The Dragon and Me
Those who know me know that Bruce Lee is a figure who has influenced me in every part of my life. The words of Bruce, to me, can be applied to any moment in living. And so, I think it is finally time to begin to tell the story of Bruce and me.
I was about 18 years old when I discovered Bruce. I can’t even remember how he came into my life, and in some ways I did not have a choice. Bruce came into who I was whether I was looking for him or not. It really all started with this interview - to date what I believe to be one of the greatest interviews of all time (despite Pierre Burton):
Around this time in my life, I had come back from my first vision quest, 3 days and nights alone in a desert, and I was beginning a new turn in a new city entering college. In this period of transition, I delved deep into Bruce’s work. “Striking Thoughts”, “Tao of Jeet Kune Do”, “Enter the Dragon”, and others were books and movies I picked up and began to study. I began to study his martial art, “a way without a way”. I began a practice of keeping a pocketbook with me, just as Bruce had, to strike down my own striking thoughts as I received them throughout the day. I continue to carry his wisdom in daily living through these small ways, but the guiding philosophies of Bruce are what carry with me the most. Here are my big three:
“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is uniquely your own”
“All knowledge, ultimately means self knowledge”
“I do not believe in styles anymore… Styles tend to separate man. If you do not have style and say here I am as a human being, how can I express myself — totally and completely — you won’t create a style. Style is a crystallization. That way it is a process of continuing growth”
As a life long musician who has sought to further my art every step of the way, one realization I had at this time of discovering Bruce was this — I cannot grow as a musician unless I first grow as a human being. That is, all knowledge leads to self knowledge, and unless that self knowledge is realized and actualized, there will be no growth and no progress. Bruce often pointed to “self-actualization” as a fundamental tenant of living. Notice that Bruce did not say “self-realization” because there is nothing to realize. You already know and have everything of what you are. Rather, it is a process of peeling the onions, the layers that shroud you from yourself, to self ACTUALIZE. It is not that you need something outside of you to be who you are, to realize yourself. Then you would always be dependent on something other than yourself. It is simply peeling the onion to reveal what has always been there.
Simplicity is maya’s worst enemy
In this process of self-actualization there is one tenant which I have discovered: simplicity is maya’s worst enemy. The illusions, the dodges we place for ourselves from addressing the root of the issue come from complicating what is simple and direct. Bruce said, “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.” Bruce was a fan of aphorisms and I have simplified this message for myself like so — know the root, know the flower.
Know the root, know the flower
When you understand the root too, you understand Bruce’s words about style. When someone goes about fighting a certain way, directing movies a certain way, painting a certain way — the truly influential pioneers are not going to create a style. Rather, they are simply expressing themselves — totally and completely — in the way that is unique to them. What becomes a style is when others point to this and say, “Ah yes! This is the way we should do it!” It is nothing but trying to copy someone else’s blueprint for success. This leads to my third personal aphorism, “We are all uniquely the same.”
We are all uniquely the same
While I do not deny that this person who has successfully created a style, be it Buddha, J.R. Tolkein, Bruce, we connect to it because we see something of ourselves in that. We see that there is something in the way that this person did things that can reflect you yourself. There is something in that person or thing which is the same as to what is in you. However, one must not forget that it is simply another perspective. It is a valuable one no doubt, but not one which should be copied verbatim but as Bruce himself said, should be absorbed, applied, discarded, and added onto with what is uniquely your own. In this way only do you truly learn what Buddha, J.R. Tolkein, or Bruce were trying to say. For each of these people did not set out to create a style — they simply set out to “express oneself honestly, totally and completely, without lying to oneself” ~ Bruce Lee.
I understand that there is no one way that is best — all have their unique perspectives and all must be understood at their root. I understand that it is not enough to simply understand the root, but that it must be applied. I understand that willing to apply is not enough, it must be done. I understand that there is no style which expresses who I am, there is only who I am. I understand that all that I learn are but tools to express myself honestly, totally and completely, without lying to myself. I understand that when I hit a plateau, it is not a limit but an opportunity to grow as a person before I step up to the next height. I understand that within me alone do I have the strength to stand by and discover the convictions of my actions.
It comes down to this, “The meaning of life is that it is to be lived.” ~ Bruce Lee
And with that, it’s time to go.