When it comes to fighting or avoiding a fight at all costs, we have to look at our friendship bracelet that read "WWBLD?" Of course, that stands for "What would Bruce Lee do?" Following the Zen way of the Tao, noninterference with the flow of nature, we'd go around trouble and pick the path of peace. But, y'know, as Kwai Chang Caine found out so many times, sometimes trouble finds you. Then in that case, redirect the violent opponent's own energy against that person.
Shaolin kung fu (Chinese 少林功夫, Pinyin Shàolín gōngfū, Shaolin Wushu, 少林武術, Shǎolín wǔshù, Shaolin quan, 少林拳, Shàolínquán), is the largest and most famous style of the martial art of kung fu. It combines Mahayana Buddhist, Chinese Chan (Zen) philosophy, and martial arts [1]. It was developed in the legendary Shaolin Temple (monastery) in Henan, China during its 1,500-year history [2]. In Chinese folklore there is a saying, "Shaolin kung fu is the best under heaven." It indicates its superiority among the martial arts. "All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin," which indicates its influence on other martial arts. The name "Shaolin" is also used as a brand for the external styles of kung fu. Many styles in southern and northern China use the name Shaolin. More
Best known as "Andrew Golota," Andrzej Jan Gołota (born Jan. 5, 1968) was a Polish professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. He challenged four times for a heavyweight world title, by all four major sanctioning bodies, and as an amateur won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 1988 Olympics. Despite his accomplishments and more than 40 professional wins, Golota is perhaps best known for twice being disqualified against Black American boxer Riddick Bowe for repeated low blows to the groin in fights that Golota was winning. On Oct. 4, 1997, he became the first Pole to challenge for a heavyweight boxing crown when he fought WBC champion Lennox Lewis at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. He had a bout with Mike Tyson in 2000, which he first withdrew from, but afterward was ruled no-contest. In Nov. 2016, Golota was inducted into the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame. Favorite music? Probably brutal Polish death metal band Vader? More
(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
In 1971, Bruce Lee was enjoying a day with his wife Linda Lee Cadwell and family at "Muscle Beach," a portion of Venice Beach next to Santa Monica under LAX's flight path, when Kurt Wagner — a 315-pound strongman who could deadlift 750 pounds — publicly challenged his Buddhist/Taoist/Chinese philosophy.
What happened in the next six seconds shocked the entire "Muscle Beach" crowd and changed strength culture forever.
This is the untold story of when raw power met precision, when mass confronted understanding, and when a world-champion strongman learned that everything he believed about strength was incomplete.
🥋 The confrontation that Muscle Beach never forgot
🥋 How a 135-pound man dropped a 315-pound giant in six seconds
🥋 The solar plexus strike that penetrates through muscle
🥋 Why mass without wisdom is just weight to carry
🥋 The strongman who became Bruce Lee's student
Kurt Wagner thought his 315 pounds of muscle made him unstoppable. Bruce Lee showed him that technique, properly applied, can overcome any size advantage — not through luck, not through tricks, but through deep understanding of anatomy, physics, and human movement.
This is the legacy of Bruce Lee teaching that real strength isn't measured in pounds, but in wisdom and understanding.
When you're pseudo-macho like Trump, you lie about your illnesses and die in ignimony
God, I love DJ and right-wing politics, Brother!
Ozzy Osbourne(Black Sabbath frontman and drug addict), Chuck Mangione (trumpet musician), Malcolm-Jamal Warner ("The Cosby Show" star), and now beloved bigger-than-life Hulk Hogan (Terry Gene Bollea), one of the world's most view stars, Floridian, MAGA right wing tough guy. There's so much death in the world. How many people die every single day? A hundred seventy-three thousand in 2025, according to World Population Review.
If that many people die a day, does that mean I might day? No, never, that's ridiculous. That's the Impossible Possibility. What the Buddha warned about all day long for 45 years of teaching he called dukkha (disappointment).
