(Discoveries) How could Sifu (Teacher) Ip Man, 61, beat Bruce Lee?
Bruce Lee's philosophy: Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do Chinese (JKD, 截拳道, literally "Stop Fist Way," figuratively, the "Way of the Intercepting Fist") is Bruce Lee's hybrid martial arts style, which he conceived of and practiced. It centers on the principle of counterattacking opponents in order to impede their offense [12, 13].
As an eclectic martial art, it relies on a style of fighting heavily influenced by Wing Chun, Tai Chi, taekwondo, boxing, fencing, and jujutsu [14, 15].
JKD, which Lee intended to have practical applications in life without the traditional routines and metaphysics of conventional martial arts, also incorporates a set of principles to help practitioners make quick decisions and improve their mental and physical health [13, 16].
Lee, who based JKD on his experiences in unarmed fighting and self-defense, as well as on his Zen Buddhist, eclectic, Confucian, and Taoist philosophies [14, 17], did not formally codify JKD before his death.
As a result, JKD practitioners have had to rely on their own interpretations of Lee's philosophy [18, 19]. More
The Heart Sutra is the world's most popular Buddhist sutra. And it is sad that from a young age, I recognized something in its magical wording (Edward Conze translation) that the Berkeley Zen Center could not explain. It was just chanted, rote, mindlessly, thoughtlessly, with no investigation that it could actually mean something sensible.
But a Theravada investigation revealed exactly what it was all about. And the final crowning explanation came, inadvertently, from Alan Watts for some of the strange phrasing, which might trip one up for years.
The secret is realizing that Śūnyatā ("emptiness," void) is synonymous with the Pali suññatā ("impersonal" = anatta). Then everything else falls into place because what the Heart Sutra (Prajñā-pāramitā-hṛdayaDiscourse) is talking about are the Five Aggregates clung to as self, pointing out that every "heap" -- each one of the Five Aggregates -- is devoid of self, is impersonal, is in that sense "empty." It has no "independent existence." What kind of existence does it have? It is foolish to think there is nothing there; there is no thing there. But there's something, some stuff, something is appearing. And what is there has a dependently-originated existence and is, therefore, rightfully called a "thing" (dharma, phenomena).
"Self" arises in this way, not as a real entity but an illusion brought about by the presence of the aggregates. When one grasps that all there has ever been are phenomenal aggregates -- impermanent, disappointing, and impersonal -- then one is able to let go and be free of all clinging and suffering. It is called the "Heart" (hṛdaya) Sutra not because of emotions or sweetness but because it comes as the culmination, the brief summary, the pith, the essence of 100,000 verses of detailed explanation. It is the essence of perfected wisdom. It is the key to stream entry, that which when not grasped keeps us as ordinary worldling but when grasped causes a "change of lineage" (gotrabhu) to the noble ones. The Buddha himself said it. There are not enlightened disciples to be found in other traditions, at least not in the Buddhist sense of the term bodhi ("awakened," "enlightened," "liberated") because nowhere else is this Doctrine of No-Self ever taught, ever explained, ever pointed out.
Beloved Kwan Yin (Guanyin)
Better than [the Goddess of Compassion] Kwan Yin (the feminine form of Avalokiteshvara)? More beloved than [the Cosmic Buddha of Light] Amitabha? No, probably not, but what is higher and more exalted than wisdom?
The Buddha himself noted how popular and beloved Ananda was, whereas the monastics did not seem to realize the kalyana-mitta potential of Ven. Sariputta, the male monastic he declared foremost in wisdom. One can easily imagine the same thing must have happened among the females with the Buddha highlighting the value of the great bhikkhuniKhema Theri, the nun he declared foremost in wisdom.
How to make the Heart Sutra simpler
Rewrite it in modern English so readers can get it
Holding lotus, symbol of blossoming
Wow, this perfection of wisdom is cool! It's eye-opening!
Avi, awake and wanting to awaken others, was reviewing the wisdom that has gone beyond and looked down from on high and saw just five heaps, saw that in and of themselves they were impersonal, not a self, empty.
