“For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime.”

—  Bruce Lee

Source: Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living

Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime." by Bruce Lee?
Bruce Lee photo
Bruce Lee 193
Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, philosopher and f… 1940–1973

Related quotes

James Blunt photo

“You can't break my spirit, it's my dreams you take.”

James Blunt (1974) English singer-songwriter

"Goodbye My Lover"

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo

“to enjoy yourself is the easy method to give enjoyment to others; …”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

Heath's book of Beauty, 1833 (1832)

Tenzin Gyatso photo

“To study Buddhism and then use it as a weapon in order to criticize others' theories or ideologies is wrong. The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others.”

Tenzin Gyatso (1935) spiritual leader of Tibet

"A Talk to Western Buddhists" p. 87.
The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness (1990)
Context: To study Buddhism and then use it as a weapon in order to criticize others' theories or ideologies is wrong. The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others. Rather, we must criticize ourselves. How much am I doing about my anger? About my attachment, about my hatred, about my pride, my jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life with the knowledge of the Buddhist teachings.

“Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.”

Amy Bloom (1953) Fiction writer, screenwriter, social worker, psychotherapist

“I've had a lot of ups and downs, and listen, to still be putting yourself out there on stage at my age, you come against a lot of stuff. But if you love what you do, no one should let the opinions of others take away their joy or take away their dreams. And that's really all it comes down to. Loving yourself, believing in yourself, putting one foot in front of the other and doing it.”

Erika Jayne (1969) American singer, actress and television personality

Interview to Cosmopolitan (2016)

Demi Lovato photo

“I'm a lightweight,
easy to fall easy to break.”

Demi Lovato (1992) American singer, songwriter, actress, and author

Lightweight
Lyrics, Unbroken (2011)

Necro (rapper) photo

“I'll break down a lesson
Step by step
Like a booklet for you to sweat
And try to apply
To make yourself fly”

Necro (rapper) (1976) American rapper

Song 12 King Pimp Commandments http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/12-King-Pimp-Commandments-lyrics-Necro/99F7CAB87AFDB14748256BEF000A98DF

Mitch Albom photo

“It is because the spirit knows deep down that all lives intersect. That death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else. And in that small distance, lives are changed.”

Mitch Albom book The Five People You Meet in Heaven

The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003)

Philippe Néricault Destouches photo

“Criticism is easy, and art is difficult.”

Philippe Néricault Destouches (1680–1754) French playwright

La critique est aisée, et l'art est difficile.
Glorieux, II, 5, reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 150.

Laozi photo

“Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

Laozi book Tao Te Ching

Variant translation by Lin Yutang: "He who knows others is learned; he who knows himself is wise".
Source: Tao Te Ching, Ch. 33, as interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992)

Related topics