Dukkha means not getting what we want, getting what we don't want, losing what we have, separation from the loved, association with the hated...all of these things modern English translators termed "suffering," which is very misleading since that connotes agony or everything sucking all the time. Everything does NOT suck ALL the time. It's just that there's enough stink in the pot to make the stew unappetizing to anyone who pays too much attention. That attention is good because it wakes us up to the problem. Of course, we don't want to know about The Problem, this or any other. We're already aware of too many most of the time, and we seem to actively be trying to forget. We like checking out, pleasure seeking, distractions, temporary fixes at whatever cost.
There are many paths. Why listen to the Buddha?
The Buddha gave two solutions, an immediate one and a permanent one. But it takes some doing, some effort, some focus, and it usually means recognizing that there is a problem (which we don't want to see). Well, the Universe will step in every so often and slap up in the face, like it or not. And for some of us, the problem will get so bad, there's no avoiding it. Imagine American-prison problems. Those are not problems one can easily escape, as oftentimes the so-called "escape" is worse than the problem, like the choice between being eaten by lions on shore or crocodiles in the water.
What's The Problem? Death in a world of radical impermanence is part of it, but it's more insidious than that. Prior to death, there's aging and sickness, loss due to many reasons, and ignorance why anything is happening or why anything has to happen. We act in ignorance, one of the unwholesome roots of conduct, and we get dukkha in return. We wish to know and understand but do not make right effort towards that end, so we get neither knowing nor understanding.
Celebrities die. Why? They die because they are living beings, and there are only one kind of living beings that will not die. However, even they will seem to die. It is not the Gods or gods, who all die. It is the noble ones, the awakened/enlightened. Death (redeath) is followed by birth (rebirth). This is not anyone's first time dying. We have been through it countless time. Of course, since we don't remember, we say that's impossible. We want life to seem fresh and new each time; that has been our way of tolerating it.
But The Problem is much grander. All this dissatisfaction -- which we can call samsara or the Continued Wandering On through the Wheel of Life and Death, beset on all sides by craving for pleasure, wanting and being angry about being frustrated in our desires -- is constantly disappointing. It is constantly changing, hurtling towards destruction, fruitless when obtained, unable to fulfill/satisfy us.
The permanent solution is awakening (bodhi) and reaching nirvana (nibbana, the deathless, the real refuge from all danger, the safety of the farther shore beyond our world/universe of constant change and disappointment, loss and blame, aging and illness, and all the many sources of woe).
Will we awaken? Will we set out on the course towards awakening? Or will we just bemoan our lot and seek for the next diversion, temporary pleasure, and promise of eternal life, happiness, and joy after joy, rose after rose with never a thorn in sight?
In the Garden the roses have no thorns...
(Rudimentary Peni) on the fantasy of a literal version of Christian heaven
Art, Nature, and Sustainability by Katie Savoy
is an installation that continues through Sunday, August 31, 2025, at the Hastings Branch Library.
Art, Nature, and Sustainability is inspired by Southern California's landscapes. Katie Savoy finds magic painting Nature's hidden details, from flowers to mountain views. The art, including abstract explorations of texture and fluidity, is a constant journey of growth and therapy.
She's committed to sustainability, sourcing all materials secondhand and repurposing every piece. Her hope is to share this peace and calm with Los Angeles.
More info
Ongoing through Saturday, July 26, 2025: A colorful abstract with pencils and paintbrushes and the word ART. Each of us is a “piece” of what makes the library special! Help create a puzzle mural by decorating your own puzzle piece during this year’s Summer Reading.
Individual pieces will become part of a larger mural that will be unveiled during our End of Summer Bash on Saturday, August 2nd at Jefferson Branch Library.
Designs can be about anything related to the library – a favorite book or favorite book character, or something that makes one think of the Pasadena community.]
How to Join:
Pick up a puzzle piece at any Pasadena Public Library location starting Saturday, June 14th. Return decorated puzzle piece by Saturday, July 26th to be added to the mural.
Questions? Ask Marie Plug at mplug@cityofpasadena.net. We can’t wait to see what contributors create. Let’s make something awesome together!
