Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

This is generally attributed to the Buddha.  

If you try to figure out when and where He said that, from which Sutra it comes from, you better be patient and ready to never find it ! 

It is a common use to attribute to famous people words someone less famous said... Lao Tzu, Confucius, Abraham Lincoln and Einstein, among many others, are also credited with lots of apparently deep things they probably never said. 

Go figure...

Years ago, before I moved to the US, I suffered from depression. It lasted several month. It sucked. Nothing mattered to me anymore. The only time I was able to forget about my misery was when I would get on a mat to teach or study Ju Jitsu or Kendo. 

Once a month I would drive to Paris to study Ju Jitsu under Master Rolland Hernaez. I was just 1st degree black belt then. 

One night I had been driving 2 1/2 hours under rain and slit to get there, wondering why I was doing this, feeling sorry for myself - depression does that to you... I had arrived early at the Dojo and was changing clothes, by myself in the dressing room. Sensei Hernaez opened the door to see who was there. He looked at me, said nothing, and smiled - a big smile. I suppose he was happy to see me there. 

All of a sudden, my sorriness gone. Light had chased the darkness away. 

He must have been 7th Degree Black belt in Ju Jitsu back then. (Not counting his ranks in Karate, Judo and Aikido...) I was just a shodan, and this great Man  smiled at me... He did not have to do it, but he did and it made a big difference in my life.

Never waste an occasion to smile to people. It's easy to do, it is free to you, and you never know what you can bring them. 

The 9 Confucian Ways of Thinking

Even if they don't always know how it happened, most Westerners have heard about the influence of Zen and Taoism on traditional Asian Fighting Arts. 

What is less well know though, is the immense influence that Confucius had on them. 

Let me give you just one example :

Confucius elaborated on the concept of "thinking" by saying that if you wish to become a cultivated person you should possess nine ways of thinking, these being:

1. when looking at something, think about seeing it clearly;
2. when listening to something, think about hearing it clearly;
3. when showing facial expressions, think about keeping a warm attitude;
4. when behaving, think about keeping a manner of respect;
5. when speaking, think about speaking honestly and plausibly;
6. when conducting some business, think about doing it carefully;
7. when you are puzzled or have a problem to solve, think about seeking advice from others;
8. when becoming angry, think about calming yourself; and
9. when seeing there is a profit to be made, think about whether it is proper to pursue that profit.

If you now consider the 5 precepts of Yoshukai Karate : 

Respect and Manners

Be prudent in Speech, 

Be prudent in action

Keep High spirit

Keep yourself clean

It becomes quite clear how much our arts were influenced by Master Kong...