Hello,
I was just wondering if anyone knew what Bruce Lee's religion actually was?
I realize that his philosophy is drawn from such religions as taoism and Zen....but if anyone knows what religion Bruce was could you please let me know...
WHO Really gives a ****? STUPID ****IN QUESTIONS like this waste space on the board... WTF does it matter if he was an Athiest, Christian, Catholic, Presbeterian, or buddhist, muslim, or like ol' boy says Jehova's ****in witness? Its really irrelevent to the study of JKD.
Dude, you really need to relax. Wasting space on the this page? What could they possibly post of so much importance that requires the space that wouldn't allow any other kind of question to be asked? People have been asking all sorts of questions from the silly to the serious since I have known about this place and posted here. And besides that.....what's it to you anyways? Is your pocketbook, relationships, or health going to suffer cause someone on here asks a question that to you is irrelevant? If you don't like the questions being asked, move on. It's a simple fix.
Anyways to answer the question, I heard Bruce Lee grew up in a christian environment. But as a young man he was more into eastern philosophy. When asked for the first time that was documented that I know of "Do you believe in God", Bruce responded (don't remember exactly but)...."If there is a God, he would be there to basically watch things....he shouldn't be a crutch for people to hang on for their every problem". This kind of talk was heavily influenced by his readings and relatability to Krishnamurti. Krushnamurti believed in self-help and to lose dependence on people for personal development and attainment. Very Buddha-like. When asked in a later interview if Bruce believed in God he answered no.
There is really no need for anyone to stress out and express negativity about another forum member asking a question! The question was asked honestly and directly. What more could you ask for? If someone wants to know something, they want to know, it's just that simple! No need to post negative statements and get all bent out of shape over it! To do so is just a show of the fact that you have some serious personal issues and don't have anything better to do with your time than cut others down!
I know that Bruce Lee went to a Catholic school (Saint Francis Xavier) as a teenager in Hong Kong, but I don't think he really embraced any tennets of the Catholic religion. As a Christian myself, it used to bother me to think that Bruce Lee didn't believe in God, especially after hearing him state in an interview when asked if he believed in God, "Quite frankly, no, I do not!" I was disgusted by hearing him make that statement! Then after thinking about it more, it really didn't bother me anymore. Why? Well, because it is the art that he founded that holds my interest, not Bruce Lee himself or his personal beliefs! After detaching myself from that, it no longer is even a concern of mine what Bruce Lee believed! I can simply, as he would say, "Walk on!"
Okay look you guys obviously have nothing better to do then be on the forum and ask silly questions with absolutly no meaning what so ever. What does it really matter if Bruce was a religious man or not? Who cares!
Jeet Kune Do in my opinion can be considered one of the best forms of fighting that had ever been created, however on the same line JKD can and is one of the biggest scams of martial arts that is in existance today. So many claim that JKD is this and JKD is that when in fact JKD isn't any of it. What JKD really is, is it just IS! Nothing else nothing more. When Bruce slapped a name on what he was doing ie. called it Jeet Kune Do "way of the intercepting fist" he knew then that he made the biggest mistake of his carreer. He would of rather never named it, rather then slapping a title on it. JKD is nothing more then an expression of his own physical strengths and fighting ability. Today JKD has more commercial evidence then Tae Kwon Do. To me this makes it more watered down and a complete joke and if anything all this is doing is slapping Bruce Lee in the face.
When I scan across boards on the internet and find worthless posts on boards I just can't help but respond w/ who gives a ****! WHY? because i know it pisses you people who think you really care OFF... I get somewhat of a chuckle out of it i guess that some of you take this so seriously that it bugs you to the point of no return.
So there, Im just an ******* who likes to **** with all you kids brains. Wanna fight or learn to fight, you need to get off your lazy asses and stop spending day in day out minute after minute on ths damn computer and train or fight its that simple. I make it a point to check the computer ONCE a day. Becuase I spend 2 to 4 hours a day in the gym, 8 hours at work, and 2 to 3 hours each night training. With a schedule like that it makes hardly no time to do much else.
