From: osan@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (Mr. X)
Subject: Re: who is castaneda?
Organization: Twilight Zone
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 03:26:13 GMT

In article <1jp9ufINN8sk@master.cs.rose-hulman.edu> acharya@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU writes:
>
>a few posts ago (i think it was andy's) the name Castaneda was mentioned.
>who is he, what kind of books does he write and is it something i could
>pick up in a public library?

	Yeah, that wuz mee.  Carlos Castaneda is a rather interesting
	character.  He has written about 10 books about his experiences
	as a sorcerer's apprentice under the tutelage of one don Juan
	Matus and (to a lesser extent) don Genaro.  His earlier books
	describe a lot of ingestion of hallucinogens such as peyotl
	(peyote), psyilocybin ( a mushroom) and Datura (Jimson weed).

	In his narratives, Carlos is always given great gifts of knowledge
	ans he nearly always screws things up with his infernal stubborn
	attitude and sheer stupidity, or so irt would seem.  In his trips
	he turns into a crow, speaks directly with a fox, plays with
	Mescalito, and becomes a HUGE monster that whomps the shit out of a
	Bruja (sorceress) who tries to kill him through seduction.  And on 
	and on the tales go.

	All the while, don Juan teaches Carlos what it means to be a
	"man of knowledge".  The lessons are very beautiful, despite
	the sometimes corny narrative that enshrouds them.  The knowledge
	and, more importantly, the attitude espoused and LIVED by don Juan
	are the true jewels that lie within the pages of these stories.
	
	Even though Juan denies it in one conversation, his attitude has a
	very Zen flavor.  Juan is not interested in bullshit and farting
	around an issue.  He is interested in ACTION, as in DOING, rather
	than intellectualizing.  

	He speaks of *seeing*, which though it is not the same,  is vaguely
	analogous to satori (enlightenment) thought there are fundamental
	differences which cause me to prefer Juans flavor.

	He speaks of "stopping the world" which also has a vague analog in
	meditation.  He also is quite big on personal responsibility in all
	aspects of one's life.  This is the way of a true warrior, according
	to Juan.  One must live a deliberate life, each action the result of
	choice which is in turn the result of resolve which inturn is the
	result of having taken responsibility for yourself, what you do and
	what you feel.  There is no happenstance in the life of a warrior.
	Nothing is taken for granted.  Life is lived in each moment as if
	it were to be the last.  There is nor room for whining and regretting
	and complaining about your condition when it is you that are responsible
	for the state of your life.  And a warrior is always ready to see
	death come for him, i.e. there are no pending affairs in his life,
	no loose ends left undone.

	I read the first 4 books like a hungry animal when I was a child.
	These are:

		The teachings of don Juan: A Yaqui way of knowledge

		Journey to Ixtlan

		Tales of Power

		The Second Ring of Power

	With each successive book, he gets further away from the drug
	experiences.  In fact in Tales of Power (I think)  Juan tells
	Carlos that the drugs are not in any way necessary to the task
	of becomming a man of knowledge, but are used as an expedient
	for extremely dull witted oafs (which explains why they did
	so well by me).  

	I never read "The Eagles Gift", the fifth book.  A few months
	ago, I tried to read "The Power of Silence", his lates, I believe,
	but I just could not get through the first chapter.  Don Juan
	really DID rub off on me.  Read the first books and you'll know what
	I mean by this :).

	These books are absolutely MARVELOUS wrt to the attitude they
	display in the character of Juan Matus.  He is a crafty, wise
	and powerful old buzzard that I took to very strongly.  There has
	always been a great controversy regarding whether or not Juan Matus
	was indeed a real person and whether or not Castaneda really had
	the experiences he claims as autobiographical.  Personally, I could
	not give a tinker's damn whether or not it is so.  The fact is that 
	regardless of the "truth", Castaneda wrote some of the finest and most
	valuable pieces of work ever, so far, and their value stands alone
	no matter what the material facts are.

	You should easily be able to find his works in the local library,
	bvut personally I think they are well worth buying.  In fact, it has
	been about 10 years sionce I read them last.  Perhaps it is time
	for the third go around (or is it the fourth??).

	Try the first book, I think you'll like it.

	-Andy V.
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