WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR: A Book That Changes Lives

by Dan Millman

“Yes. You haven’t yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The peaceful warrior’s way is not about invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability — to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All along I’ve shown you by example that a warrior’s life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is the warrior’s sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.”

“Better to live until you die,” he said. “I am a warrior, so my way is action. I am a teacher, so I teach by example. Some day you may teach others as I have taught you — then you’ll understand that words are not enough; you, too, must teach by example what you’ve realized through experience.”

His laughter rang out in my memory. Then I remembered an incident in the station: I had been acting lethargic; Socrates suddenly grabbed me and shook me. “Wake up! If you knew for certain that you had a terminal illness — if you had little time left to live — you would waste precious little of it! Well, I’m telling you, Dan — you do have a terminal illness: It’s called birth. You don’t have more than a few years left. No one does! So be happy now, without reason — or you never will be at all.”

As I lay in the sun, I remembered peeling away the last layer of the onion in Soc’s office to see “who I was.” I remembered a character in a J. D. Salinger novel, who, upon seeing someone drink a glass of milk, said, “It was like pouring God into God, if you know what I mean.”

It was a ragged English translation of spiritual folktales. Flipping through the pages, I came upon a story about enlightenment: “Milarepa had searched everywhere for enlightenment, but could find no answer — until one day, he saw an old man walking slowly down a mountain path, carrying a heavy sack. Immediately, Milarepa sensed that this old man knew the secret he had been desperately seeking for many years. “‘Old man, please tell me what you know. What is enlightenment?’ “The old man smiled at him for a moment, and swung the heavy burden off his shoulders, and stood straight. “‘Yes, I see!’ cried Milarepa. ‘My everlasting gratitude. But please, one question more. What is after enlightenment?’ “Smiling again, the old man picked up the sack once again, slung it over his shoulders, steadied his burden, and continued on his way.”

“I have nothing to bring you, Socrates. I’m still lost — no closer to the gate than I was when we first met. I’ve failed you, and life has failed me; life has broken my heart.” He was jubilant. “Yes! Your heart has been broken, Dan — broken open to reveal the gate, shining within. It’s the only place you haven’t looked. Open your eyes, buffoon — you’ve almost arrived!”

From the start, I have shown you the way of the peaceful warrior, not the way to the peaceful warrior. As long as you tread the way, you are a warrior. These past eight years you have abandoned your “warriorship” so you could search for it. But the way is now; it always has been.” “So what do I do now? Where do I go from here?” “Who cares?” he yelled gleefully. “A fool is ‘happy’ when his cravings are satisfied. A warrior is happy without reason. That’s what makes happiness the ultimate discipline — above all else I have taught you. Happiness is not just something you feel — it is who you are.”

Act happy, be happy, without a reason in the world. Then you can love, and do what you will.”

“Feelings change, Dan. Sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy. But beneath it all remember the innate perfection of your life unfolding. That is the secret of unreasonable happiness.”

I didn’t speak much, but I laughed often, because every time I looked around — at the earth, the sky, the sun, the trees, the lakes, the streams — I realized that it was all Me — that no separation existed at all. All these years Dan Millman had grown up, struggling to “be a somebody.” Talk about backward! Dan had been a somebody in a fearful mind and a mortal body.

And so I awoke to reality, free of any meaning or any search. What could there possibly be to search for? All of Soc’s words had come alive with my death. This was the paradox of it all, the humor of it all, and the great change. All searches, all achievements, all goals, were equally enjoyable, and equally unnecessary. Energy coursed through my body. I overflowed with happiness and burst with laughter; it was the laugh of an unreasonably happy man.

I walked up University, then along Shattuck, passing through the streets like a happy phantom, the Buddha’s ghost. I wanted to whisper in people’s ears, “Wake up! Wake up! Soon the person you believe you are will die — so now, wake up and be content with this knowledge: There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor, and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life; just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else, too! It’s all the marvelous Play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don’t worry, you are already free!”

There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor, and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life; just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else, too! It’s all the marvelous Play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don’t worry, you are already free!”