The Relationship Between Carlos Castaneda and Don Juan essays

The Relationship Between Carlos Castaneda and Don Juan essays Carlos Castaneda was interested in collecting and studying medicinal plants, especially the uses of the hallucinogenic cactus- peyote. A friend of his had put him in contact with Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian that knew a great deal of plants. Their introduction lead him to believe that don Juan was a man that could appreciate directness and (he) decided to boldly tackle him with a request (1). He wanted him to become his informant in exchange for some sort of monetary reward. Don Juan quickly refused any type of monetary reward. I think that he felt that there was no need for monetary reward because he said that perhaps there is nothing to learn about plants, because there is nothing to say about them (6). It was unthinkable for him to take his money. Don Juan said to Carlos you can ask me anything you want. I will tell you what I know and I will tell you what to do with it (6). The teacher-student contract in the first several chapters of Journey to Ixtlan is one of an even exchange more specifically an exchange of times. Don Juan doesnt want money; he told Carlos pay me for my time... with your time (5). By exchanging times they are both at an equal level. Neither one is better than the other because they are on the same page. Exchanging money for knowledge implies that one person is better than the other either on a social scale or on an intellectual scale and the exchange is not even. Furthermore, by exchanging times, there are no expectations and there is an ambience of lesser constraints and more can come out of the experience. Carlos Castaneda expects to learn about medicinal plants, especially peyote from don Juan. After all, that was the purpose in approaching him. However, this is not the case. Thus far, all of his encounters with don Juan have involved something else other than plants except for the incident in the dessert where he is prompted to t...