Proverbs, quotes, and short stories

[J.J.Smith]

Thought I would start a thread for these.

"The truth cannot be said, and once you have said it you have already falsified it" - Lin Chi

"Don't argue with the weather."

"2000 B.C. - Here, eat this root.
1000 A.D. - That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. - That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. - That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. - That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. - That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root."

"A brook would lose its song if God removed the rocks"

"Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."
There is a funny version of this but it might be considereed inapropriate by some.

"A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark"

"A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood."

"A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking."

"A cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."

A diplomatic husband said to his wife, "How do you expect me to remember your birthday when you never look any older?"

"A dog thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... They must be Gods!
A cat thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... I must be a God!"

[Dennis Monk]

Life is like a box of chocolates,.............

Sorry, I had too.

[Yang Shen]

Adapt or Suffer,our school motto

Everything observable by the senses is subject to change and there-fore in motion…there are interlocking cycles of change…one cannot bid the winds and waves to cease, but one can learn to navigate treacherous currents by conducting ourselves in harmony with the prevailing processes of transformation-and thus weather the storms of life
I CHING 1150 BC

[Mark Barlow]

Strength fades, technique is forever.

Don't rejoice in your enemies downfall, but don't rush to pick him up either.

It was like that when I got here.

Mark Barlow

[De_Franza]

"Youth is wasted on the Young."

"Accidents never happen on purpose."

"A day without coffee is like... a day without coffee!"

"Sukiyaki without noodles is like a day without sunshine."

[J.J.Smith]

"A day without coffee is like... a day without coffee!"

Should be: A day without coffee is like... Zzzzzzz


A yogi sitting on a riverbank saw a scorpion fall in the water. He scooped it out, only to be bitten by the scorpion. It happened again and again, with the same result. A bystander asked the yogi, "Why do you keep rescuing that scorpion, only to have it bite you?"
The yogi replied: "It is the nature of scorpions to bite, and it is the nature of yogis to help others when they can."


A man is going about his daily life when he falls into a very deep hole. He screams for help but no one is around to hear him. Finally a priest happens along, the man shouts "Please, help me get out of here!" The priest writes a prayer on a piece of paper, throws it in the hole and walks away. Frustrated, the man waits for someone else, a doctor walks past the hole, the man shouts "Please help me get out of here!" again. So the doctor writes a prescription on a piece of paper, throws it in the hole, and walks away. Finally a friend of his walks past the whole, the man asks for help so his friend jumps down into the whole with him. The man says "You idiot! Now we're both stuck down here!" His friend says "Yes, but I have been down here before and know the way out."

[DoKwang]

" I never think of the future, it comes soons enough "
" Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistant one"
Mr. A. Einstein

" Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed "
Mao Tse-Tung

"After all is said and done, more is said than done"

[De_Franza]

"A 1000 mile journey begins with just one step."

"Life aquires meaning
When we face the conflict
Between our desires
And reality." -From 365 Tao, by Deng Ming-Dao

"If you know one thing, you know ten things."

[riku]

'Victory is not the point. Overwhelming victory is the point." -Joona Puhakka after winning European competition of diving.

"Good. We can fight in shadow." - Spartan warrior, after heard that enemy has so much archeries that arrows darken sun.

With respect,
Riku Ylönen

[Wulf]

heeheehee! i love that one with the awful spelling cus it's true! my cousin sent me something like that but it had an extra bit at the end that's not appropriate to type!

[Lisa]

A friend of mine sent this to my daughter

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent
~Elanor Rosevelt

I love it, it is so true

[Harutomo]

"remember to go to other people's funerals, or they won't come to yours"
-Yogi Berra

"many things are said, but few of them true."-splinter, tmnt

"I will not stand by and watch this. move or I move you."-me (there is a story but it's longwinded and old)

"To die without using all available weapons/resources is not the true Way."
-musashi

"If a man speaks in the desert and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?"-unknown

"save the trees, wipe your @$$ with an owl."-unknown

"Due to budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel has been shut off"-unknown

i know those last three were not about MA in the slightest, but i needed to share them. :bow:

[lightninrod]

Accidental double post. Sorry. See below.


