Bruce Lee: Letters of the Dragon. Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee’s earliest notebooks from Seattle, written while he was completing his high school requirements.
15. “Dianne” was evidently one of Bruce’s classmates at Edison Technical School.
16. Ed Hart was Bruce Lee’s second private student in Seattle. The letters to Hart were written by Lee while Hart was in New York for several months.
17. Jesse Glover was Bruce Lee’s first student in America.
18. The Tso family and Bruce Lee’s family were close friends when Bruce lived in Hong Kong during the 1950s, and they remained friends throughout his life. Mrs. Tso, Pearl’s mother, was like a second mother to him, and he often sought her advice, In fact, he wrote her frequently to inform her of his progress in America. The two friends exchanged letters and postcards, some of which were brief and aphoristic, while others, such as the letter reprinted here, were much more soulful and in-depth.
19. “Linda” is Linda Emery. who would become Bruce Lee’s wife on August 17, 1964. This letter was written just five days before their first “official” date, which, as she recalls, took place on October 25, 1963.
*Notes for Part One begin on page 32.
Part 2
FROM GUNG FU TO GREEN HORNET
(1964-1966)
1964
To Taky Kimura1*
Process in Learning Gung Fu
The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained too. To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end.
Wishing to cultivate oneself, one first rectifies his heart (mind).
Wishing to rectify his heart, one seeks to be sincere in his thoughts.
Wishing to be sincere in his thoughts, one first extends to the utmost of his knowledge—such extension of knowledge lies in the investigation of things.
Remark: It cannot be when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered.
A rectified mind is a mind immune to emotional influences—free from fear, anger, sorrow, anxiety, and even fond attachment—when the mind is not present, we look and do not see; we hear and do not understand; we eat and do not know the taste of what we eat.
Not allowing outside things to entangle this mind; in other words, outward changes do not move the mind. Its function lies in suppression of the senses, and on reduction of desire.
A gung fu man rests therein, and because he rests, he is at peace. Because he is at peace, he is quiet. One who is at peace and is quiet, no sorrow or harm can enter; therefore his inner power remains whole and his spirit intact.
—The nature of water is that if nothing is mixed with it, it remains clear; if nothing ruffles it, it remains smooth.
Definition:
1. To be one thing and not to change, is the climax of STILLNESS.
2. To have nothing in one that resists, is the climax of EMPTINESS.
3. To remain detached from all outside things is the climax of FINENESS.
4. To have in oneself no contraries, is the climax of PURITY.
“NO MIND” “NO THOUGHT”
Discard all thoughts of reward, all hopes of praise and fears of blame, all awareness of one’s bodily self. And, finally closing the avenues of sense perception and let the spirit out, as it will.
The highest skill operates on an unconscious level.
Sincere thought means thought of concentration (quiet awareness). The thought of a distracted mind cannot be sincere. Man’s mind and his behavior are one, his inner thought and outer expression cannot contradict each other. Therefore a man should set up his right principle and this right mind (principle) will influence his action.
Bruce Lee with Taky Kimura (left) and Charlie Woo (right)
If you look within yourself and are sure that you have done right, what do you have to fear or worry about? You require only to perform your own mission in life without any thoughts of aggressiveness or competition. Follow the will of nature and coordinate your mind and your will to become one with nature, and nature will protect you.
Yielding
Yielding will overcome anything superior to itself; its strength is boundless.
The yielding will has a reposeful ease, soft as downy feathers-a quietude, a shrinking from action, an appearance of inability to do (the heart is humble, but the work is forceful). Placidly free from anxiety one acts in harmony with the opponent’s strength. One does not move ahead but responds to the fitting influence.
One should be in harmony with, and not rebellion against, the strength of the opponent. Such art will “preserve ourselves” by following the natural bends of things.
Nothing in the world is more yielding and softer than water; yet it penetrates the hardest. Insubstantial, it enters where no room is. It is so fine that it is impossible to grasp a handful of it; strike it, yet it does not suffer hurt; stab it, and it is not wounded.
One should be in harmony with, and not rebellion against, the strength of the opponent. Such art will “preserve ourselves” by following the natural bends of things; consequently, we achieve immortality because we do not wear ourselves out. This theory is illustrated in Taoism, [in the story] about the perfect butcher whose carving knife remains perpetually sharp because it always goes between the bones and tissues and never meets any resistance.
To Rest in Weakness Is Strength
“Alive, a man is supple, soft; in death, unbending rigor. All creatures, grass and trees, alive are plastic, but are pliant, too, and [in] death all feeble and dry. Unbending rigor is the mate of death, and yielding softness, [the] company of life. Unbending soldiers get no victories; the stiffest tree is readiest for the ax. The strong and mighty belong to the bottom, the soft and yielding rise above them all.
The strongest is he that makes use of his opponent’s strength—be the bamboo tree which bends toward the wind; and when the wind ceases, it springs back stronger than before.
To Bill Evans2
Posted from Oakland, California, on September 2, 1964
Dear Bill,
I am sorry to inform you that the articles have to be delayed because I am at present on a tour demonstrating gung fu.
I’ve just got back from Los Angeles not too long ago and I’ll have to start again in San Francisco. In a week or so I’ll have to fly to New York.
However, I’ll try to find time in between to finish the articles. By the way, there should be a coverage of the last tournament at Long Beach, and when will the next Black Belt be out?