Twenty days

Mytheyma of Nynevekh

ENON I

I will tell you about what happened without lying. Yes, I will say about it as about a particle of great work – for this was with me and it is open to those who see. One day they said in the baon, «Here is the message: a wise Teacher who is stronger than a hundred of soldiers, known to everyone, is now nearby.» And men, taking the spears, went to him; I followed them, hiding. Finding him, they drove their spears into the ground near his shelter, saying, «Let there be nothing for you but peace.» I was hiding nearby, and lay among the stones, rubbing my face and hair with dust. The teacher came out to them and asked, «What do you need, people?» They answered, «We want food – the best one that is not found anywhere else but here.» He said, «It’s true, there is no living thing without food; but are you that hungry to ask for it here?»; they answered, «We ask, as we are hungry,» and fell to their knees. And the Teacher was silent for a long time, looking at those bowed in silence. And after a long time, he said, «There is a woman there; call her.» He pointed in my direction. I got scared, and pressed my face to the stones, and cut it to blood. One of the men approached and shouted at me and said, «If we saw you, we would banish you; now, despicable one, get up and go to the judgment of the Teacher.» I got up and walked, trembling with fear. When I approached the Teacher, he told me, «These people brought peace: accept it as well.» And then the one who called me said, «Teacher, won’t you punish or at least banish her? She is despicable because she is a barren woman; her husband banished her out of the baon, and she lives alone, like a vile beast. It is not good for anyone to endure her next to him – should you not know this, the wise one?» Then the Teacher asked him, «Why did you lie to me?»; he said in amazement, «Could I lie to you?» The teacher said, «You said you want peace for me; but I see that you have brought enmity with you. And the second time you lied, saying that this woman was despicable. And the third time you lied, calling me a Teacher, – for one cannot doubt the correctness of the actions of the one from whom he wishes to learn the proper behavior.» Then that man again fell on his knees and bowed, saying, «Banish her, please!»; and others did the same. And the Teacher said, «I will not banish her – for if I banish her, then who will be the first among you?» They were silent; then one of them said, «She cannot be near us; do something, the wise!» And the Teacher said, «Go away.» And they left, taking their spears. Then I asked, «Teacher, how could you do this?», and he replied, «How can you be like them?» I fell on my knees before him, saying, «Forgive me: I don’t know why I came.» He said, «Rejoice, for otherwise, you would not have come; but I know why you are here.» I said, «Tell me, what should I do?» He replied, «Go to your dwelling, and tomorrow come here again.» And I returned to my dwelling, and there I offered praise to the gods and poured blood into the hearth for them.

ENON II

The next day I went to the Teacher and did not find him in his shelter. And I thought that maybe people from the baon came at night to kill him, and he escaped. And I began to look for traces; and could not find them. I entered the shelter and made a fire to give blood to the gods, so I could ask them for the Teacher. And when I made the fire, Teacher came and threw a handful of earth into it. He told me, «I know why you made the fire: but leave it alone. You did not come to them, and not with them; and you cannot give them anything, and you cannot take anything from them. Now there is you; they have gone where your breath goes.» Then I told him, «Then you take my blood, Teacher», and he replied, «Let it be so.» And he said, «Now it is mine; and I want your body to keep it in itself for me.» Then we went outside, and I said, «Teacher, who am I now?»; then he said, «The flesh fed by blood belongs to it: so, you are my flesh now. Tell me: where is the land of your gods?» I said, «There isn’t any; and where it was, I don’t know.» Then the Teacher took a knife and cut my arm and poured some of my blood on the ground, saying, «This is what once belonged to me.» Then he took a handful of dry earth and poured some more of my blood into it; after that, he cut his hand and poured out his blood there. And then he asked, «Can this be separated?»; and I answered, «No.» And he said, «A man is earth, – for nothing comes from the earth except earth. And you cannot separate earth so that you can say, «Here is one earth, and here is another.» And you are now my flesh, as you were before before I came here.» Then I said, «Now I know why I have come to you: truly, I called myself»; and he said, «Indeed.» And he said, «So you found yourself; rejoice»; I said, «There is nothing better!.» Then he gave me his food, and I ate it. Then the Teacher said, «Take things from your shelter, which are not in this shelter, for you will live here»; and I did. Then the Teacher removed the old fire from his shelter and made a new one. And then he said, «Go to the baon and call people to come and live with us.» And I went to the baon; and when I came, I said, «The Teacher is calling for you to come and live with him and with me.» People said, «Is it possible to live in filth – where you are?» And they said, «The Teacher laughs at us when he calls us; and he insulted us when he told you to come here.» Saying this, the women threw dirt and excrement at me, and the men beat me with the handles of their spears. Nobody followed me, and I returned to the Teacher alone. And he washed me himself, and rubbed me with a decoction, and gave me another decoction to drink, saying, «Everything that is needed is ready, for I was preparing.» He said, «And you knew, and I knew what would happen if you went to the baon. But if you hadn’t gone there, I would have banished you away from me. But you didn’t know that; why did you go there?» I replied, «I called myself there.» And he said, «If they did not despise you, there would be no one to go to them, and there would be no need to call them here.» He also said, «If I tell you to go and call them again, will you go?»; and I said, «I do not need a command, but permission, for I want to go there again.» And then he told me, «Sleep well.»