Library Location Allendale Branch Library, Hastings Branch Library, Hill Avenue Branch Library, Jefferson Branch Library, La Pintoresca Branch Library, Lamanda Park Branch Library, Linda Vista Branch Library, San Rafael Branch Library, Santa Catalina Branch Library, Villa Parke Community Center Branch Library
Audience Adults, Adults 50+, Children, Emerging Adults (18-24), Family (0-12), Infants and/or Toddlers, Preschool, Tweens
Event Type Arts & Culture, Celebrations, Community & Civic Affairs, Exhibits, Summer Reading.
Hiya! Take that! - Whoa, I didn't see that one coming from above onto my shoulder neck back!!
Yi Long: Kungfu in Modern Combat Sports
At the monastery, everyone stood back as I went off
(Ramsey Dewey) Jan. 27, 2020: Ramsey Dewey Podcasts. Chinese kickboxing star Yi Long discusses the role of traditional Chinese martial arts in modern combat sports.
Listen to the whole interview on the Ramsey Dewey podcast.
In the dojowe learn the Way of Combat when we would rather be mastering meditation, and it never ends well... One must be disciplined, peaceful, and humble. For the best mastery is mastery of oneself. Just ask war cheerleader Alfred, Lord Tennyson. As soon as one seeks to master others, a world of hurt opens up:
What is the best way to fight?
Kung fu is for self-defense and protecting Dharma
Why is Buddhist Shaolin monk Yi Long demonstrating his Shaolin kung fu training?
It's hard to say. What was once a Buddhist temple practice developed alongside mental training of the heart and mind in meditation eventually became the martial (war) arts independent of their roots in moral and wisdom training.
It is said that South Indian Bodhidharma brought these skills to China, which gave rise to the Chan ("Meditation") school that went on to Japan as Zen, to Korea as Seon, and Vietnam as Thien.
Shaolin kung fu (Chinese 少林功夫, Pinyin Shǎolín gōngfū), also called Shaolin Wushu (少林武術; Shǎolín wǔshù), or Shaolin quan (少林拳, Shàolínquán), is the largest and most famous style of kung fu.
It combines Chan Buddhist philosophy and martial arts. It was developed in the Shaolin Temple in Henan, China during its 1,500-year history. In Chinese folklore there is a saying, "Shaolin kung fu is the best under heaven." More
The Charge of the Light Brigade
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson: European pride? Let's ride into the jaws of death?
I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred....
V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
Rematch with Thai kickboxer
WARNING: Fighting is ugly and fraught with danger, so it is always best avoided. The highlight reels make it seem fun and easy, but the truth is much uglier, vicious on the street, technical in the ring.
Dulce et Decorum Est
By Wilfred Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.*
*Latin phrase is from the Roman poet Horace: “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”
(HECHO Online) Some experiences and places can be transformative and change our perspective. Oak Flat, or Chi'chil Biłdagoteel, is a sacred land in southeastern Arizona.
It is the kind of place that stays with one way after a visit, just like the people of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, who have lived in and cared for this beautiful high desert since time immemorial.
That was the experience that members of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and HECHO teams had during a recent visit to Oak Flat, 60 miles east of Phoenix.
Articulate it to a judge; make them understand
They saw firsthand the extraordinary beauty of this area now at risk and listened to the eye-opening testimonies of members of the Apache Stronghold.
Listen to Naelyn Pike, member of the Apache Stronghold.
#SaveOakFlat
"The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion" - the Buddha (Mahayana quote)
.
World Vegan Day celebrating cruelty free foods
But what about all the junk food favorites we Americans have come to love? Now made vegan
.
Vegan is not the only choice. I'm a fruitarian.
The vegan (plant-based) way of life is getting trendy and super popular in American society. It's a compassionate way of life full of savory flavor.
It can now be practiced easily and, above all, with kindness toward all animals. Reducing their suffering and saving our shared environment is the goal. Save the world! Save the humans! How? Save the animals.
Where does flavor come from?
It’s for our own food -- with strength, longevity, beauty, all the things we want that we have been tricked into thinking comes from corralling and slaughtering animals (or paying someone to torment and kill them for us in our name). Look at our shoes and clothing.
