The Teachings of Don Juan... By Carlos Castaneda
In our conversations Don Juan Consistently referred to the phrase "Man of Knowledge" but never explained what he meant by it... So I asked him...
"A Man of knowledge is one who has followed truthfully the hardships of learning" "A Man who has without rushing or without faltering, gone as far as he can in unravelling the secrets of power & knowledge."
Can anyone be a man of knowledge?
"No not anyone"
Then what must a man do to become a man of knowledge?
"He must challenge and defeat his four natural enemies"
Will he be a man of knowledge after defeating these four enemies?
"Yes. A Man can call himself a man of knowledge only if he is capable of defeating all four of them."
Then can anybody who defeats them become a man of knowledge?
"Anybody who defeats them becomes a man of knowledge."
But are there any special requirements a man must fulfill before fighting with these enemies?
"No. Anyone can try to become a man of knowledge; very few men actually succeed, but that is only natural. The enemies a man encounters on the path of learning to become a man of knowledge are truly formidable; most men succumb to them."
What kind of enemies are they Don Juan?
He refused to talk about the enemies. He said it would be a long time before the subject would make sense to me. I tried to keep the topic alive and asked him if he thought I could become a man of knowledge. He said no man could possibly tell that for sure. But I insisted on knowing if there were any clues he could use to determine whether I could be a man of knowledge. He said it would depend upon my battle against the four enemies--- whether I could defeat them or would be defeated by them--but it was impossible to tell the outcome of that fight. He flatly stated the results of the struggle could not be seen by any means, because becoming a man of knowledge is a temporary thing. When I asked him to explain this point he replied:
"To be a man of knowledge has no permanence. One is never a man of knwledge, not really. Rather one becomes a man of knowledge for a brief instant, after defeating the four natural enemies."
You must tell me Don Juan what kind of enemies they are.
"When a 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---but by but at first, then in big chunks. And his thoughts soon clash. What he learns is never what he pictured, or imagined, and so he begins to be afraid. Learning is never what one expects. Every step of learning is a new task, and the fear the man is experiencing begins to mount mercilessly, unyeildingly. His purpose becomes a battlefield.
And thus he has stumbled upon the first of his natural enemies: Fear! A terrible enemy treacherous & difficult to overcome. It remains concealed at every turn of the way, prowling, waiting. And if the man terrified in its presence, runs away, his enemy will have put an end to his quest."
What will happen if the man runs away in fear?
"Nothing happens to him except that he will never learn. He will never become a man of knowledge. He will perhaps be a bully or a harmless scared man; at any rate, he will be a defeated man. His first enemy will have put an end to his cravings."
And what can he do to overcome fear?
"The answer is very simple. He must not run away. He must defy his fear, and in spite of it he must take the next step in learning, and the next, and the next. He must be fully afraid and yet he must not stop. That is the rule! And a moment will come when his first enemy retreats. The man begins to feel sure of himself. His intent becomes stronger. Learning is no longer a terrifying task. When this joyful moment comes the man can say without hesitation that he has defeated his first natural enemy."
Does it happen at once or little by little?
"It happens little by little and yet the fear is vanquished suddenly and fast."
But won't the man be afraid again when something new happens to him?
"No, once a man has vanquished fear, he is free from it for the rest of his life because instead of fear he has aquired clarity. A clarity of mind which erases fear. By then a man knows his desires; he knows how to satisfy those desires. He can antisipate the new steps of learning, and a sharp clarity surrounds everything. The man feals that nothing is concealed."
"And thus he has met his second natural enemy: Clarity! That clarity of mind which is so hard to obtain, dispels fear, but also blinds. It forces a man never to doubt himself. It gives him the assurance that he can do anything he pleases, for he see's clearly into everything. And he is courageous because he is clear, and he stops at nothing because he is clear. But all that is a mistake; it is like something incomplete. If the man yields to this make believe power, he has succumbed to his second enemy and will fumble with learning. He will rush when he should be patient, or he will be patient when he should rush. And he will fumble with learning until he winds up incapable of learning anything more. "
What becomes of a man who is defeated in that way... Does he die as a result?
"No. He doesn't die. His second enemy has just stopped him cold from becoming a man of knowledge; instead the man may turn into a buoyant warrior, or a clown. Yet the clarity for which he has paid so dearly will never change to darkness & fear again. He will be clear as long as he lives, but he will no longer learn, or yearn for anything."
but what does he have to do to avoid being defeated?
"He must do what he did with fear: he must defy his clarity and use it only to see, and wait patiently and measure carefully before taking any steps; he must think, above all, that this clarity is almost a mistake. And a moment will come when he will understand that this clarity was only a point before his eyes. And thus he will have overcome his second enemy, and will arrive at a position where nothing can harm him anymore. This will not be a mistake. It will not be only a point before his eyes, it will be true power."
He will know at this point that the power he has been pursuing for so long is finally his. He can do with it whatever he pleases. His ally is at his command. His wish is the rule. He see's all that is around him. But he has also come across his third enemy: POWER!"
"Power is the strongest of all enemies. And naturally the easiest thing to do is give in; after all the man is truly invincible. He commands; he begins taking calculated risks, and ends in making rules, because he is the master. A 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."
Will he lose his power?
"No, he will never lose his clarity or power."
What then will distinguish him from a man of knowledge?
"A man who is defeated by power dies without ever really knowing how to handle it. Power is only a burden upon his fate. Such a man has no command over himself, can cannot tell when or how to use his power."
If the defeat by any of these enemies a final defeat?
"Of course it is final. Once one of these enemies overpower a man there is nothing he can do."
Is it possible, for instance, that a man who has been defeated by power may see his error and mend his ways?
"No. Once a man gives in he is through."
But what if he is temporarily blinded by power, and then refuses it?
"That means his battle is still on. That means he is still trying to become a man of knowledge. A man is defeated only when he no longer tries, and abandons himself."
But then Don Juan, it is possible that a man may abandon himself to fear for years, but finally conquer it.
"No, that is not true. If he gives into fear he will never conquer it, because he will shy away from learning and never try again. But if he tries to learn for years in the midst of his fear, he will eventually conquer it because he never really abandoned himself to it."
How can he defeat his third enemy?
"He has to defy it. deliberatel