Herein, Sali, form is empty and empty is form; the impersonal is not different than form, and form is not different than the empty. Anything that is empty, impersonal, and not self is form.
And the same is true of sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousnesses.
Herein, Sali, all phenomena are impersonal. They bear the mark of being impersonal, empty: They are not produced and not stopped, not dirty or clean, not missing something and not full.
So you see, Sali, in the impersonal, there is no form (no body composed of the Four Elements), nor sensations, nor perceptions, nor formations, nor consciousnesses.
There are no bases for these things [that are all dependently originated]: no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, nor the things that impinge on them: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, or objects of mind, nor the things these sense depend on for their sensitivity: no element (sensitive tissue) of sight, and so forth, until we come to: no element (sensitive tissue) at the heart of consciousness.
[Why? It is because, after all, all things are impersonal, empty, not a self, so a bunch of them together don't make a self either).]
Likewise, really, there is no ignorance, so there is no end of ignorance [since it doesn't really exist except as an illusion), and so forth, until we come to: There is no aging and death, no end of aging and death. There is no disappointment, no coming into being, no extinction, and no path to the extinction of disappointment. There is no knowing, no attainment, and there is no non-attainment of this realization.
And so, Sali, because of one's not-attaining anything that a being-bent-on-enlightenment, perfecting this wisdom that has gone beyond, dwells free of discursive thoughts. In their absence, one is free of trembling. One has overcome all that can upset and so realized nirvana.
All those who appear as supremely awakened teachers the three periods of time -- past, present, and future -- fully awake to this utmost realization, right and perfect awakening because they have perfected the wisdom that has gone beyond.
So, Sali, everyone should know this perfection of wisdom as a kind of mantra, the mantra of great knowing, the utmost mantra, the unequalled mantra, the allayer of all disappointment and ill. It's true; I mean, what could really go wrong except as an illusion?
By perfecting this kind of wisdom is this mantra, which runs like this: gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
("Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, oh what an awakening, it's true!") This is indeed the pith of perfect wisdom.
The allegory of the cave is presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work Republic (514a–520a, Book VII) to compare "the effect of education (παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature."
It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates. It is narrated by Socrates. The allegory is presented after the analogy of the Sun (508b–509c) and the analogy of the divided line (509d–511e).
In the allegory, Plato describes people who have spent their whole lives chained by their necks and ankles in front of an inner wall [a screen] with a view of the empty outer wall of the cave.
They observe the shadows [images] projected onto the outer wall by objects carried behind the inner wall by people who are invisible to the chained "prisoners" and who walk along the inner wall with a fire behind them, creating the shadows on the outer wall in front of the shackled prisoners.
The "sign bearers" pronounce the names of the objects, the sounds of which are reflected near the shadows and are understood by the prisoners as if they were coming from the shadows themselves.
The only reality for the prisoners of the cave are those shadows and sounds, which are of course only inaccurate representations of the real world. The shadows represent distorted and blurred copies of reality we perceive through our senses, while the objects under the Sun represent the true forms of objects that we can only perceive through reason [or directly through refined intuition].
Three higher levels exist: (1) natural science; (2) deductive mathematics, geometry, and logic; and (3) the theory of forms.
Socrates explains how a "philosopher" is like a prisoner now freed from the cave who comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not the direct source of the images seen.
A philosopher aims to understand and perceive the higher levels of reality. However, the other inmates of the cave do not even want to escape their chains or leave their prison, for they know no better life [1].
Socrates remarks that this allegory can be paired with previous writings, namely the analogy of the Sun and the analogy of the divided line. More
After Skool; Jim Carrey, George Harrison (T&H Inspiration and Motivation); Philosopher Mel Brooks; CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Prom update news. It may not even be worth going now. Miss Sammi Marino's new boyfriend, Steamboat Willie, won't let her go. He's planned a family outing to Disneyland with his parents, so she's out. Guess there's always Mel' Morgan, not the pornstar, but the Mellow Melancholy One, the Lucy Goosey grrrl boxer. And Chubs Menace is sure to be snacking on something stup*d.