Justin Mears

[lightninrod]

I don't remember the exact words, so this is paraphrased:


One day, the Emperor of a country decided to have a great feast for all his loyal subjects. He invited everyone - young and old alike. When the time came for everyone to eat, he said "Let us give thanks to the gods."
He prayed: "Thank you, gods, for the prosperity of our country, and thank you that you made the birds of the air and the fish of the seas, for us to feast upon..."
At this moment, a young child spoke up and said "Sir, I disagree!"
Of course, this shocked everyone greatly, as it was unheard of for someone to interrupt the Emperor. However, being a kind man, the Emporer stopped and looked at the child, and asked what he meant.
"Forgive me, sir!" the child replied, "It's just that, if it is true that the gods made the foul of the air and the fish of the seas for us to feast upon, then would we not likewise have to admit that we were made for the tigers and mosquitoes to feast upon!"

-Leigh Tsu


I like this story, as it illustrates that our place on the food chain isn't necessarily where we think it is.

Justin Mears

[Bun-Bun]

Everything I ever needed to know about Martial Arts, I learned from Mr. Miyagi.

To make honey, young bee needs young flower. Not old prune.

Must learn to walk before learn to fly.

If you can catch a fly with chopsticks, you can accomplish anything.

Never dismiss beginner's luck.

No such thing as a bad student, only bad teacher. Teacher Say, student do.

Remember Balance!

A Belt means: "No use rope to hold up pants."


:laugh:

[Oz82]

I'm sorry for the length, but there's so many I hold onto. I promise; this is only a fraction. The ones that I think apply to budo philosophy are in red.

When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.
Rev. Charles Allen

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.
Woody Allen

A small town is a place where there is little to see or do, but what you hear makes up for it.
Ivern Ball

Most of us ask for advice when we know the answer but want a different one.
Ivern Ball

Sometimes the fool who rushes in gets the job done.
Al Bernstein

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.
Corrie ten Boom

Behind every argument is someone's ignorance.
Louis Dembitz Brandies

The child's heart curseth deeper in the silence than the strong man in his wrath.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you.
Paul "Bear" Bryant

The food that enters the mind must be watched as closely as the food that enters the body.
Patrick J. Buchanan, "Right From The Beginning"

Art and revolt will die only with the last man.
Albert Camus

No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.
Andrew Carnegie

An angry man opens his mouth and closes his eyes.
Cato the Elder

I have not much patience with a thing of beauty that must be explained to be understood. If it does need additional interpretation by someone other than the creator, then I question whether it has fulfilled its purpose.
Charlie Chaplin

To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.
G.K. Chesterton

Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend.
Agatha Christie

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.
Winston Churchill

There is no such thing as chance or accident, the words merely signify our ignorance of some real and immediate cause.
Adam Clarke

It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.
Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit"

It is the wit and the policy of sin to hate those we have abused.
Sir William Davenant

Beware of the fury of a patient man.
John Dryden

To rule one's anger is well; to prevent it is still better.
Tryon Edwards

Abuse of any one generally shows that he has marked traits of character. The stupid and indifferent are passed by in silence.
Tryon Edwards

If anyone speak ill of thee, consider whether he hath truth on his side; and if so, reform thyself, that his censures may not affect thee.
Epictetus

Success has a simple formula: do your best and people may like it.
Sam Ewing

No steam or gas drives anything until it is confined. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference.
Libbie Fudim

Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation.
Mahatma Ghandi

All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.
Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.
Billy Graham

Her mind was like a spoiled child's bed: soft, comfortable, and always being made up by somebody else.
Ben Hanna

The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.
Bobby Knight

There are good men everywhere. I only wish they had louder voices.
Louis L'Amour, "Last of the Breed"

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God.
C.S. Lewis

Men are men before they are lawyers, or physicians, or merchants, or manufacturers; and if you make them capable and sensible men, they will make themselves capable and sensible lawyers or physicians.
John Stuart Mill

Useless laws weaken the necessary laws.
Montesquieu

If only we wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is difficult, since we think them happier than they are.
Montesquieu

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
Gen. George S. Patton, "War As I Knew It"

Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.
Will Rogers

An economist's guess is liable to be just as good as anybody else's.
Will Rogers

In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is; hit the line hard.
Theodore Roosevelt

I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.
Theodore Roosevelt

The man he hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest...
Paul Simon, "The Boxer"

Speak the truth, but leave immediately after.
Slovenian proverb

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.
Margaret Thatcher

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
Mark Twain

If you stand up and are counted, you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this; a man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
Thomas J. Watson, Jr.

