The spiritual philosophy of Bruce Lee

Sitting on the wall of my living room is one of the most treasured objects I own.

A pair of nunchucks used by Bruce Lee himself in Enter the Dragon, framed beside a hand-drawn sketch he made.

They’re not just memorabilia.
They’re a manifesto.

These nunchucks represent a way of thinking.
A way of being.
A way of growing.

It’s an idea Bruce Lee once shared with a student who was struggling with balance, unsure if he was “doing it right.” Bruce mentioned this line to the student….

“Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add your own unique style.”

Instead of correcting the student’s technique, Bruce corrected the mindset.

And what he said would ripple through history.

At first glance, it sounds like martial arts advice.
But read it again, and you’ll feel it land in your bones.

This isn’t about how to throw a punch.
It’s about how to live.

Let’s break this down — and along the way, break free from whatever box you’ve been living in.

Absorb what is useful

Two weeks ago, in a Telegraph interview in London, I was asked:

“Vishen, some people call you a guru. Do you see yourself as one?”

My answer was immediate:

Absolutely not.

Because I don’t believe in guruship.
A guru sits at the center. The students orbit the guru.
That model is not just broken — it’s dangerous.

I believe the student should sit at the center.
And the teachers should orbit you.

You learn. You listen.

You discover different viewpoints.
You embrace colliding ideas.
But YOU discern what fits.

You decide what to absorb. 

That’s why Mindvalley is not just me. Rather, it has hundreds of teachers.
That’s why we mix philosophies — sometimes even ones that contradict.
That’s why you are encouraged to be your own compass.

Bruce Lee refused to be limited by one style. He famously said…

“Style creates form. Form becomes limitation.”

Truth is thus formless. It goes beyond a particular style, method, or approach. It is not Sadhguru, or the Dalai Lama, or your Holy Book, or Mindvalley. Truth cannot be put in a circle. 

Bruce Lee wrote in his book The Tao of Jeet Kune Do:

“When there is no center and no circumference, then there is truth.

Let that sink in.

The truth isn’t found in one guru or one style. 

 It’s found in the moment you realize you are meant to discover your own truth by studying many styles or philosophies and knowing what to take in and what to reject.

“Discard what is not…”

Now we come to the second part — and this is where transformation begins.

Because it’s not enough to absorb.

You must be willing to let go.

Most people carry too much.
Too many ideas. Too many identities.
Too many rules that never belonged to them in the first place.

I call them BRULES — bullshit rules.

The rules you inherited from culture, religion, society, or school that limit your joy, your voice, and your truth.

Bruce said:

“It is not daily increase, but daily decrease.
Hack away the unessential.”

Let me be direct:

• What manifesting rule are you still following because someone told you “that’s how it works”?
• What relationship belief is keeping you stuck in a loop of pain?
• What health philosophy is exhausting your body instead of energizing it?

John Lee, one of the teachers in Manifesting Mastery, said it brilliantly:

“Go to your phone.
Look at your contact list.
Now delete the names of the people who drain you every time they text or call.”

It sounds brutal.
But sometimes healing is subtraction.

And here’s the spiritual reason why:

From The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce writes:

“True thusness cannot be known through conception or thought.
It cannot be grasped with the mind.
One cannot express it with words.”

That means you don’t need more opinions.
You need more space to feel what’s already true.

Letting go is not a loss.
It’s a sacred rebellion against everything that dims your light.

“Add your own unique style…”

This… is the golden part.

After you’ve absorbed the good and discarded the noise…
Now, you create.

This is your soul’s turn to speak.

Bruce Lee said:

“Art is the expression of the self.
The more complicated and restricted the method,
the less opportunity there is
for the expression of one’s original sense of freedom.”

This is the most important part.

Because most people stop at absorption.
They mimic. They master someone else’s style.
But they never create their own.

They become copies.

Not creators.

You’re not here to live someone else’s version of excellence.
You’re here to express the original frequency of YOU..

But you can’t express the self…
Until you know the self.

That’s why Bruce also said:

“To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are.”

Do you know who you are? 

You’re not here to be a carbon copy.
You’re here to be a cosmic mixtape of everything you’ve lived, learned, loved, and lost.

Your past pain was not just hurt. It was a lesson.
Every wound was an education.
Every personal growth class, every Quest lesson, and every meditation helped you discover your own truth. 

Never forget that you are stardust, soul, and story—all entangled.

In other words:

You don’t find your style by looking outside. You find it by listening within.

Absorb ideas from many teachers.
Then discard what is dogmatic or not applicable to you. 

And most importantly…honor your OWN truth. 

Your 3-minute soul practice

Take a moment. Grab a notebook.
This is your Jeet Kune Do of the Soul.

1. Write down 3 ideas or lessons you’ve learned recently that feel right for you.
   
2. List 3 things—habits, beliefs, people—that no longer belong in your life.
   
3. Name 1 thing that is completely yours—something no one taught you, but you know in your bones.
   

This is your inner Jeet Kune Do.
This is your map.
This is how you live—like Bruce—with no style, no center, no circumference… just truth.

Because you weren’t born to fit in someone else’s form.
You were born to become your own force of nature.

For those of you who are curious, here’s a hand-drawn sketch from Bruce Lee that hangs in my bedroom. 

Side note: I grew up in Asia and competed in martial arts till I was 19. My first trip to the USA was to represent Malaysia in the US Open Tae Kwan Do Championships of 1993. Hence my fascination with martial arts and the story of Bruce Lee. 

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Now, I’d love to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the comment box below (I read every single one).
If this story of Bruce Lee and the philosophy of becoming your own master spoke to you… I’d love to hear it.
Tell me: What part of this resonated with your own journey?

For more of these deep dives, insights, and personal reflections…

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Here’s to the next-level version of you — the one who absorbs what’s useful, discards what’s not, and creates a life that’s truly your own.

See you in the field.

— Vishen