Bruce Lee: Artist Of Life

288 Pages·2015·5.313 MB·English

by  Recorded Books, Inc.;Lee, Bruce

The Bruce Lee Library
Bruce Lee
The Essential Writings
A r t i s t o f L i f e
Compiled and Edited by John Little
TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo Rutland, Vermont Singapore
BL-Artist of Life_©2013.indd iii 1/11/13 10:48 AM
The Tuttle Story: “Books to Span the East and West”
Most people are surprised to learn that the world’s largest publisher of books on Asia had its humble
beginnings in the tiny American state of Vermont. The company’s founder, Charles E. Tuttle, belonged
to a New England family steeped in publishing. And his first love was naturally books—especially old and
rare editions.
Immediately after WW II, serving in Tokyo under General Douglas MacArthur, Tuttle was tasked with
reviving the Japanese publishing industry. He later founded the Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company,
which thrives today as one of the world’s leading independent publishers.
Though a westerner, Tuttle was hugely instrumental in bringing a knowledge of Japan and Asia to a
world hungry for information about the East. By the time of his death in 1993, Tuttle had published over
6,000 books on Asian culture, history and art—a legacy honored by the Japanese emperor with the
“Order of the Sacred Treasure,” the highest tribute Japan can bestow upon a non-Japanese.
With a backlist of 1,500 titles, Tuttle Publishing is more active today than at any time in its past—
inspired by Charles Tuttle’s core mission to publish fine books to span the East and West and provide a
greater understanding of each.
All photos appearing in this book are courtesy of the Distributed by:
archive of Linda Lee Cadwell, the Estate of Bruce Lee,
and Warner Brothers Films. North America, Latin America & Europe
Tuttle Publishing
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus 364 Innovation Drive,
Editions (HK) Ltd. North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436 U.S.A.
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
www.tuttlepublishing.com [email protected] • www.tuttlepublishing.com
Copyright © 1999 Linda Lee Cadwell Japan
Tuttle Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be Yaekari Building, 3rd Floor, 5-4-12 Osaki
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141 0032
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, record- Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
ing, or by any information storage and retrieval system, [email protected] • www.tuttle.co.jp
without prior written permission from the publisher.
Asia Pacific
ISBN 978-0–8048–3263–2 Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12, Singapore 534167
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
Lee, Bruce, 1940–1973. [email protected] • www.periplus.com
Bruce Lee : artist of life / compiled and edited by John
Little. — 1st pb ed. Indonesia
xv, 269 p. : ill. ; 24 cm—(The Bruce Lee library : v. 6) PT Java Books Indonesia
Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-264) and Jl. Rawa Gelam IV No. 9
index. Kawasan Industri Pulogadung
ISBN 0–8048–3131–9 (hc) ISBN 0–8048–3263–3 (pb) Jakarta 13930, Indonesia
1. Lee, Bruce, 1940–1973. 2. Martial artists—United Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
States [email protected] • www.periplus.com
Biography 3. Actors—United
States Biography. I. Little, John R., 1960– . II. Title. III. 17 16 15 14 13 16 15 14 13 12 1303MP
Series: Lee, Bruce, 1940–1973.
Bruce Lee library : v. 6. Text design—Dutton & Sherman
GV1113,L44A3 1999
791.43’028’092—dc21 Printed in Singapore
[B]
99033401 TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of
CIP Tuttle Publishing,a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
BL-Artist of Life_©2013.indd iv 1/15/13 11:14 AM
For Shannon and Ian—
Because Bruce and Brandon would wish them
the richness of a happy marriage,
which comes from the artful blending of two souls
C
ONTENTS
Foreword by Linda Lee Cadwell x
Introduction xiii