Freedom is nowhere to be found when the people are overtaxed and overregulated.
Douglas Wilder, governor of Virginia

An economist is an expert who will know tommorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen.
Earl Wilson

[Paul B]

Great Read,Guys/Gals!!

Here are a couple that are near and dear to me....

1. "Aikido(insert your Art instead) works...your's doesn't....don't confuse the two!"--Hiroshi Ikeda Shihan-Aikikai/ASU

2. (When asked about proper footwork)--"I am not teaching you to move your feet! I am teaching you to move your mind!"--Morihei Ueshiba Founder of Aikido

3. "Technique and principle are the two wheels of a cart"--Oshi Takuan Soho-Spiritual Advisor to Yagyu Munenori of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Kenjutsu

4. "Amateuristic Martial Arts are the source of great injury.." Miyamoto Musashi

5."It used to be that people plowed long and deep furrows in the Martial Arts, I look now and see only short,shallow ones."--Gichin Funakoshi--Founder of Shotokan Karate

Hope you enjoyed these!!

Best Regards,

Paul Bladen

[mymerrytale]

hmm...

*in England*
reporter: Mr. Gandhi, what do you think about western civilization?
Mahatma Gandhi: Western civilization? That's a good idea!

"those who know seldom speak, those who speak seldom know

regards,
--roman palitsky

[Jack Stay]

Three of my favorite proverbs:

1. Butterfly Zhou
"Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a fluttering butterfly.
What fun he had, doing as he pleased!
He did not know he was Zhou.
Suddenly he woke up and found himself to be Zhou.
He did not know whether it was Zhou that dreamed he was a butterfly, or a butterfly that had dreamed he was Zhou.
Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction.
This is what is meant by the transformation of things."

Chuang Tzu Taoist Philosopher 396 B.C.

2. Truth
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth!"

Sherlock Holmes 1890s

3. Syllogism
"All Dogs are Cats
Socrates is a dog
Therefore, Socrates is a cat!"

All men are mortal
Socrates is a man
Therefore, Socrates is mortal

A basic syllogism taught in Philosophy 101.

[redqueen290]

"we are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. We are all part of the same compost heap"-tyler durden

"only fools enter darkness without a disguise"

"a drowning man isnt troubled by rain"

"no targets erected,
no bows drawn,
and the arrow leaves the string,
it may not hit,
but it will not miss!"

"the more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be."- Lao-tzu

"In spite of the cost of living, its stil popular"- Laurence J. Peter

"When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty, there arises the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as good, there arises the recognition of evil"- Lao-tuz

"we may not no what we are for, but we no what we are against"- anarchists cookbook

"security was alwase an illusion"

"silence is the most affective form of communication"

"dreams let you know that reality exists"- animatrix

"a man is not honest simply because he has never had the chance 2 steal"

"humpty dumpty commited suicide"

"talk is cheap and lies are expesive"- greenday

"the truth seems like a lie"- rancid

"The truth is revealed and all is lost and we may never be the same again"

"learn to luv urself b4 its made illegal"- incubus

[riku]

"There's only two question worth of asking. First: What, in your opinion, is the problem? Second: How you are going to solve it?"

Riku Ylönen

[Jack Stay]

"There's only two question worth of asking. First: What, in your opinion, is the problem? Second: How you are going to solve it?"

Riku Ylönen


I like the problem solving view towards life's little foibles. Never a crisis, just a problem to be solved.
-------------
John 'Jack' Stay

[lightninrod]

"Tell me, if this is your "free country", why does it cost so much?!?"
-some song I used to hear on the radio



Justin Mears

[Jack Stay]

"Tell me, if this is your "free country", why does it cost so much?!?"
-some song I used to hear on the radio



Justin Mears

Sound like a "21st Century Koan" to me. :D

-----------------
John 'Jack' Stay

[aplonis]

"Soon you'll attain the stability strived for, in the only way that its granted, in your place among the fossils of our time."
- Jefferson Airplane

[Bleed___]

Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival-Winston Churchill

one of my favorite sayings is "dont paint legs on a snake" i think that is particularly relevant to martial artists.

[Mandeigh Wells]

if it aint broke...don't fix it.......

[Abbax8]

Preach the Gospel always, sometimes use words.

St. Francis

Peace

Dennis

[Dennis Monk]

"Curtis, are you dead?"
Connie- Maximum Overdrive

[Spartan]

"One must use any means in his disposal and not wait for manna from heavan." ------- Suren Bogdasarov, Soviet army officer and strength coach.