I was looking forward to it, Woody!
The prom is on for Saturday, June 6th, 7:00 to 11:00 pm at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. It's free, and all are welcome. We’re taking a trip back in time, back to the ultimate prom night with 1980s cover band The Spazmatics, DJ J. Espinoza, and special guest magician Jer Bear performing close-up magic throughout the event.
Dress to impress for a chance to win prizes for Prom King, Prom Queen, Best Dressed, and more. No spiking the punch. Book a room at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. Good times, so it's 21+. Dressing up not required but encouraged. No RSVP required.
A prom or promenade is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year [1, 2]. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a prom king and prom queen [3] and/or a prom pandaka (LGBTQIA+).
Other students may be honored with inclusion in a prom court. The selection method for a prom court is similar to that of homecoming queen/princess, king/prince, and court.
Inclusion in a prom court may be a reflection of popularity of those students elected and their level of participation in school activities such as sports or clubs [4, 5].
The prom queen and prom king may be given crowns to wear. Members of the prom court may be given sashes to wear and photographed together [6]. Similar events, which may be locally inspired by debutante balls, take place in many other parts of the world. More
Gaygory, Fats, Gina Grad, and Fats Junior (plus Morgan, Byork, and Sammi are TWS
Sammi Marino (@sammimarino • IG) Productions, Alt 98.7 FM LA; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Kintsugi (Japanese 金継ぎ, lit. "golden joinery," also known as kintsukuroi, 金繕い, "golden repair" [1]) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with golden urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with actual powdered gold, silver, or platinum.
A crack in a vessel is not a mistake, not an error, but rather a means of allowing light in.
"NO-MIND" (Japanese mushin, Chinese 無心, wúxīn, Sanskrit acitta, acittika, acintya, nirvikalpa) is a mental state that is important in East Asian religions, Asian culture, and the arts. The idea is discussed in classic Zen (Chan) Buddhist texts, described as "the experience of an instantaneous severing of thought that occurs in the course of a thoroughgoing pursuit of a Buddhist meditative exercise" [1, 2].
It is not necessarily a total absence of thinking, however. Instead, it can refer to an absence of clinging, conceptual proliferation (cycling through an endless hamster wheel), or being stuck in thought [1].
Chinese Buddhist texts also link this experience with Buddhist metaphysical concepts, like Buddha-nature and Dharmakaya. The term is also found in Taoist literature, including the Zhuangzi. This idea eventually influenced other aspects of Asian culture and the arts. Thus, the effortless state of "no mind" (flow state) is one cultivated by poets, artists, craftspeople, performers, and trained martial artists, who may not even think it is associated with Buddhism or Taoism [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. More: No-mind
The method is similar to the maki-e technique [2, 3, 4]. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something to disguise [5] or hide.
History
Kintsugi became closely associated with ceramic vessels used for chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony) [3].
On the one hand, one theory is that kintsugi may have originated when Japanese shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs in the late 15th century.
When it was returned, repaired with crude metal staples, it may have prompted Japanese craftsmen to look for a more aesthetically pleasing means of repair [2].
On the other hand, according to Bakōhan Saōki (record of tea-bowl with a "large-locust" clamp), such "ugliness" was considered inspirational and Zen-like, as it connoted beauty in broken things.
Goryeo ewer with gold repair spout/handle (20th cent)
The bowl thus became highly valued due to the large metal staples, which looked like a locust, and the bowl was named 'bakōhan ("large-locust clamp") [6]. Collectors became so enamored of the new art that some were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the gold seams of kintsugi.
It is also possible that a pottery piece was chosen for deformities it had acquired during production, then deliberately broken and repaired, instead of being discarded [2].
The technique of kintsugi was also applied to ceramic pieces with origins outside of Japan, including China, Vietnam, and Korea [7].
Wabi-sabi, philosophy of embracing flaws and imperfections
As a philosophy, kintsugi is similar to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect [8, 9]. Japanese aesthetics values marks of wear from the use of an object.
