"You left on a Friday, for a Better Place--Did You Follow one of your Role Models?"
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"You left on a Friday, for a Better Place--Did You Follow one of your Role Models?"
The following info. was derived from "The Best Buddhist Writing 2004" Edited by Melvin McCloud, specifically article called "The Man Who Woke Up" written by Huston Smith & Philip Novak, pp. 1-10.
Upon redading this very historical article, I noticed an amazing, otherwordly parralel between the life and death of the Buddha and that of Bruce Lee. I've inserted facts about Bruce Lee under segments of the aforesaid article to show this.
1) "Buddhism begins with a man. In his later years, when India was afire with Siddhartha Gautama's message and kings themselves were bowing before him, people came to him even as they were to come to Jesus asking what he was...
'Are you a god?' they asked.
'No' he replied.
'An angel?'
'No' he replied again. 'A saint?'
'No'
'Then what are you?'
The Buddha answered, 'I am awake.'
The life of Bruce Lee can be seen as magical, mystical, almost like a Deity, saint, or Renaissance man, a great role model, a sage, a philosopher, a shooting star. Like the Buddha, he had followers who like the Buddhist monks tried to pass along his martial arts and martial arts philosophy to later generations. For example, Jeet Kune Do "nucleus" members like Jerry Poteet, Dan Inosanto, Jesse Glover, etc. But Bruce was also like the Buddha in that he wasn't a god, he was "aware" or "awake", employing many of the Taoist and Buddhist concepts of Wu Shin (no-mindedness) and meditation.
Bruce also smiled often like the Buddha and the Dalai Lama. Bruce Lee's father was a Buddhist. Being a well-read person, even at a very young age, Bruce must have studied Buddha's life because, among other things, it was his dad's religion. Even though he disliked organized forms, including organized religion, his Hong Kong funeral was a Buddhist funeral with scenes of a pyramid of organges, flowers and incense. Bruce even nicknamed his wooden man Gung Fu training tool after the Indian Buddhist Monk founder of Gung Fu--Bodhidharma. Although, Bruce lived a very influential life, bordering on God-like--he was just like the Buddha--he wasn't a God, he was "awake" or "aware."
Bruce Lee, like the Buddha, was a deep thinker....
2) [On Buddha's leaving his life of luxury], pg. 4 of aforesaid article:
"The two mounted and rode off toward the forest. Reaching its edge at daybreak, Gautama [the Buddha] changed clothes with the attendant, who returned with the horse to break the news. 'Tell my father,' said Gautama, ['that there is no reason he should grieve. He will perhaps say it was too early for me to leave for the forest. But even if affection should prevent me from leaving my family just now of my own accord, in due course death would tear us apart, and in that we would have no say. Birds settle on a tree for a while, and then go their separate ways again. The meeting of all living beings must likewise inevitably end in their parting. This world passes away and disappoints the hopes of everlasting attachment. It is therefore unwise to have a sense of ownership for people who are united with us as in a dream--for a short while only and not in fact.'
[When Bruce Lee left Hong Kong in 1958, he felt sad about leaving his dad and especially his younger brother, Robert. Although his dad was tough, most times, he was a loving dad. Also, conversely, his dad felt sad that his son was leaving and did what he rarely did upon the day Bruce left, gave his son a big hug.-- M.B.S. I found this on an interview someone did with Robert Lee; can be found on www.youtube.com]
3) From pg. 6 "One evening near Gaya in Northeast India, Buddha sat down...under...a tree...that has come to be known as the Bo Tree (short for Bodhi, "enlightenment"). Under this Bo Tree, "The Great Awakening" had occurred. Freedom was his. From the center of his joy came a song of spiritiual victory:....
'My mind is free from all past conditionings'.
[After difficulty concentrating with Yip Man during sparring, his famed Wing Chun, Gung Fu instructor, Bruce Lee went on a Junk (a houseboat) on the HK harbor. This junk was like Buddha's Bo Tree, but under this "Bo Tree", Bruce Lee received an Enlightenment concerning the nature of water and Gung Fu and the transformation of forms. [M.B.S.--I'm paraphrasing, Bruce said, "I noticed I hit water, but it did not feel hurt. I tried to grasp it, but it slipped through my fingers...I realized that this is the nature of a good Gung Fu artist, to be like water." (from "Dynamic Becoming" by James Bishop, amoung other sources.) Also, when Bruce Lee said I don't believe in forms or styles anymore wasn't this amazingly like Buddha's "my mind is free from all past conditionings"? (see above).