'If you don't know how to, we will teach you. If you don't want to, we will make you." ------- Spetsnaz

"NightStalkers don't quit!" ---- Delta Air ;)

"True-hearted men. They do not change." ----Lord of the Rings

[Wulf]

"the teacher has lead you through the door, but cultivation depends on oneself"
can't remember who said this...

[AllanJGAnderson]

To know is not enough, We must apply,
Willing is not enough we must do"
Bruce Lee in Tao of JKD

"Character is built out of circumstances. From exactly the same materials one man builds palaces, while another builds hovels."
G. H. Lewis

"A man that doesn't walk his own road is NOTHING!"
Billy Jac

"Wait long, Strike fast"
Chinese Proverb

[TruthSeeker]

Into a soul absolutely free of thoughts and emotions, even the tiger finds no room to insert his fierce claws.
The key to life is to find the one thing for which I would be willing to both live, and die.

[swdw]

Ok the first one is my own, so if it's lame shoot me

"the greatest con of the 20th century was being told computers will make your life EASIER . . "

The one who refuses correction despises himself,
but whoever heads reproof acquires understanding. Proverbs 15:32

The one who loves discipline loves knowledge,
but the one who hates reproof is stupid. Proverbs 12:1


Here are some sayings my relatives that grew up in farm country use:

"That's slicker than snot on a brass doorknob""

"That's about as useless as tits on a bull"

"Wheewww, that stinks. That's so bad it'd gag a maggot on a gut wagon"
(can explain that one of needed)

The doorknob one grosses out my wife

[Whiskey Jack]

Eu sou mestre que apprende,
disciplo que da lição
"I am a master who learns, a student who teaches."
-traditional capoeira lyrics

[David Beckwith]

The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging.

That's slicker than two eels in a barrel of oil.

[Fjolnirsson]

"Let a man never stir on his road a step
without his weapons of war;
for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise
of a spear on the way without."
-Havamal 38

[Jared Sutton]

Be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash, be water my friend! - Bruce Lee

[Patrick Hayes]

"It is better to light one small candle than to sit and curse the darkness."
--Lao Tzu (I think)

[Bleed___]

"When the choice is between cowardice and violence, I would strongly recommend violence."
Mohandus Ghandi

[Gene Williams]

"After all is said and done, more is said than done."

[Jeff Burger]

This is my most recent favorite quote....

""Well, you came on here acting like a three bong hit David Carradine...what did you expect?""

Budoseek's Gene Williams

Jeff

[Gene Williams]

Yes, Shakespeare move over! :D :D

[Jeff Burger]

Dont get me going on the Shakespeare, Im a big fan.

Favorite Shakespeare...
King Henry act 4 scene 3 Enter the King

By jove Iam not covetous for gold.
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost.
It yearns me not if men my garments wear.
Such outawrd things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be sin to covet honor Iam the most offending soul alive.


Jeff

[The Nephilim]

These were put up on e-budo about 2-3 years ago. Still laughable even today.

Zen philosophy to "enlighten" your day...

1.Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.

2.The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a
leaky tire.

3.It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your
neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4.Don't be irreplaceable; if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5.No one is listening until you make a mistake.

6.Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.

7.Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

8.It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

9.It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities
without your help.

10.If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

11.Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

12.If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

13.Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and
he will sit in a boat & drink beer all day.

14.If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was
probably worth it.

15.Don't squat with your spurs on.

16.If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

17.If you drink, don't park. Accidents cause people.

18.Some days you are the bug, some days you are the windshield.

19.Good judgement comes from bad experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.

20.The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

21.Timing has an awful lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

22.A closed mouth gathers no foot.

23.Duct tape is like the force: it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

24.There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

25.Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your mouth is moving.

26.Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

[Patrick Hayes]

Two from the family archives:

"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance."
--Celtic proverb

"Words are a wonderful form of communication, but they'll never replace kisses and punches."
--Irish saying

[Patrick Hayes]

“There are 2 rules for being successful in the martial arts:
Rule 1: Never tell others everything you know.”

“Plum Blossoms open because of the frost and snow.”
– Hakudo Nakayama

“Martial artists should develop their techniques to the point that they can be done with no mind and no force. Then in case of emergency, a martial artist will still have reserves of mind and force to call on to augment their technique.”

