Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

Dan returns to the gas station feeling fearful and excited. Socrates notes Dan’s return as a “turning point” for him, remarking that he is changing. Later, Socrates manipulates Dan’s concentration by placing his hands on his temples. Dan experiences a vision, and Socrates explains that he worked with his “energies” to free him from his “lifelong illusion of knowledge” (35).

Dan loses interest in his daily life, unable to concentrate on his academic studies or engage in relationships. However, he continues his rigorous training and feels fully energized in the gym. Days later, Dan’s team wins a championship and makes a glorious return to the university. Still, Dan is troubled by his thoughts.

Later, he visits the station and Socrates asks him if he is ready to embark on a journey. Dan protests that his life does not make sense anymore, and Socrates contends that he is helping him see through his own mind. He ties Dan to a chair and once again manipulates his focus into another vision. They are both transported to a stadium, where gymnasts perform. Dan observes the athletes and the audience, able to read their minds. As Dan awakens, Socrates sends him on another mental journey, this time around the world. Dan feels exposed to every human emotion and condition. He realizes that people seek “distraction and escape” from life’s mystery and the “dilemma of life and death” (42). Reality always contrasts with people’s dreams, and happiness seems unattainable. Dan concludes that people’s minds create their troubles (42). He awakens, stupefied by the experience.

During the night, Dan dreams of his own life course. Seeing himself as a child, then a student and athlete, followed by adulthood as a husband and father, Dan finally ends up old and alone. He is wondering where his life has gone when he awakens back at his apartment. Upset, he runs back to Socrates, who tells him that the future has endless possibilities depending on his own choices. He warns him that his journey will get more intense, and he will be tempted to give up, deceived by his illusions. Dan reassures him he can handle it.

Spring arrives, and Dan continues his lessons. Socrates tells him that he is “a prisoner of [his] own illusions” and needs to escape (49). He explains that the source of suffering is the mind, and entertainment, even gymnastics, is a distraction from anxiety and inner chaos. Socrates elaborates and says the mind is an “obstruction” and contrasts the more important concepts of “consciousness,” “awareness,” and “attention” (52). Dan wonders how he can be liberated from his mind, and Socrates suggests he should observe his reactions. Dan expresses his will to change, but Socrates considers even this an illusion.

On another visit to the gas station, Dan meets Joy, a young woman and one of Socrates’s students, and is “instantly love-struck.” Joy invites the men to a picnic, and Dan hopes to impress her with his physique. A sudden rainfall begins; Dan is upset, Socrates laughs at him, and Joy dances in the rain. Socrates notes that Dan should learn from discomfort rather than complaining about it.

The following days, Dan feels low. He returns to the gas station and finds Joy there. Again, Socrates stresses that Dan is a slave to his “mind’s moods and impulses” (57). Dan is angry about being critiqued in front of Joy and berates Socrates, calling him the cause of his torments. He vows to forget Socrates and focus on his studies and training. Soon, though, his depression deepens, and he has suicidal thoughts. He decides to pay Socrates a final visit. From a distance, he sees him talking and laughing with the station customers. Dan turns away sadly and collapses on the road. He awakens in an infirmary. Still thinking of suicide, he decides to see a psychiatrist but finds it impossible to explain his situation to the doctor and leaves.

Later, he returns to the gas station and finds Socrates alone. Socrates notices his condition but assures him he won’t die. He puts his hands on Dan’s head, inciting another vision. Dan finds himself in a hotel room, where a young college student named Donald is about to fall off the building. Socrates instructs Dan to stop him. Dan talks to Donald about the beauty of the mountains, saying that the young man looks healthy and has reasons to live. Donald insists, and Dan says he is going to jump with him. Finally, Donald dissolves into Dan’s figure, and Dan realizes he is looking at himself. He awakens and changes his mind. Socrates advises him to keep following his lessons. Dan asks about Joy, and Socrates says she will appear when the time is right.

Dan realizes his mind is causing his torment, and Socrates applauds this, advising him to develop his sense of humor. Later, Dan resolves to stalk Socrates and learn more about his personal life. He hides behind bushes close to the station and watches him. When his shift ends, Dan follows him to the university library. He disappears into the bathroom and awaits Dan in a stall, aware that he is being followed. Socrates reminds him of their roles as teacher and student. When Dan returns to the gym, he receives a note from Socrates telling him that his “spirit is growing” and he is “ready for the sword” (70).

Dan continues thinking about his mind. In the gym, he focuses on “every action” but when he is not training, his mind wanders and inhibits his “perception.” Socrates says that his inner distress reveals “a conflict with reality” (71). To explain his point, Socrates goes shirtless and teases the next customers, who drive away. He remarks that people cannot manage unforeseen events. He compares Dan’s mind to a pond with ripples, threatened by change and surprise. Socrates advises him to cultivate his “awareness” and stop taking his thoughts seriously, as life’s events have nothing to do with him. When Dan mentions that he has joined a meditation group, Socrates returns with a sword and starts meditating. Dan joins him but soon gets distracted. Socrates remarks that “[s]ilence is the warrior’s art […] and meditation is his sword” (74), explaining that Dan must learn how to meditate to change, though a warrior’s life includes more than meditation.

With Socrates’s help, Dan experiences another vision. He feels himself as the universe, as “consciousness” and “pure light,” one with everything that exists. His body floats into the cosmos and becomes free of every obstacle. Dan realizes that meditation, attention, and awareness mean to “surrender to the light of consciousness” (78). Awakening, Dan feels indebted to Socrates and believes he has completed the journey. Socrates laughs, explaining that Dan’s visions will fade. He gives him a card with the inscription “Warrior, Inc. Socrates, Prop. Specializing in: Paradox, Humor, and Change” (79) and tells him to call him in an emergency. He notes that “insight” and “surrender” are necessary to free one’s self from the mind. Finally, consciousness is already within the body, as death is only a change, not a permanent state.

The next night, Socrates tells a story of a Buddhist monk to illustrate the significance of attention. He explains that the ultimate purpose of meditation is to incorporate its insights and results into daily life. Dan questions the benefit of meditation; Socrates says that he is completely happy and prompts Dan to wonder if he feels the same.

Dan spends the summer training and visiting Socrates, and he often asks about Joy. He decides to visit his parents in Los Angeles, and before leaving, Socrates applauds his progress but warns that he will be “tested severely” before his journey ends.