![[userpic]](/media/13d872ec9f767ad8008e6f82e03d7d42b2046c53f7eed93d1d56b0786c852e74)
"An average man can 'grab' the things of the world only with his hands, or his eyes, or his
ears, but a sorcerer can grab them also with his nose, or his tongue, or his will, especially with
his will. I cannot really describe how it is done, but you yourself, for instance, cannot describe
to me how you hear. It happens that I am also capable of hearing, so we can talk about what
we hear, but not about how we hear. A sorcerer uses his will to perceive the world. That
perceiving, however, is not like hearing. When we look at the world or when we hear it, we
have the impression that it is out there and that it is real. When we perceive the world with our
will we know that it is not as 'out there' or 'as real' as we think."
"Is will the same as seeing?"
"No. Will is a force, a power. Seeing is not a force, but rather a way of getting through things.
A sorcerer may have a very strong will and yet he may not see; which means that only a man
of knowledge perceives the world with his senses and with his will and also with his seeing." I
told him that I was more confused than ever about how to use my will to forget the guardian.
That statement and my mood of perplexity seemed to delight him.
"I've told you that when you talk you only get confused," he said and laughed. "But at least
now you know you are waiting for your will. You still don't know what it is, or how it could
happen to you. So watch carefully everything you do. The very thing that could help you
develop your will is amidst all the little things you do."
Don Juan was gone all morning; he returned in the early afternoon with a bundle of dry
plants. He signaled me with his head to help him and we worked in complete silence for
hours, sorting the plants. When we finished we sat down to rest and he smiled at me
benevolently.
I said to him in a very serious manner that I had been reading my notes and I still could not
understand what being a warrior entailed or what the idea of will meant.
"Will is not an idea," he said.
This was the first time he had spoken to me the whole day.
After a long pause he continued:
"We are different, you and I. Our characters are not alike. Your nature is more violent than
mine. When I was your age I was not violent but mean; you are the opposite. My benefactor
was like that; he would have been perfectly suited to be your teacher. He was a great sorcerer
but he did not see; not the way I see or the way Genaro sees. I understand the world and live
guided by my seeing. My benefactor, on the other hand, had to live as a warrior. If a man sees
he doesn't have to live like a warrior, or like anything else, for he can see things as they really
are and direct his life accordingly. But, considering your character, I would say that you may
never learn to see, in which case you will have to live your entire life like a warrior.
My benefactor said that when a man embarks on the paths of sorcery he becomes aware, in a
gradual manner, that ordinary life has been forever left behind; that knowledge is indeed a
frightening affair; that the means of the ordinary world are no longer a buffer for him; and that
he must adopt a new way of life if he is going to survive. The first thing he ought to do, at that
point, is to want to become a warrior, a very important step and decision.
ears, but a sorcerer can grab them also with his nose, or his tongue, or his will, especially with
his will. I cannot really describe how it is done, but you yourself, for instance, cannot describe
to me how you hear. It happens that I am also capable of hearing, so we can talk about what
we hear, but not about how we hear. A sorcerer uses his will to perceive the world. That
perceiving, however, is not like hearing. When we look at the world or when we hear it, we
have the impression that it is out there and that it is real. When we perceive the world with our
will we know that it is not as 'out there' or 'as real' as we think."
"Is will the same as seeing?"
"No. Will is a force, a power. Seeing is not a force, but rather a way of getting through things.
A sorcerer may have a very strong will and yet he may not see; which means that only a man
of knowledge perceives the world with his senses and with his will and also with his seeing." I
told him that I was more confused than ever about how to use my will to forget the guardian.
That statement and my mood of perplexity seemed to delight him.
"I've told you that when you talk you only get confused," he said and laughed. "But at least
now you know you are waiting for your will. You still don't know what it is, or how it could
happen to you. So watch carefully everything you do. The very thing that could help you
develop your will is amidst all the little things you do."
Don Juan was gone all morning; he returned in the early afternoon with a bundle of dry
plants. He signaled me with his head to help him and we worked in complete silence for
hours, sorting the plants. When we finished we sat down to rest and he smiled at me
benevolently.
I said to him in a very serious manner that I had been reading my notes and I still could not
understand what being a warrior entailed or what the idea of will meant.
"Will is not an idea," he said.
This was the first time he had spoken to me the whole day.
After a long pause he continued:
"We are different, you and I. Our characters are not alike. Your nature is more violent than
mine. When I was your age I was not violent but mean; you are the opposite. My benefactor
was like that; he would have been perfectly suited to be your teacher. He was a great sorcerer
but he did not see; not the way I see or the way Genaro sees. I understand the world and live
guided by my seeing. My benefactor, on the other hand, had to live as a warrior. If a man sees
he doesn't have to live like a warrior, or like anything else, for he can see things as they really
are and direct his life accordingly. But, considering your character, I would say that you may
never learn to see, in which case you will have to live your entire life like a warrior.
My benefactor said that when a man embarks on the paths of sorcery he becomes aware, in a
gradual manner, that ordinary life has been forever left behind; that knowledge is indeed a
frightening affair; that the means of the ordinary world are no longer a buffer for him; and that
he must adopt a new way of life if he is going to survive. The first thing he ought to do, at that
point, is to want to become a warrior, a very important step and decision.