[Abbax8]

I don't no if someone has posted this yet, but I just heard this one, "Life!Sexually transmitted and universally fatal!" :D

Peace

Dennis

[Patrick Hayes]

This isn't exactly a quote, more of an anecdote, but I think it applies pretty well to the martial arts.

In college, I had a creative writing professor who gave us this advice:

"If you ever include something in one of your stories that you think is really deep and profound, do yourself a favor and edit it out right now. I guarantee you, it's not deep or profound, just pithy and trite. Keep it detailed but easy to read, and let your readers decide for themselves what is profound in your writing."

This has always stuck with me. If I ever return to teaching martial arts, I think this idea will be my mantra.

[Fightback2]

Bear with me it's a long one . . .

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Marianne Williamson from A Return to Love

Oh yeah and . . . "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved bod; but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: 'WOW! What a ride!" - don't remember where I got this one

[Chrono]

"The future will be determined by those daring enough to reject the inevitable, courageous enough to dream the impossible, and dedicated enough to joyfully accept the challenge every single day. A better world is possible."

[swdw]

Success comes in cans, not can'ts

[Jeff Burger]

Heard this one last night, almost choked on my mouth guard.

"Put your hands up, he is not trying to punch you in the nipples"

Budoseeker / Eric Knopp

Jeff

[riku]

'Guns don't kill people. Bullets do.'
-Sledge Hammer, great American thinker from tv-show couple decades ago -

"Pain doesn't hurt. It just feels like that."
(don't remember where that came from)


Riku Ylönen

[Bengel]

An anecdote I heard from someone at my club:

In France there was large training session set up where an old Japanese master was invited to come and teach. The Japanese master wanted to demonstrate that he had total technical control over his punches. He asked a big French budoka to stand in front of him. His intention was to give a punch to the face but stopping just before he made contact
The Japanese master executed his punch with a big kiai and hit the Frenchman full on the nose. He fell on the mat in agony whilst covering his bleeding nose with his hands.
Rather than apologising to the poor man, the Japanse master explained why it was the Frenchman's fault that he got hit:

'Hmmm, nose too long...Japanse nose short!'

[Black Fox]

learning teaches what is known.
play makes it possible for new things to be learned.

the mind commands the body and it obeys. the mind commands the mind and finds only opposition. the mind acts as the command center - suggest, do not shout.

when a man decides what to do, he must go all the way, but he must take full responsibility for what he does. he must first know hy he does it and must proceed without any doubt or remorse.

shoestrings don't feed you, but, they do allow you to keep your shoes on long enough to find work.

[Southwell]

I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. [ Phil 4:13 ]

[breaksallaround]

"beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy." - benjamin franklin

"you must really be a pompous buffoon to quote yourself." - me

"you did it, nibbles! now, chew through my ball sack!" - principal skinner

"when in doubt, peregrin, always follow your nose." - gandalf

"a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" - vito corleone

[BGalehouse]

A favorite Koan, from Zen flesh Zen Bones


Student runs into the temple. "Master! there is a mystic by the river! He claims that he can hold a brush on one side of the river and write a scroll on the other."

Master replies "He may well be able to do this, but my miracle is that I eat when I am hungry and sleep when I am tired."

A favorite "Koan"


A samurai and a student of Zen enter a small shrine to wait out a rainstorm. The samurai, says "watch this", runs out into the rain. He comes back dry, and explains "I ran between the raindrops".

The student of Zen thinks for a moment, walks out, comes back soaking wet. He says "I'm dry on the inside".

The samurai decides that this is indeed very Zen, but also disrespectfull, and cuts the student in half.

The moral of course being that "Zen or no Zen, sometimes you need steel to back it up".

A real mystery quote - anybody know where this is from?


She cried every morning, because the world was so beautiful, and life was so short.


(All potentially poorly paraphrased.)

[Jeff Burger]

Winning maybe painful, but there is no pleasure in loosing.


Jeff

[Tribalweapon]

"The things you own, end up owning you"

Tyler Durden

"If your not at least a little bit crazy then you're probably boring"

I can't remember

"put em in your pocket"

I was told this once after being hit in the balls

[Jeff Burger]

"people are like slinkys...they are useless, but they bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

Jeff

[Kimpatsu]

A sage went to visit Hell.
Hell was a vast banquet, all laid out with the greatest, tastiest dishes, but all the denizens of Hell were starving, because they had all been given 20-foot chopsticks with which to eat, and could thus not get the morsels of food from the bowls to their mouths.
Then the sage went to visit Heaven.
Heaven, too, was a vast banquet, all laid out with the greatest, tastiest dishes, and again, all the denizens had been given 20-foot chopsticks with which to eat, and yet they were all sleek and well-fed.
This was because, in Heaven, the people used the 20-foot chopsticks to feed each other...

