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An excerpt on the four natural
enemies,В from Chapter 3 ofВ The
Teachings of DonВ Juan, by Carlos
Castaneda
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Sunday, 1962 April 15
As I was getting ready to leave, I decided to
ask him once more about the enemies of a man of
knowledge. I argued that I could not return for
some time, and it would be a good idea to write
down what he had to say, and then think about it
while I was away.
He hesitated for a while, but then began to
talk.
"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- bit by bit 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,
unyieldingly. His purpose becomes a battlefield.
"And thus he has tumbled upon the first of his
natural enemies: Fear! A terrible enemy-
treacherous, and 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 to the man if he 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, don Juan, or little by
little?"
"It happens little by little, and yet the fear
is vanquished suddenly and fast."
"But will the man not be afraid again if
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 acquired clarity- a
clarity of mind which erases fear. By then a 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. The man feels that nothing is
concealed.
"And thus he has encountered his second enemy:
Clarity! That clarity of mind which is so hard
to obtain, dispels fear but also blinds.
"It forces the man never to doubt himself. It
gives him the assurance he can do anything he
pleases, for he sees 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, don Juan? Does he die as a result?"
"No, he does not die. His second enemy has just
stopped him cold from trying to become 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 and 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
new steps. He must think, above all, that his
clarity is almost a mistake; and a moment will
come when he will understand that his 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 any more. 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 sees
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 to give
in. After all, the man is truly invincible. He
commands: He begins by taking calculated risks,
and ends in making rules because he is a 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 his
power."
"What then will distinguish him from a man of
knowledge?"
"A man who is defeated by power dies without
really knowing how to handle it. Power is only a
burden upon his fate. Such a man has no command
over himself, and cannot tell when or how to use
his power."
"Is the defeat by any of these enemies a final
defeat?"
"Of course it is final. Once one of these
enemies overpowers a man there is nothing he can
do."
"Is it possible, for instance, that the man
who is 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."
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"No, that is not true. If he gives in to
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 will never have really abandoned himself to
it."
"How can he defeat his third enemy, don Juan?"
"He has to defy it, deliberately. He has to come
to realize the power he has seemingly conquered
is in reality never his. He must keep himself in
line at all times, handling carefully and
faithfully all that he has learned. If he can
see that clarity and power without his control
over himself are worse than mistakes, he will
reach a point where everything is held in check.
He will know then when and how to use his power;
and thus he will have defeated his third enemy.
"The man will be, by then, at the end of his
journey of learning, and almost without warning
he will come upon the last of his enemies: Old
age! This enemy is the cruelest of all; the one
he will not be able to defeat completely, but
only fight away.
"This is the time when a man has no more fears,
no more impatient clarity of mind- a time when
all his power is in check, but also 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."
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~ ~ ~
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