Maria Jose Caraveo Guerrero

ESSAY #2 WHAT ARE THE TEACHINGS OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR?

This movie is about a gymnast named Dan, who is very good at gymnastics, however
he leads a life where his mind is full of trash and he doesn´t follow his own ideas, he
is afraid of failing and he has nightmares that don´t let him sleep.

Everything begins to change when he meets an old man who works at the gas
station, this is where many of the teachings of this movie begin.

One of the first things the old man teaches Dan is that knowledge is not the same
as wisdom, this happened because Dam was very sure of knowing that it was not
possible for the old man to climb to the roof so fast. He also taught him about the
purpose of life that is serve to others because Dan wondered why a wise man like
him worked at a gas station.

One of the teachings that made Dan want to follow the old man's advice was to get
the trash out of his head, the trash was all that kept him away from the things that
really mattered, and what really mattered was living that moment. He taught him to
realize what was going on around him and that there were no ordinary moments.

However, after a while Dan was getting worse in his gymnastics practice so he
abandoned the old man and went back to his old way of life, until his motorcycle
accident happened and the doctors put a metal bar on his leg. So he couldn't practice
gymnastics anymore, or so everyone thought.

After that, Dan returned to visit the old man and thought that now he would begin to
serve others because he thought he would not go back to gymnastics, however the
old man told him that he should return because a warrior does not give up what he
loves, he finds love in what he does. At first Dan got mad because he thought he
couldn't practice anymore but he knew that he loved gymnastics so he started
practicing with the old man.

After that, Dan could practice gymnastics again, his coach told him that he would not
go to the Olympics and he got very angry because he thought his purpose was gold,
however the old man taught him that anyway if people don't get what they want, they
Maria Jose Caraveo Guerrero

suffer. And even when they get exactly what they want, they still suffer because they
can't hold on to it forever.

Together they took a trip up mountains and Dan was disappointed because there
was nothing special when they reached their destination, but he learned that the
journey is what brings us happiness, not the destination.

In this way, Dan learned to do what he loved in the present, he went to the Olympics
living in the present, in that place and in that moment.