[TKDKracker007]

"It is very long and difficult to climb the highest mountain. However, it is very easy to fall back down."

I love that one in regards to the 'training blues'.

-Adam Miller

[Aikido_Girl918]

common sense, wisdom in it's purest form.

don't think too much, it messes you up.

Life is like a box of nasty flavored chocolates, you never know what your going to get, but you know you are just going to have to make it good instead of hoping to pull a good one out of the box.

and my new favorite "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" which i have just found to be true in a new way. In the martial arts, being tense is bad, if you are tense, your reaction time is slower, and you are more likely to mess up. fear makes you tense, so in other words, fear is scariest thing in the martial arts.

[Kimpatsu]

common sense, wisdom in it's purest form.
So pure, one confuses "its" (possessive) with "it's" (contraction of "it is"...) :rolleyes:

don't think too much, it messes you up.
Only a boor would think it possible to "think too much".
One can NEVER think too much; of course, correct thinking is another matter.
From your post, I can only assume the antithesis of your statement; i.e., that you think too little... :rolleyes:

[Musubi Dojo]

So pure, one confuses "its" (possessive) with "it's" (contraction of "it is"...) :rolleyes:

Only a boor would think it possible to "think too much".
One can NEVER think too much; of course, correct thinking is another matter.
From your post, I can only assume the antithesis of your statement; i.e., that you think too little... :rolleyes:


Tony are you picking on 12 year old girls now?

Don't make me get all "Monty Python" on your arse.... :laugh:

[outinthecountry]

From Once Upon a Time in China (normally in Chinese obviously):
Wong Fei Hung: "These rolls are made from our flour."
Official: "So, you appreciate western food?"
Wong Fei Hung: "The foreigners draw boundaries here and set up forbidden areas. If we fight each other and defer to them, then we'll soon lose the flour to make the rolls."

"Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street."
- Elbert Hubbard

"This is my body. And I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it. Study it. Tweak it. Listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my a** six hours a day. What are you on?" - Lance Armstrong

"I once met three guys named pain, suffering, and sacrifice. Now, we're inseparable. We're best friends." - Lance Armstrong on greatness

Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth.
- The Dhammapada

He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.
- Tao Te Ching

and just to add to the cheese, because of the Mr. Miyagi quotes
Bulletproof Monk
(with a huge Chinese accent)
"It's not about anger, it's about peace."
"It's not about power, it's about grace."
"It's not about knowing your enemy, it's about knowing yourself."

[RickMatz]

"This present continuous practice is nothing other than just that, just committing oneself to continuous practice for no other reason than to practice continuously." -Dogen in "Continuous Practice"
(Translation by Francis Dojun Cook in the book "How To Raise an Ox")

"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you."

Sheng-yen

Dogen writes:
"Time flies like an arrow from a bow and this fact should make us
train with all our might, using the same energy we would employ if our
hair were to catch fire.”
“The heart of the study of boxing is to have natural instinct resemble the dragon.” Wang Xiang Zhai

Fish traps are for catching fish. When you've caught the fish, you can forget about the fish trap. Rabbit snares are for catching rabbits. When you've caught the rabbit, you can forget about the snare. Words are for catching ideas. When you've caught the idea, you can forget about the words.

ZhuangZi Chapter 26
“Philosophy practiced is the goal of learning.”
Thoreau

“One should clean out a room in one's home
and place only a tea table and a chair in the room
with some boiled water and fragrant tea.
Afterwards, sit solitarily and
allow one's spirit to become tranquil, light, and natural.”

Li Ri Hua, a Ming Dynasty scholar
In your meditation you yourself are the mirror reflecting the solution of your problems. The human mind has absolute freedom within its true nature. You can attain your freedom intuitively. Do not work for freedom, rather allow the practice itself to be liberation.

-“The Practice of Meditation,” Zen Master Dogen

Small movement is better than big movement. No movement is better than small movement.

