness without choice, without any
demand, an awareness in which rhere is no
anxiety; and in that sra re of mind there i s
perception. It is the perception alone that will resolve all our problems.

less awareness do not condemn,

do not
justify. Aware- ness works only if its allowed free
play without interference.

chere must be a stare of choice less awareness in which

there is no sense of comparison or condemnation, no

waiting for a further development of the thing we are

talking abour in order to agree or disagree
dont stair from a conclusion above all.
Pure seeing.
something (ob-

To see where

there is no

ject) this is true seeing the seenig is the result

of having
subject and ob]ect, and therefore noseeing.

Lore the omtnde. Do not have an arritude, open yourself

and focos yourself and express yourself Reject external

Jotan thai fails to express internal reality.

rigidly against things coming from the outside, and it is

this ego rigiclity"that makes it impossible for us to
accept everything that confronts us.
On being talented. - Oftentimes people come op to me
and ask, Bruce, are you really that good? 1
say, Well, If 1 tell you Im good, probably you
will say Im boasting; but if 1 tell you Im no
good, yonE know Im lying. 1 have rhe
absolute confidence not to be number two, but
then I have enough sense also
there can be no number one.

to realize chat

On inciuf,Jtciiom. 1 dont like to wear stufy

clothes and be at places where everyone is trying to
impress each othet.
7tr lemon ojtbc ego. The point to be made
about ego is that man sho1d use his ego and
not be used by ego or blinded by it.

The zgo and ir/iiiggetn. The ego is fixed entirely by the

application of self-suggestion.

once the ego as rhough it were a possession,

rather than

using it as a rool. Inwardly, psychologically, be

a nobody.

Repose in nothing - Establish nothing in regard

to oneself. Ler things be what they are, move like
water, test like a mirror, respond like an echo, pass
quickly like the nonex- istent, and be quiet as purity.
Those who gain, lose. Do not precede others, always
follow them.
On liuiriblmess. To be humble to superiors is dLlty'; to

equals is courtesy; to inferior is nobleness, and to all,

lefI

To Ie rid of egroniciomness. Because one's self-consciousness or egoconsciousness is too conspicuously

present over the entire range of his attention which
fact interferes with a free display of whatever proficiency'

he has so far acquired or is going to acquire.

One should get rid of this obtruding self or
egoconscioiisncss and apply himself to the
work to be done as if nothing particular were
taking place at the moment.
3foit ar ia/ I'eiiig ie//coiiicioni. Most us would
carher stifer being self-conscious, being looked
upon, than to realize our blindness and get our ey'es
again the im- passe is maihed by a phobic attitude
(avoidance).