Bruce Lee Elf Quotations

All knowledge leads to self-knowledge.

Take what's useful, discard what is not.

After all, all knowledge simply means self-knowledge.

Go toward self-actualization rather than self-image actualization... Search within... for honest self- expression.

I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowled

Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-consciousn ess.

A self-willed man has no other aim than his own growth.

Self-knowledge is the basis of jeet kune do because it is effective not only for the individual's martial art but also for his life as a human being.

All types of knowledge, ultimately mean self knowledge.

Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself - to be is to be related.

Ultimately the greatest help is self-help.

All knowledge, is ultimately, self knowledge.

Self-will seems to be the only virtue that takes no account of man-made laws.

Faith is a state of mind that can be conditioned through self-discipline. Faith will accomplish.

Let the spirit out - 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, let the spirit out, as it will.

Only the self-sufficient stand alone - most people follow the crowd and imitate.

Life is better lived than conceptualized. — This writing can be less demanding should I allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I’ve come to understand that life is best to be lived — not to be conceptualized. If you have to think, you still do not understand.

Self-Conquest is the greatest of victories. Mighty is he who conquers himself.

Maturation is the development from environmental support to self-support.

We should devote ourselves to being self-sufficient and must not depend upon the external ratings by others for our happiness.

In order to realize our true self we must be willing to live without being dependent upon the opinion of others.

I've come to understand that life is best lived, not conceptualized.

Zen is not “attained” by mirror-wiping mediation, but by “self-forgetfulness in the existential 'present' of life here and now.” We do not “come”, we “are.” Don't strive to become, but be.

To me, ultimately, martial arts means honestly expressing yourself.

There’s only one basic principle of self-defense- you must apply the most effective weapon, as soon as possible, to the most vulnerable target.

Art is the way to the absolute and to the essence of human life. The aim of art is not the one-sided promotion of spirit, soul and senses, but the opening of all human capacities – thought, feeling, will – to the life rhythm of the world of nature. So will the voiceless voice be heard and the self be brought into harmony with it.

The world is full of people who are determined to be somebody or to give trouble. They want to get ahead, to stand out. Such ambition has no use for a gung fu man, who rejects all forms of self-assertiveness and competition

I'm moving and not moving at all. I'm like the moon underneath the waves that ever go on rolling and rocking. It is not, "I am doing this," but rather, an inner realization that "this is happening through me," or "it is doing this for me." The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.

Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-consciousness. Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over what impression he is making or about to make.

Self-knowledge involves relationship. To know oneself is to study one self in action with another person. Relationship is a process of self evaluation and self revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself - to be is to be related.

The martial arts are ultimately self-knowledge. A punch or a kick is not to knock the hell out of the guy in front, but to knock the hell out of your ego, your fear, or your hang-ups.

All types of knowledge ultimately lead to self-knowledge. So, therefore, these people are asking me to teach them, not so much how to defend themselves or how to do somebody in. Rather, they want to learn to express themselves through some movement, be it anger, be it determination or whatever. So, in other words, they're paying me to show them, in combative form, the art of expressing the human body.

To live is to express oneself freely

Concepts vs. self-actualization. - Instead of dedicating your life to actualize a concept of what you should be like, ACTUALIZE YOURSELF. The process of maturing does not mean to become a captive of conceptualization. It is to come to the realization of what lies in our innermost selves.

Satori - in the awakening from a dream. Awakening and self-realization and seeing into one's own being - these are synonymous.

You must accept the fact that there is no help but self-help. I cannot tell you how to gain freedom since freedom exists within you.

Be self aware, rather than a repetitious robot

The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.

To live is to express, and to express you have to create. Creation is never merely repetition. To live is to express oneself freely in creation.

In order to control myself I must first accept myself by going with and not against my nature.

Action is a high road to self-confidence and esteem. Where it is open, all energies flow toward it. It comes readily to most people, and its rewards are tangible.

Many people dedicate their lives to actualizing a concept of what they should be like, rather than actualizing themselves. This difference between self-actualization and self-image actualization is very important. Most people live only for their image

A self-willed man obeys a different law, the one law I, too, hold absolutely sacred the human law in himself, his own individual will.

A good martial artist does not become tense but ready. Not thinking yet not dreaming, ready for whatever may come. A martial artist has to take responsibility for himself and face the consequences of his own doing. To have no technique, there is no opponent, because the word 'I' does not exist. When the opponent expands I contract and when he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, 'I' do not hit, 'It' hits all by itself.

You will never learn anything new unless you are ready to accept yourself with your limitations. You must accept the fact that you are capable in some directions and limited in others, and you must develop your capabilities.

Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.

The biggest adversary in our life is ourselves. We are what we are, in a sense, because of the dominating thoughts we allow to gather in our head. All concepts of self-improvement, all actions and paths we take, relate solely to our abstract image of ourselves. Life is limited only by how we really see ourselves and feel about our being. A great deal of pure self-knowledge and inner understanding allows us to lay an all-important foundation for the structure of our life from which we can perceive and take the right avenues.