- Wang Xiang Zhai



"Know yourself; do your best; don't overdo; make progress every day."
- Jou Tsung-Hwa

“ … It would be a very different, though, if you were to climb on the Way and it’s Virtue and go drifting and wandering, neither praised nor damned, now a dragon, now a snake, shifting with the times, never willing to hold one course only.”
Zhuang Zi (Watson)

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

Zen Master Dogen

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
Zen Master Dogen

From The Way of Chuang Tzu, by Thomas Merton

The Fighting ****

Chi Hsing Tzu was a trainer of fighting cocks
For King Hsuan.
He was training a fine bird.
The King kept asking if the bird was
Ready for combat.
"Not yet," said the trainer.
"He is full of fire.
He is ready to pick a fight
With every other bird. He is vain and confident
Of his own strength."
After ten days, he answered again:
"Not yet. He flares up
When he hears another bird crow."
After ten more days:
"Not yet. He still gets
That angry look
And ruffles his feathers."
Again ten days:
The trainer said, "Now he is nearly ready.
When another bird crows, his eye
Does not even flicker.
He stands immobile
Like a **** of wood.
He is a mature fighter.
Other birds
Will take one look at him
And run."

“Cook Ding was cutting up an ox for Lord Wen-hui. At every touch of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every move of his feet, every thrust of his knee-zip! zoop! He slithered the knife along with a zing, and all was in perfect rhythm, as though he were performing the dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping time to the Ching-shou music. ...

"Cook Ding laid down his knife and [said], 'What I care about is the Way, which goes beyond all skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. And now-now I go at it by spirit and don't look with my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike in the big hollows, guide the knife through the big openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less a main joint.

"A good cook changes his knife once a year-because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month-because he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I've cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the blade is as good as though it had just come from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife has really no thickness. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there's plenty of room-more than enough for the blade to play about it. That's why after nineteen years the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone."

- ZhaungZi



"Do not believe in anything merely because it is said,
nor in traditions because they have been handed down from antiquity:
nor in rumors as such: nor in writings by sages because sages wrote them:
nor in fancies that we may suspect to have been inspired in us by a Deva:
nor in inferences drawn from some haphazard assumption we have made:
nor in what seems to be an analogical neccessity:
nor in the mere authority of our teachers and masters.
Believe when the writing, doctrine, or saying is corroborated by
reason and consciousness." –Buddha

Here is one definition of Zen:

"True Zen consists of sitting quietly in the correct posture. It is not a special state, it is the normal state: silent, peaceful, without agitation.

Zen means to put the mind at rest and to concentrate the mind and body. In zazen there is no purpose, no seeking to gain something, no special effort or imagination. It is not knowledge to be grasped by the brain. It is solely a practice, a practice which is the true gate to happiness, peace and freedom."

--Taisen Deshimaru Roshi

"Practice is not easy. It WILL transform our life. But if we have a naive idea that this transformation can take place without a price being paid, we fool ourselves. Don't practice unless you feel there's nothing else you can do. Instead, step up your surfing or your physics or your music. If that satisfies you, do it. Don't practice unless you feel you must. It takes enormous courage to have a real practice. You have to face everything about yourself hidden in that box, including some unpleasant things you don't even want to know about."
--Charlotte Joko Beck

"...Slowly, in spite of ourselves, we begin to be interested in what
practice really is, as opposed to our ideas of what we think it
should be.

The point of practice is exactly this clashing space in which my
desires for my personal immortality, my own glorification, my own
control of the universe, clash with what is."

~ Charlotte Joko Beck

Do not be concerned with who is
wise and who is stupid.
Do not discriminate the
sharp from the dull.
To practice whole-heartedly
is the true endeavor of the way.
Practice-realization is not
defiled with specialness;
it is a matter for every day.
- Dogen (1200-1253)

Surrender. Without losing yourself by sticking to a particular rule
or understanding, keep finding yourself, moment after moment. This is
the only thing for you to do.

(pp. 75-76, "Finding Out for Yourself," in "not always so, practicing
the true spirit of Zen", by Shunryu Suzuki)

"A year of practice is made of many days of practice. If you lose the days, then you lose the years."

To practice is easy. To become one who practices, is not.

"Mastery is not something that strikes in an instant, like a thunderbolt; But a gathering power that moves through time, like weather."

