KUNG FU QUOTES compiled by Steve Savage "King of the Beasts"

"If a man dwells on the past, then he robs the present; but if a man ignores the past, he may rob the future. The seeds of our destiny are nurtured by the roots of our past." -- Master Po

"Deal with evil from strength, but affirm the good in man through trust. In this way, we are prepared for evil, but we encourage good." -- Master Kahn

"And is good a great reward for trusting?" -- Young Caine

"In striving for an ideal, we do not seek rewards. Yet trust does sometimes bring with it a great reward, even greater than good." -- Master Kahn

"What is greater than good?" -- Young Caine

"Love." -- Master Kahn

"And what is love?" -- Young Caine

"Love is harmony, even in discord." -- Master Kahn

"To be alone, without one to love, is a waste of the body. To be not alone, without one to love, is a waste of the soul." -- Master Kahn

"Examine the flower. Is not the flower, in each position, yet a flower?" -- Master Po

"Shall I then treat each man the same?" -- Caine

"As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all." -- Master Po

"Yet, the flower beneath the water knows not the sun. Other men, not knowing me, will find me hard to understand." -- Caine

"Accept the ways of others. Respect first your own." -- Master Po

"I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is mercy, for from mercy comes courage. The second is frugality, from which comes generosity to others. The third is humility, for from it comes leadership." -- Master Po

"Strange treasures. How shall I hold them and keep them? Memory?" -- Caine

"No, Grasshopper, not in memory, but in your deeds." -- Master Po

"But Master, how do I not contend with a man that would contend with me?" -- Caine

"In a heart that is one with nature, though the body contends, there is no violence, and in the heart that is not one with nature, though the body be at rest, there is always violence. Be, therefore, like the prow of a boat. It cleaves water, yet it leaves in its wake water unbroken." -- Master Po

"Ten million living things have as many worlds. Do not see yourself as the center of the universe, wise and good and beautiful. Seek, rather, wisdom, goodness, and beauty, that you may honor them everywhere." -- Master Kahn

"Where is evil, in the rat, whose nature it is to steal grain, or in the cat, whose nature it is to kill the rat?...The rat does not steal, the cat does not murder, rain falls, the stream flows, a hill remains. Each acts according to its nature." -- Master Po

"See the way of life as a stream. A man floats, and his way is smooth. The same man turning upstream exhausts himself. To be one with the universe, each must find his true path and follow it." -- Master Kahn

"The river seeks its own level. It will not fight the rock, it flows around it. The rock becomes a refuge in the river." -- Master Po

"You cannot put out water with fire." -- Caine

"How'd you find out about this stuff?" -- Huntoon

"I listened." -- Caine

"If you plant rice, rice will grow. If you plant fear, fear will grow." -- Caine

"Reach out, yet be wary of what you allow yourself to grasp." -- Master Po

"If the jury cannot see innocence in my eyes, will they find it in a lawyer's mouth?" -- Caine

"Each waking moment is as a rung on an endless ladder. Each step we take is built on what has gone before." -- Caine

"Ignore the insulting tongue. Duck the provoking blow. Run from the assault of the strong." -- Master Kahn

"The wild boar runs from the tiger, knowing that each be well-armed by nature with deadly strength, may kill the other. Running, he saves his own life and that of the tiger. This is not cowardice. It is the love of life." -- Master Kahn

"Between father and son, there is a bridge which neither time nor death can shatter. Each stands at one end, needing to cross, and meet....The bridge of which I speak, Grasshopper, is your love for him." -- Master Po

"We taught you, young man, because you already knew." -- Master Kahn

"The pole, the bow, the arrow, are one, not many things." -- Caine

"When you cease to strive to understand, then you will know without understanding." -- Caine

"Do you know the praying mantis? It looks like it's praying. That is the position it takes before it kills." -- Master Kahn

"If you tie two birds together, though they have four wings, they cannot fly" -- Caine