B&WDreams

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Gurdjieff teaches a lesson

One of the hidden delights of becoming acquainted with the works of George Gurdjieff is coming across fascinating stories in the autobiographies of those who actually knew him and were his students. One such lucky guy was the author Fritz Peters, who, as a young boy, between 1924 and 1927, went to live at Gurdjieff's Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man at Fontainebleau, France. His book, "Boyhood with Gurdjieff", can be found at this link, http://www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/30books/fourth.php ,and here is one of my favorite tales of Gurdjieff's sense of humor and his uncanny approach to teaching many of life's lessons:

He had asked Gurdjieff to teach him a lesson, so they went for a drive one hot afternoon. They parked a hundred yards or so from where a group of men were laying a stone water ditch:

"Their work consisted in bringing stones from either one of two large piles at the side of the road, carrying them to the unfinished section of the ditch, where other men were placing them in the dirt. We watched them silently,while Gurdjieff drank coffee and smoked, but said nothing to me. After a long time, at least half an hour, I asked him when the lesson would begin.

He looked at me with a tolerant smile. 'Lesson begin at ten o'clock', he said. 'What you see? Notice anything?' I said that I had been watching the men, and that the only unusual thing that I had noticed was that one of the men always went to the pile that was the furthest from the actual work.

'Why you think he do this?'

I said I didn't know but that he seemed to be making work for himself because he had to carry the heavy stones further each time. He could just as easily have gone to the nearer pile of rock.

'Is true,' Gurdjieff then said, 'but must always look at all sides before make judgment. This man also have pleasant short promenade in shade along road when he return for next stone. Also, he not stupid. In one day he not carry so many stones. Always logical reason why people do thing certain way; necessary find all possible reasons before judge people'".

I have more. Later.

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