Lois

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A Dialogue Between Carlos Castaneda and Master Sosan Carlos: I came for knowledge. Don Juan would say it isn’t given for free — but I’ve heard that your teaching is different. You speak of the Oneness of all things… but how do you feel it in action, not just talk about it? Master Sosan: You seek what you already have. As long as you look outward, you pass by the door. You can enter only by leaving the search. Carlos: Leave the search? But the warrior’s path is continuous effort: stalking, not-doing, impeccability… If I stop searching — wouldn’t that be the death of spirit? Sosan: When the search ends, seeing begins. Effort is useful to sharpen attention, but useless when you’re already at the destination. You hold a mirror in your hands, yet you ask for directions to your own reflection. Carlos: But the world is opaque. It pushes me in different directions. Energies, intent, the shadow of the human form… it’s all so complicated. Sosan: Complication is what the mind creates to feel necessary. In reality there is neither simple nor complex — only what is happening. And it doesn’t resist you, unless you clash with it head-on. Carlos: Don Juan would say you speak like someone who has lost the sense of importance of his personal story. Sosan (smiling): A story is a dream. But you can sleep consciously or unconsciously. The difference lies in a single thought: “this is mine.” Carlos: But what about the path? What about intent? Without it, we lose direction. Sosan: Direction exists only when there is someone who walks. But when Being itself is walking — where could it possibly go? You want to control the wind, but the wind is already blowing. Stop trying to point its way — and you will become its movement. Carlos: What you’re saying… sounds like not-doing, but distilled to its very essence. Sosan: Not-doing is just another name for naturalness. You try to “not do,” yet even that becomes doing. I say: stop clinging. Then everything will be done through you. Carlos: You claim there is no path and no walker. Then why are we talking? Sosan: To hear the silence between the words. Once you hear it — the conversation becomes unnecessary. Carlos: Still… how will I know that I’ve understood? Sosan: When you stop asking. Understanding is not an answer — it’s the disappearance of the need for an answer. Carlos: So… everything I’ve studied, all the techniques, all the experiences — they’re just ripples on the water? Sosan: Ripples do not prevent the water from being water. Your practices do not prevent Truth from being Truth. But stop calling the ripples deep and important — and then you will see the water itself. Carlos (after a pause): I see… but I can’t say I understand. Sosan: Then that is the first real step.

**STORY: “THE MIND, THE NOISE, AND THE NOTHING”** In Moscow, where balls were followed by gossip and gossip by new balls, an event occurred as unusual as snow appearing in July. A mysterious Eastern guest had arrived at Famusov’s house — Master Sosan, a man who spoke little, and when he did speak, no one understood how he managed it. Famusov decided this was some fashionable exotic curiosity and immediately invited all his acquaintances. After all, if someone speaks in riddles, he must be a philosopher — and philosophers are excellent for showing off in front of guests. 1. The Arrival of Chatsky Chatsky, returning to Moscow earlier than usual, walked into Famusov’s house just in time to witness the guests puzzling over Master Sosan’s first phrase: “When the mind seeks support, it falls. When it seeks nothing, it stands.” Famusov scratched his temple and whispered to Skalozub: “Seems to me he’s talking about fortifications.” Skalozub nodded gravely, deciding the phrase concerned a military stance. But Chatsky, of course, stepped forward: “To stand without support is to be honest with oneself! To be a human being, not a puppet pulled by tradition, submissiveness, and fear!” Sosan looked at him calmly, as one looks at the wind that makes noise without trying to be heard. “A noisy mind is a mind that believes in its own truth,” the master said. “Noise!” Sofia exclaimed loudly, appearing in the doorway. “How true! Our dear Chatsky only makes noise, noise…” She said it deliberately loudly — so that he would hear. Chatsky flushed. 2. A Parade of Wit and Emptiness The guests gathered around the master. Prince Tugoukhovsky asked: “Tell us, respected sir… do you teach that one should not strive toward reason?” “A mind that strives to become great contracts. A mind that does not cling to itself expands and sees everything.” Tugoukhovsky, having misheard, replied confidently: “Well, expanding in society is not customary.” Sosan nodded: “Exactly.” The crowd hummed with admiration — what a great wisdom! Famusov beamed — such a rare Eastern philosopher in his house! Chatsky, however, boiled with irritation: “So you mean to say that everything is nothing? That the mind is merely empty chatter? What about progress, truth, honor?” Master Sosan looked at him with gentle sadness: “Truth does not make noise. Only those who argue about it do.” The phrase hung in the air like silence after a storm. 3. Sofia and the Shadow of Words When the guests left, Sofia approached the master. “Tell me, is it possible to stop hearing the noise of the mind?” “It is possible. But one cannot force silence to arrive.” Sofia thought for a moment. “So Alexei Stepanovich (she meant Molchalin, of course) is right to stay silent?” “Silence and fear are different things,” the master replied softly. She felt uncomfortable. 4. Meeting of Two Fires Later Chatsky finally approached him. “I’m not seeking enlightenment, you know. I’m seeking common sense. But it seems to me you undermine the very foundation — thought itself!” Sosan smiled: “You love thought too much to hear its root.” “And what is the root?” “That which does not think. That which sees. That which remains when the argument ends.” Chatsky wanted to reply — but something strange happened: the monologue that so easily burst out of him suddenly lost its thread. Words approached his lips and melted like snow on a palm. Sosan stood. “Moscow is noisy. But there is emptiness in noise as well. You will find it — when you stop trying to convince others.” He left. 5. Famusov’s Epilogue When the master departed, Famusov summed up: “An extraordinary man! Apparently said a lot. And what exactly — no one understood. That means he’s very clever!” “Or very free,” Chatsky muttered. But Famusov no longer heard him. Nor did Moscow. Only deep within Chatsky, for the first time, echoed the phrase: “When the mind seeks support — it falls.” And he, without meaning to, for the first time in a long while… fell silent.

This is the third patriarch of Zen