4) From pg. 3 of article: "[Buddha] appearst to have been exceptionally handsome, for there are numerous scriptural references to the perfection of his visible body" So, too, have many including myself felt that Bruce Lee was a handsome person. Nothing is gay or homosexual about this. John Little, famed Bruce Lee historian, Arnie Kim, maker of Bruce Lee Enterbay figurines all agree that Bruce was handsome and they definitely aren't gay (not that there's anything judgmental to be placed on that). What made him handsome was his chisled, chin and cheekbones, the twinkle or laugh in his soft eyes, and his very infectious, big, sincere smile.
5) From pg. 9: "Nearly half a century followed during which the Buddha trudged the dusty paths of India preaching his ego-shattering, life-redeeming message..." [Bruce along with S. Siliphant, J. Coburn not only visited Buddha's birth country, Nepal, but also "trudged the dusty paths of India..." to prepare for filming of "The Silent Flute" (see "Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit by Bruce Thomas)--M.B.S.]
6) From pg. 9: "After an arduous ministry of 45 years at the age of 80 around 483 B.C.E., the Buddha died from dysentery after eating a meal of dried boar's flesh in the home of Cunda the Smith...In the midst of his pain, it occured to him that Cunda might feel responsible for his death. His last request, thus, was that Cunda be informed that of all the meals he had eaten during his long life, only 2 stood out as having blessed him exceptionally. One was the meal whose strength had enabled him to reach enlightenment under the Bo Tree, and the other was the one opening him to the final gates to Nirvana [Cunda's dried boar's flesh].
[M.B.S.--My opinion, Cunda the Smith can be likened or compared to Betty Ting Pei in terms of Betty giving Bruce Lee equagensic (or a "ticket" to Nirvana) *But as a very important side note, remember the rumor from Shaw Bros. executive(s) to an HK newspaper that Bruce had committed suicide? From "Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit" by Bruce Thomas, there's a part where Bruce's personal doctor, Don Langford, (who is a devout Baptist preacher nowadays) said that he would have changed the verdict to death by allergic reaction to hashish. Also see post-mortem picture of Bruce with a grape-fruit size swelling of the left side of his neck in the documentary "Death by Misadventure". I spoke with a local pharmacist who said the windpipe or trachea gets swollen due to an allergic reaction and this is evidenced by neck swelling. Anyway, the guilt that both Betty Ting Pei and Cunda the Smith felt is almost other-worldly identical.
Is it any wonder Ms. Ting Pei became a devout Buddhist many years after Bruce's death (see "Bruce Lee: The Legend, 1983)
From pg. 10: "The many who approached [Buddha's] deathbed [were] unable to contain their tears. [Buddha] chastised gently: "In the hour of joy, it is not proper to grieve." [M.B.S.--When I watched "Bruce Lee, the Man and the Legend 1973", the HK funeral along with Joseph Koo's instrumental string and flute music and Bruce's children being brought towards his casket, watching their dad, I was unable to keep a dry eye. But at the same time, a part of me, deeply knew with all my heart, that such a good man as Bruce Lee was leaving the mortal world for a happier place--M.B.S.]
Finally, also, from pg. 10 of this amazing article: "Two sentences from his [Buddha's] valedictory have echoed through the ages: 'All compound things decay. Work out your own salvation with diligence.'"
[M.B.S.--Now how much is this like the well-known writings of Bruce Lee: 1) "Nothing is as permanent as to never change" --Bruce Lee (phrased differently--everything changes--M.B.S.); and
2) "There is no help, but self-help"-- Bruce Lee (in that order--M.B.S.)
Was Bruce trying to imitate the life and death of one of his role model, the Buddha, or did this happen just by pure coincidence or divine intervention...It's fascinating to ponder this. Of all my articles, I consider this to be one of my best. I humbly hope to have given a good man, a good family man, a deep thinker like Bruce Lee, a motivation to past, present, and future generations, a good service through this article. Because both the Buddha and Bruce Lee were good men. I know Bruce is in the Void, or maybe in a purgatory stage, and he might be flattered now at the "public presentation" of this essay on this website.
Thank you, fellow artists, for your time and attention span,
Mike Bruce Sullivan
Posted on Mar 27, 2009, 6:32 PM from IP address 71.136.241.199