The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, The Original Teachings in a Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition
by Carlos Castaneda
Book Summary Information
Author: Carlos CastanedaEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09-08
ISBN: 0520217578
Number of pages: 215
Publisher: University of California Press
Book Reviews of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, The Original Teachings in a Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition
Book Review: Enjoy With Care
Summary: 2 Stars
The difficulty in reviewing Carlos Castaneda's book lies in how to place it; neither in the quality of its language, nor in its contents does it come across as an academic tome - yet, it is introduced as a book of serious anthropology, a field with its own patois, little of which is found in Castaneda's book. The 30th anniversary edition (published by UC Press) categorizes the title under "Religion / Native American Studies / Mysticism," subject categories that seem correct because the integrity of the majority of popular works in them is held to a different scrutiny than those in the academic world proper. The Teachings of Don Juan has no bibliography, for example, despite the fact that there has surely been much anthropological work done about the spiritual practices and mythology of Mexican natives.
If we look at The Teachings of Don Juan as a parable encouraging readers to become more spiritual and outlining a way how, while not relying on the truthfulness of the narrative, it absolutely works. It would be similar if we considered Tuesdays with Morrie a fiction, the inspirational elements of the story would be no less potent. Likewise, had James Frey been forthright in revealing the truthfulness of A Million Little Pieces, the work would have been able to live on the merits of its work as quality fiction. With this, I do not mean to - with any kind of authority - say that Carlos Castaneda's book is a fiction, though my reading raises strong suspicions, which have been furthered by others more qualified both in their knowledge of Castaneda's canon, and his subject matter. What I put forth is that if his book is not taken as an anthropological tract, it doesn't reduce its status as inspirational spiritual work.
In tune with many books of the same sort - whether they fit into the category of spiritual volumes(The Four Agreements), business guides(The Go-Getter, Death by Meeting), or self-help(The Richest Man in Babylon) - the quality of the writing in The Teachings of Don Juan is mediocre; this is okay since these books are not meant to be read for their literary value, but their didactic potential. The writing is simplistic, and even the Structural Analysis, which I'm sure many readers forego, though denser, does not actually become overly complex.
Mirroring the lack of simplicity in the writing style, I found no lessons in The Teachings of Don Juan that struck me as particularly noteworthy. As a person who has read his fair share of self-help, and the occasional book about spirituality, I found many of the teachings Castaneda imparts to be rather ordinary; that is not to say they are wrong, just that the concept of "nonordinary reality" is not revolutionary in any sense. Perhaps in the forty years since it's publication, the cultural milieu surrounding hallucinogenics has lessened the intensity with which Castaneda's experiences are seen. Despite this fact, the most absorbing parts of the book where the descriptions of Castaneda's "trips". For the most part, the searches for unnamed plants and their subsequent mixing was too general to be instructive and too repetitive to be interesting. Some attention should be paid to Castaneda's conversations with Don Juan, but for a run-down of the lessons, it is much more useful to read the structural analysis. This way, the reader can avoid their maze of non-sequiturs, non-answers, and Castaneda's constant digging, most of which is unsuccessful since Don Juan dismisses and ignores question after question.
Seeing The Teachings of Don Juan correctly as a spiritual guide, I would place it in a notable place among its peers, but neither as a must-read nor a classic. While the beginning of Castaneda's journey is a good step if you are interested in continuing to read his books, likewise if you enjoy reading spiritual guides, The Teachings of Don Juan is well-regarded in those circles. However, if you desire an empirical study of Mexican shamanic culture or drug culture, I'm sure there are anthropological studies that have not raised the same controversy over their credibility as Castaneda's works have. Read those. To conclude, I would reiterate that spirituality is a topic which elicits many voices, the voice of Carlos Castaneda is one of them - it carries useful life lessons and can be inspiring, but does not exist in a vacuum.
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