PART 1: GUNG FU
1-A The Tao of Gung Fu:A Study in the Way of the Chinese
Martial Art 2
1-B Gung Fu:The Center of the Oriental Arts 13
1-C A Moment of Understanding 15
1-D Reflections on Gung Fu 18
1-E Teach Yourself Self-Defense 21
1-F Psychology in Defense and Attack 24
1-G How to Choose a Martial Art Instructor 25
1-H The Unity of Gentleness/Firmness 27
1-I My View on Gung Fu 29
PART 2: PHILOSOPHY
2-A Why I Took to Philosophy 33
2-B Regarding Human Understanding 36
2-C Living:The Oneness of Things 37
2-D The Unity of Firmness and Softness 41
2-E Taoism 43
2-F Yin-Yang 45
2-G Wu-hsin (No-Mindedness) 47
2-H Wu Wei (Non-Action) 50
2-I The Letting Go 52
2-J On Western Philosophy 53
2-K Plato 54
2-L Plato’s “Gorgias” 55
2-M Socrates 56
2-N The Nature of Humankind 57
2-O Moral Conduct:Relative versus Absolute 58
2-P Objective and Subjective Judgments 59
2-Q Rene Descartes 60
2-R Descartes’“Meditations” 61
2-S Descartes—An Opinion 64
2-T On Descartes’“Cogito” 65
2-U “Any Color I Want” 66
PART 3: PSYCHOLOGY
3-A Notes on Gestalt Therapy 71
3-B The Relationship of the Organism to Its Environment 73
3-C Three Types of Philosophy 75
3-D Self-Regulation versus External Regulation 77
3-E The Top Dog and the Underdog 79
3-F The Four Basic Philosophical Approaches 81
3-G Thinking Is Rehearsing 82
3-H Learning 84
3-I The Process of “Centering” 85
3-J Process 86
3-K Sticking Point (Impasse—Phobic Layer) 87
3-L Hesse on Self-Will 89
3-M Toward Liberation 90
PART 4: POETRY
4-A Rain,Black Clouds 93
4-B Down the Western Hill 94
4-C The Dying Sun 95
4-D Love Is a Friendship Caught on Fire 96
4-E Once More I Hold You in My Arms 97
4-F All Streams Flowing East or West 98
4-G Boating on Lake Washington 99
4-H For a Moment 100
Contents vii
4-I Walking Along the Bank of Lake Washington 101
4-J Night Rain 102
4-K Our Togetherness Is Like a Sweet Dream 103
4-L The Surroundings Utter No Sound 104
4-M It Is Spring 106
4-N Things I See 107
4-O The Humming Bird 108
4-P The Frost 110
4-Q The Falling Leaf 111
4-R Though the Night Was Made for Loving 112
4-S The Silent Flute 113
4-T Since You Left 114
4-U Parting 116
PART 5: JEET KUNE DO—THE LIBERATION
5-A Jeet Kune Do:The Way of the “Stopping Fist” 120
5-B Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—I 122
5-C Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—II 127
5-D Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—III 133
5-E Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—IV 143
5-F Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—V 153
5-G Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—VI 161
5-H Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—VII 169
5-I Jeet Kune Do:Toward Personal Liberation—VIII 174
5-J Notes on Jeet Kune Do 182
5-K More Notes on Jeet Kune Do 184
5-L Additional Notes on Jeet Kune Do 188
5-M The Ultimate Source of Jeet Kune Do 191
5-N The Theme 203
5-O True Mastery 205
5-P Martial Art 207
5-Q Obstacles in the Way of Knowledge 208
5-R An Objective Evaluation of the Combative Skill of Bruce Lee—
By Those Who Know What It Is 209
viii Artist of Life
PART 6:ACTING
6-A What Exactly Is an Actor? 217
6-B An Actor:The Sum Total 218
6-C Self-Actualization and Self-Image Actualization in the
Art of Acting 220
6-D Another Actor Speaks His Mind 222
PART 7: SELF-KNOWLEDGE
7-A The First Article I Write in Hong Kong 225
7-B In My Own Process—I 226
7-C In My Own Process—II 229
7-D In My Own Process—III 230
7-E In My Own Process—IV:In Search of Someone Real 232
7-F In My Own Process—V 234
7-G In My Own Process—VI:On Self-Actualization 236
7-H In My Own Process—VII 237
7-I In My Own Process—VIII 238
7-J The Passionate State of Mind 240
PART 8: LETTERS
8-A “The True Meaning of Life—Peace of Mind” 247
8-B “Use Your Own Experience and Imagination” 250
8-C “Who Am I?” 253
8-D “Turning Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones” 256
8-E “It’s All in the State of Mind” 258
8-F “Art Lives Where Absolute Freedom Is” 260
Notes 263
Index 265
Acknowledgments 270
Contents ix