Some of you need to take heed rather then be internet jockies.
looks like someone has too much time on their hands...........
July 27 2004, 1:12 PM
To me it seems you either need a new hobby or you are deluded and think yourself to be of a higher class than all the people on this forum.
You need to get a reality check mate; stop irritating people or stop posting
This message has been edited by thevonandonly on Jul 27, 2004 1:23 PM This message has been edited by thevonandonly on Jul 27, 2004 1:13 PM
who cares? he/she is just curious of what the man thought about religion. so, obviously he/she cares. I mean, religion could have really influenced his martial arts. Theres nothing wrong with being interested in the mans beliefs, especially a man with such wisdom.
This message has been edited by bleefan on Aug 8, 2004 1:43 PM
I think this issue is a piece of the Bruce Lee puzzle that many people tend to overlook. Not that anyone should actually emulate his beliefs; just study them and understand how they fit into his personal philosopy on life, and above all his training and methodology. After all, as JKD practioners, you should want to know what your symbols (the yin and yang) represent.
Most people in the west have been introduced to taoism (in a mangled form) in Star Wars as "the force", which in taoism is "the Way". Both have their "Dark Side" and "Light Side". One couldn't exist without the other.
The definitive text of Taoism is the "Tao Te Ching", attributed to Lao Tzu. The text is also called simply the "Lao Tzu", a book of wisdom and observations of how the universe works. It is presented as the wisdom of the old. In Chinese "Lao Tzu" means "Old Man", or literally as "Old Boy", since the legend says he was carried by his mother for many years and was born an old man!
This is all part of the legend surrounding Lao Tzu, who may or may not have actually existed. We do know that the Tao Te Ching has been around since the 1st century A.D. In legend Lao Tzu was a hermit who one time got the best of Confusius, though most scholars agree that they were not actually contempories.
Along with Confusianism and Buddism, Taoism is one of the cornerstones of Chinese culture and philosophy. Taoism and Buddhism are in some aspects so similar, they blended in China to become Chan Buddism, more popularly know as it's Japanese version - Zen.
Taoism undoubtedly influenced Bruce. What was it Bruce always said? "Be like water". And what did the Tao Te Ching say? VIII, 20 "Highest good is like water. Because water excels in benefitting the myriad creatures without contending with them and settles where none would like to be, it comes close to the Way." *
*Penguin Classics, Tao Te Ching, translated by D.C. Lau
...that Bruce took heavily from the Tao Teh Ching.
I must admit, it is one of the most concise and objective takes on 'the way' of life that I've ever come across.
As to the quiestion being irrelivant, well tell me this;
How is it irrelivant to learn about the founder of the art you study?
Surely, if you have a more complete knowledge of Bruces essence, you can more clearly see the way he came about JKD, and ultimately have a more rounded view of things, when it comes to you own process of personal 'streamlining'?
No information is useless, there are just usless patterns of thinking.
I have looked into many aspects of Bruce Lee's life, and found that this has given me a more realistic view on Jeet Kune Do, and how it applies to a man's life.
Ultimately, I think I know what you are trying to say:
'Concentrait on your own life, don't simply reside in Bruce land', but to me, the only wrong quiestions are those that are unanswered.
You know an interesting observation has been made here. I think the thing about BL is that he did not really come up with anything new. If you read around you will see most of Lee's quotes and even concepts in already written. What he did was put these concepts together, but most importantly he made the west aware of them through media.
I would say instead of trying to understand Lee try to understand yourself. I do not think he spent time wondering what religion Krisnamurti believed in or what foot spray Mohammed Ali used but used the ideas that these people had as stimulants for his own thoughts. As I understand it, he read around a lot to gain as much information as possible. Which is kind of ironic as a lot of JKD people I meet are more into what other JKD people have to say.
To be honest I was actually wondering the same question. Tac, there is no reason to be so wound up over something such as this. It is a good question with relevance to the website, your rude and unnecessary reply was the only idiotic thing I've seen here so far. It leads me to wonder why you are here in the first place when you are so wound up and obviously not making any move towards inner harmony, understanding, teaching and helping others.
