Ep. 213 – Don Juan Meets Buddha: Becoming a Spiritual Warrior
Nov 15, 2023
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Jack Kornfield discusses the connection between Buddha's enlightenment qualities and Don Juan's teachings. Topics include qualities of a spiritual warrior, shamanism, inner-freedom, and the difference between an ordinary person and a warrior.
The qualities of a spiritual warrior include impeccability, wise effort, courage, and controlled folly.
Strength and peacefulness are essential qualities for deep investigation and navigating life's challenges with serenity.
Deep dives
Exploring the Spiritual Path
In this podcast episode, the speaker shares their personal journey into the spiritual path, starting with their interest in psychedelics and philosophy. They mention how the discovery of Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan books provided them with wisdom and spiritual teachings that satisfied their curiosity and hunger for spiritual truths.
Qualities of a Spiritual Warrior
The podcast delves into the qualities of a spiritual warrior, emphasizing four main qualities. The first quality is impeccability, which refers to being present and aware in every action and moment. The second quality is energy, described as the willingness to make efforts and be fully engaged. Courage is the third quality, involving the bravery to investigate, explore, and face all aspects of life. The fourth quality is controlled folly, which involves having a lightness of being, not taking oneself too seriously, and recognizing the playfulness of life.
Strength and Peacefulness
The episode discusses the importance of strength, not in terms of physical power but as the power of concentration and collectedness of mind. This strength allows for deep investigation and cutting through illusions. Additionally, the podcast highlights the quality of peacefulness, which involves being tranquil, serene, and unagitated amidst the challenges and fluctuations of life.
Steadfastness and Equanimity
The final main idea centers around the qualities of steadfastness and equanimity. Steadfastness refers to an inner sense of balance and stability, allowing one to remain unshaken by external circumstances. Equanimity, on the other hand, entails accepting and embracing the ever-changing nature of life with a heart full of love and openness. These qualities of steadfastness and equanimity contribute to the freedom and liberation experienced on the spiritual path.
Connecting the Buddha's wisdom with the teachings of Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda's infamous Yaqui shaman, Jack explores how to become a spiritual warrior.
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"There's a mysterious beauty that surrounds those individuals who live their lives as warriors, as men or women of knowledge." – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:
How Buddha's factors of enlightenment (qualities of awakening) connect with Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda's infamous teacher and Yaqui shaman and sorcerer
Don Juan's wisdom of the 'Way of the Warrior' in relation to Buddhism
The qualities of living as a spiritual warrior: impeccability/wholeness, wise effort/energy, courage/investigation, controlled-folly (play/lightness), strength/concentration, and steadfastness/unshakeableness
Shamanism and cutting through our sense of separation into the root of consciousness
Finding inner-freedom by learning how to stop our internal dialogue
"The basic difference between an ordinary person and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary person takes everything as a blessing or a curse." – Carlos Castaneda(Author of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge)
This talk from 12/31/1983 at Insight Meditation Society was originally published on DharmaSeed.