WABI-SABI (侘び寂び) in traditional Japanese aesthetics centers on the Buddhist acceptance of transience and imperfection [2]. It is often described as the appreciation of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" [3]. It is prevalent in many forms of Japanese art [4, 5]. Wabi-sabi combines two interrelated concepts, wabi (侘) and sabi (寂). According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, wabi may be translated as "subdued, austere beauty," and sabi as "rustic patina" [6]. Wabi-sabi derives from the Buddhist teaching of the Three Marks of Existence (三法印, sanbōin), which states that ALL things are impermanent (無常, mujō), unsatisfactory (苦, ku), and impersonal (or empty, shunyata, devoid of self-nature, 空, kū) [7].
This can be seen as a rationale for keeping an object around even after it has broken. It can also be understood as a justification of kintsugi itself, highlighting cracks and repairs as events in the life of an object, rather than allowing its service to end at the time of its damage or breakage [10].
The philosophy of kintsugi can also be seen as a variant of the adage: "Waste not, want not" [11].
Kintsugi can relate to the Japanese philosophy of "no-mind" (mushin, 無心), which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life [12].
Not only is there no attempt to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated...a kind of physical expression of the spirit of mushin....often literally translated as "no mind," but carr[ying] connotations of fully existing within the moment, of non-attachment, of equanimity amid changing conditions. ...The vicissitudes of existence over time, to which all humans are susceptible, could not be clearer than in the breaks, the knocks, and the shattering to which ceramic ware too is subject. This poignancy or aesthetic of existence has been known in Japan as mono no aware, a compassionate sensitivity, or perhaps identification with, [things] outside oneself.
— Christy Bartlett, Flickwerk: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics
Materials and types of joinery: There are a few major styles or types of kintsugi:
"Crack" (ひび), the use of gold dust and resin or lacquer to attach broken pieces with minimal overlap or fill-in from missing pieces
"Piece method" (欠けの金継ぎ例), if a replacement ceramic fragment is not available and the entirety of the addition is gold or gold/lacquer compound
"Joint call" (呼び継ぎ), the use of a similarly shaped but non-matching fragment to replace a missing piece from the original vessel creating a patchwork effect [13]. More: kintsugi
A monumental complex built by the Maya of Mesoamerica (Tabasco, Mexico) an estimated 3,000 years ago was modeled on a map of the cosmos (universe), new fieldwork has revealed.
A detailed survey of the Aguada Fénix site reveals that not only was the monument significantly larger than initial surveys suggested – laid out in the shape of a cross with axes measuring 5.6 and 4.7 miles (9 and 7.5 kilometers) – but it was also designed as a cosmogram, a kind of Buddhist mandala, an architecture symbolizing the cosmos (Buddhist cosmology, Earthly realms).
What will I wear when I visit? (Crystal Q)
What's even more remarkable about the structure is that the site contains none of the trappings of social inequality, such as elite residences or sculptures of rulers.
This strongly implies that egalitarian cultures were capable of monumental building works without the application of coercive force through a stratified social hierarchy ruled by a king or queen.
Before now, the Maya site of Seibal was thought to be the oldest ceremonial center, dating back to around 950 BCE
Related: 'Bad Omen': Ancient pyramid in Mexico collapses
Aguada Fénix greenstone object likely depicts a crocodile (Inomata et al., Sci. Adv., 2025).
The Maya cosmos mapped out on Earth?
The discovery of Aguada Fénix by way of LiDAR surveys, in the Mexican state of Tabasco near the Gulf of Mexico, was fascinating for a number of reasons.
The first was its size; it was the largest Maya site ever found, even going by the more modest initial estimate of 1.4 kilometers along its longest axis. And it wasn't hidden in the forest, as so many lost Mesoamerican (Mexican), Central American, and South American structures are.
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Jeet Kune Do Chinese (JKD, 截拳道, literally "Stop Fist Way," figuratively, the "Way of the Intercepting Fist") is Bruce Lee's hybrid martial arts style, which he conceived of and practiced. It centers on the principle of counterattacking opponents in order to impede their offense [12, 13].
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