The best choice for the world? Even rural areas now get a range of cruelty-free options. They're available in supermarkets and growing numbers of outlets.
Isn't it hard going vegan?
It's about as easy as running into water.
Vegan Day fun project: making edible cherries
Vegan Fest is now an annual event in U.S.
Veganism and vegetarianism are advancing with athletes, bodybuilders, runners and winners across fields. The number of hotels and restaurants that focus on cruelty-free foods are increasing enormously. There are now almost always options on the menu.
Long ago vegans (who avoid consuming any animal products), sustained purely on vegetable nutrition, thought it could not last. Surely it must only be temporary, something for Hollywood stars who want to stay pretty and thin. It's a social trend, Vegans have proved different.
Paradoxically, going vegan GETS one more food, sourcing from the world's cuisines.
Some of us do it for spirituality and ethics. All of us do it for better flavor (Meetup.com).
Everything humans need for perfect health is available from the plant, mushroom, and mineral kingdoms.
What can farms do better to make more money?
Animal protection is environmental protection. Farms need to change: an end to monocropping, poisoning the soil, forgetting the old ways (sometimes called permaculture), trashing the land as if it were a corporate for-profit free for all.
Vegan humans want to save all animals, not just the charismatic megafauna. Maybe every organism has some miracle to contribute to the ecosystem. No ecosystem is yet fully understood. When we call something "bad," it's only because we have not looked at the big picture, the whole.
Vegan documentary: Miss Liberty
Everything green, flowery, fragrant and pretty above ground -- the trees, greens, and lifeforms running around -- depend completely on what's below the ground.
What's down there? All the creepy crawlies, the fungus, the poop, the bacteria, the creatures that breakdown leaves and make nutritious soil. In every glowing garden bed of flowers, good fertilizer.
What is the function of conscious life upon the land? Ask the dryads and forest spirits (bhumi devas). They know far better than we down, our third eyes blind and many of us never even suspecting we could know. Mother Nature tells us in other ways, but we won't believe what we cannot yet see.
Vegans taste better (*nudge-nudge*).
Vegetarians have always existed. Vegans were here in the beginning, in the Agganna Sutta (A Buddhist Genesis) and a little Sumerian Akkadian Jewish Christian "myth" called The Garden of Eden. Every human was vegan then and no one dreamed of killing to eat.
The way to peace and a pollution-free world is to get back to that native paradise. That could start today with World Vegan Day so we can have enough to feed a hungry planet.
World Vegan Day
Sorry, vegetarians. For some of us, our genes ORDER us to kill to eat blood-soaked tendons.
WORLD VEGAN DAY originated in England in 1994, when vegan animal rights activist Louise Wallis was looking for a suitable setting to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Vegan Society.
As president of the organization, her aim was to emphasize the carry on the vegan association and draw attention to the fact that the word "vegan" (like vegetarian) do not come from the word "vegetable" but from the Latin word vegetus, which means life and growth. More: vegan-day.org
VEGAN COMICS (Bizarro)
Dan Piraro "Bizarro" (bizarrocomic.blogspot.com); Vegan Day Founder and Pres. Louise Wallis (vegan-day.org/en); compiled, edited, and enhanced by Team Veggie (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
All materials on this site are submitted by editors and readers. All images, unless otherwise noted, were taken from the Internet and are assumed to be in the public domain.
In the event that there is still a problem, issue, or error with copyrighted material, the break of the copyright is unintentional and noncommercial, and the material will be removed immediately upon presented proof.
Contact us by submitting a comment marked "private."
Do not follow this journal if you are under vinaya or parental restrictions. Secure protection by Sucuri.
Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at creativecommons.org/about/licenses.
(Bruce Lee: The Dragon's Legacy) Bruce Lee was at Muscle Beach in Los Angeles, when a 315-pound strongman said, "Real men have mass" — six seconds later
It is the kind of place that stays with one way after a visit, just like the people of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, who have lived in and cared for this beautiful high desert since time immemorial.
.jpg)
.png)