-Soseki

"I am what I am because I have practiced the basics for 60 years."
Ueyshiba Sensei, founder of Aikido

"As you grow more relaxed, you become less afraid. As you become less afraid you grow more relaxed."
- Professor Cheng Man-ching

Discipline is remembering what you want.
Without the winter, there would be no spring.
- Takashi Kushida

Hold on to the hard things, and your mind will open.
- Takashi Kushida

The more you practice, the better you’ll get. Rest when you’re tired.
- Andrzej Kalisz

The hardest thing to change is your own mind.
- Rick Matz

Understand the changes.
Know the season.
Look at the bigger picture.
- Rick Matz
-

[Jared Sutton]

A pig fears becoming fat as a man fears renown. --Chinese Proverb

[jailess]

One day Tesshu announced that he would be copying out the entire Buddhist canon.
Someone asked him, "Won't that be a great hardship?"
"Not at all," replied Tesshu. "I only copy one page at a time."

[Right To Defend]

"Sure I am this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us."

[sonic]

true wisdom resides in knowing that you know nothing
-the oracle at delphi to socrates

the usefulness of the cup.... is in its emptiness
-Chinese Maxim

In one's life, there are levels of pursuit of study. In the lowest level, a person studies but nothing comes of it, and he feels that both he and others are unskillful. At this point he is worthless. In the middle level he is still useless but is aware of his own insufficiencies and can also see the insufficiencies of others. In a higher level he has pride concerning his own ability, rejoices in praise from others, and laments the lack of ability in his fellows. This man has worth. in the higherst level a man has the look of knowing nothing.
These are the levels in general. But there is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way and never thinks himself as having finished. He truly knows his own insufficiencies and never in his whole life thinks that he has succeeded. He has no thoughts of pride but with self-abasement knows the Way to the end. It is said that Master Yagyu once remarked, "I do not know the way to defeat others, but the way to defeat myself."
Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful that yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never-ending.

-from the Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

[aplonis]

The more time spent in reporting the less time remains to accomplish anything.
Stability is achieved when all your time is spent doing nothing but reporting on the nothing that you are doing.

[Aikido_Girl918]

So pure, one confuses "its" (possessive) with "it's" (contraction of "it is"...) :rolleyes:

Only a boor would think it possible to "think too much".
One can NEVER think too much; of course, correct thinking is another matter.
From your post, I can only assume the antithesis of your statement; i.e., that you think too little... :rolleyes:

Tony, I am not going to argue with you this time, I think you argue enough for both of us, or rather, half of Budoseek. The point I was trying to get across is that if you know how to do something, i.e. a kata, you should not think about what you're doing. If you think about what you're doing, you're likely to get mixed up or lose your place. That one is NOT one of the my quotes by the way, so don't pick on me about it. It's sensei's. Sensei tells us not to think quite often. We find it helpful to let instinct run its course.


"Can you break a log like that?"
"Don't know, never been attacked by tree." -Mr. Miyagi


"Never put passion before principle, even if win, you lose." -Mr. Miyagi


first man asks: "One step short of crazy what do you get?"

second man answers: "uhh, obsessed?"

first man says: "Passionate!" - taken from movie National Treasure


"The only stupid question is the one you never ask" -unknown


"You are only a true Martial Artist when you see the Martial Arts as a way of life" -me

[Sypherdarkangel]

A bit of a poem for you all...

A Message For Life

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but think you can't,
It is almost certain that you won't.

If you think you will lose, you are lost.
For out of this world you will find,
Success begins with a fellow's will,
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high, to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go to
The stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later the man,
Who wins is the man,
Who thinks he can...

B.Lee

[sonic]

[QUOTE=Aikido_Girl918]Tony, I am not going to argue with you this time, I think you argue enough for both of us, or rather, half of Budoseek. The point I was trying to get across is that if you know how to do something, i.e. a kata, you should not think about what you're doing. If you think about what you're doing, you're likely to get mixed up or lose your place. That one is NOT one of the my quotes by the way, so don't pick on me about it. It's sensei's. Sensei tells us not to think quite often. We find it helpful to let instinct run its course.

A very true statement Aikido girl.... and nice little burn there. those beliefs I believe are best outlined in "The unfettered mind" In which a zen monk writes to a sword master on the application of zen to sword work. Out of this comes a deeper understanding of no-sword and no-thought, that is the release of tension and active thought therefore achieving the classic serenity that seems to be a staple of many martial arts greats. i.e. Tesshu, Ueshiba sensei, Musashi, Bruce Lee (in real life, not movies), and so on. don't let the critics get you down, the ones who's opinions matter are the greatest ever, and they're the ones who wrote down those ideas and lived them.