Ultra-Violence
18th September 2008, 05:33
The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
When man starts to learn, he is never clear about his objectives. His purpose is faulty; his intent is vague. He hopes for rewards that will never materialize, for he knows nothing of the hardships of learning.
He slowly begins to learn — bit by bit at first, then in big chunks… What he learns is never what he pictured, or imagined, and so he begins to be afraid. Learning is never what one expects… His purpose becomes a battlefield. And thus he has tumbled upon the first of his natural enemies: fear… And if the man, terrified in its presence, runs away, his enemy will have put an end to his quest…
He must be fully afraid, and yet he must not stop. And a moment will come when his first enemy retreats. Man begins to feel sure of himself… Once man has vanquished fear, he is free from it for the rest of his life, because, instead of fear, he has acquired clarity — a clarity of mind which erases fear.
By then man knows his desires; he knows how to satisfy those desires. He can anticipate the new steps of learning, and a sharp clarity surrounds everything. Man feels that nothing is concealed. And thus he has encountered his second enemy.
That clarity of mind, which is so hard to obtain, dispels fear, but also blinds. It forces man never to doubt himself… If man yields to this make-believe power, he has succumbed to his second enemy and will fumble with learning… He may turn into a buoyant warrior, or a clown…, but he will no longer learn, or yearn for, anything.
(If he defeats this enemy,) he will know at this point that the power he has been pursuing for so long is finally his. His wish is the rule. He sees all that is around him. But he has also come across his third enemy — power. Man at this stage hardly notices his third enemy closing in on him. And suddenly, without knowing, he will certainly have lost the battle. His enemy will have turned him into a cruel, capricious man.
The man who is defeated by power dies without really knowing how to handle it. Power is only a burden upon his fate.
He has to defy it, deliberately. He has to come to realize the power he has seemingly conquered is in reality never his. If he can see that clarity and power, without his control over himself, are worse than mistakes, he will know then when and how to use his power. And thus he will have defeated his third enemy.
(The fourth enemy is) — old age! It attacks almost without warning. This enemy is the cruelest of all. The one he won’t be able to defeat completely, but only fight away. This is the time when he has an unyielding desire to rest. If he gives in totally to his desire to lie down and forget, if he soothes himself in tiredness, he will have lost his last round, and his enemy will cut him down into a feeble old creature. His desire to retreat will overrule all his clarity, his power, and his knowledge. But if the man sloughs off his tiredness, and lives his fate through, he can then be called a man of knowledge, if only for the brief moment when he succeeds in fighting off his last, invincible enemy. That moment of clarity, power, and knowledge is enough.-Don Juan Matus
Thats just an exerpt from the first book of the teachings of don juan ive read six of them so far theres 11 total and i love every single one of them they are awsome books and gave me a whole different out look on life im wondering if any one else has read any of these book by Carlos Castenada
They are great books and i highly recomend them to all of you:)
When man starts to learn, he is never clear about his objectives. His purpose is faulty; his intent is vague. He hopes for rewards that will never materialize, for he knows nothing of the hardships of learning.
He slowly begins to learn — bit by bit at first, then in big chunks… What he learns is never what he pictured, or imagined, and so he begins to be afraid. Learning is never what one expects… His purpose becomes a battlefield. And thus he has tumbled upon the first of his natural enemies: fear… And if the man, terrified in its presence, runs away, his enemy will have put an end to his quest…
He must be fully afraid, and yet he must not stop. And a moment will come when his first enemy retreats. Man begins to feel sure of himself… Once man has vanquished fear, he is free from it for the rest of his life, because, instead of fear, he has acquired clarity — a clarity of mind which erases fear.
By then man knows his desires; he knows how to satisfy those desires. He can anticipate the new steps of learning, and a sharp clarity surrounds everything. Man feels that nothing is concealed. And thus he has encountered his second enemy.
That clarity of mind, which is so hard to obtain, dispels fear, but also blinds. It forces man never to doubt himself… If man yields to this make-believe power, he has succumbed to his second enemy and will fumble with learning… He may turn into a buoyant warrior, or a clown…, but he will no longer learn, or yearn for, anything.
(If he defeats this enemy,) he will know at this point that the power he has been pursuing for so long is finally his. His wish is the rule. He sees all that is around him. But he has also come across his third enemy — power. Man at this stage hardly notices his third enemy closing in on him. And suddenly, without knowing, he will certainly have lost the battle. His enemy will have turned him into a cruel, capricious man.
The man who is defeated by power dies without really knowing how to handle it. Power is only a burden upon his fate.
He has to defy it, deliberately. He has to come to realize the power he has seemingly conquered is in reality never his. If he can see that clarity and power, without his control over himself, are worse than mistakes, he will know then when and how to use his power. And thus he will have defeated his third enemy.
(The fourth enemy is) — old age! It attacks almost without warning. This enemy is the cruelest of all. The one he won’t be able to defeat completely, but only fight away. This is the time when he has an unyielding desire to rest. If he gives in totally to his desire to lie down and forget, if he soothes himself in tiredness, he will have lost his last round, and his enemy will cut him down into a feeble old creature. His desire to retreat will overrule all his clarity, his power, and his knowledge. But if the man sloughs off his tiredness, and lives his fate through, he can then be called a man of knowledge, if only for the brief moment when he succeeds in fighting off his last, invincible enemy. That moment of clarity, power, and knowledge is enough.-Don Juan Matus
Thats just an exerpt from the first book of the teachings of don juan ive read six of them so far theres 11 total and i love every single one of them they are awsome books and gave me a whole different out look on life im wondering if any one else has read any of these book by Carlos Castenada
They are great books and i highly recomend them to all of you:)