ENON III

The next day I told the Teacher, «Let me go to the baon»; he answered, «I will go there myself.» And he went there; I was waiting for him, fearing that he would be insulted or maimed in the baon. When he returned, I asked him, «What happened to you, Teacher?» He said, «I came to people and called them to teach them. They said, «He who permits obscenity cannot be a good teacher.» I told them, «You did not understand my first lesson, but it is: an innocent should not be punished. And my second lesson is: the one who does not want to learn, should not lie by telling that he wants to.» They also said, «Don’t we know what kind of Teacher we need? We know what we should learn. Go away, we do not choose you as our Teacher.» And I told them, «Then you should teach each other: you do not need another Teacher.» Having said this, I left them.» I asked him, «Teacher, what are you going to do with them now?» He replied, «I will wait to see if any of them will come here.» And I said, «Won’t you banish them, as you did once?» He replied, «It was a lesson that they did not understand because they did not want to learn; the one who wants to learn, I will not banish.» After that, we took food that we had and ate it; and then I said, «Teacher, what should we do to avoid starving?» He answered, «Hunger is one of the least troubles; but in order not to starve, go and get food as you did before.» Then I went and picked some roots, and tubers, and stems, and I also found some fruits and bird eggs in the forest, and I took some shells from the river. And I brought all these to the Teacher; he said, «Good.» Later I said, «Teacher, you don’t know my name.» Then he went and took the fruits and said, «This should be your name; but the one you are having now – why do you need it?» I said, «My mother gave it to me; what is it now? « He said, «Your mother did not give birth to a person with a name, but a name with a person: this is bad.» I said, «There is no person without a name because you cannot be nameless.» He said, «I don’t know your name, and I don’t need it; they know it in the baon: why are you here and not there?» I was silent, and he said, «You are not in the name; and not in the dwelling where you were born; and not in the land where you live.» And I asked, «Teacher, where am I then?» He answered, «You are in the one to whom you have done good, and in the one who has done good to you, and in your children.» I said, «I have no children, and I will not have them.» Then he said, «Can the earth not have fruits?» And I asked him, «If the gods have no power, then who will heal me?» He replied, «Something that has power over the gods.» I asked, «What is this?»; and he replied, «Something that lives and gives life.» I asked, «What is it?”; and he replied, «This is Life itself, and nothing except it, – as there is nothing apart from it.»

ENON IV

The next day the Teacher told me, «Among those who live here, you alone saw me. I know: you have lost yourself, and therefore nothing has blocked me from your mind. But now you are not what you were three days ago; what will you do now: will you leave, or will you stay?» Then I asked him, «What now, Teacher?» He said, «You are healed now, although you do not know it; and if you find a man who will become your husband, you will have children.» And then I fell on my knees before him and asked, «Teacher, what can I do for you?» He lifted me and said, «I don’t need any reward» And then I told him, «Teacher, will you become a father of my child?» He answered, «I helped you to be healed, and therefore a part of my essence is already a father of your future children: no more is needed. Answer me: will you leave me, or will you stay?» Then I said, «I can’t leave.» The teacher said, «Go to the baon and tell them about your healing.» And I went and told them, «I am healed.» They said, «If so, then we see why he left you next to him.» And I told them, «Come with me to the Teacher.» They answered, «We do not know if it is true that you are healed. First, give birth to a child; then come and live in the baon, and let the Teacher come.» I went back to the Teacher and told him about it; he said, «There are many baons in the land of Shgha. I came from one of them. I am honored there; do you want me to take you there? There you will be accepted, and nothing but good will be done to you.» Then I said, «If you command, then let it be so; otherwise I want to stay where you are.» He answered me, «There you will find me – but not in the flesh. But you do not see me clearly even now yet – and therefore let it be as you want. But think again and decide what you will do.» And he said, «Now it’s daytime, but the sunset is near; think before tomorrow’s sunset, and then tell me what you will do.» Having said that, he left the shelter, leaving me alone.

ENON V

The next day before the sunset the Teacher returned. And he asked me, «What have you decided?» I answered, «I will be with you.» Then he said, «I will tell you what I am and what you will become.» And he said, «A man is a spear flying to a target. But a man cannot be alone: if he is a man, then he is everybody. He is a spear thrown by those for whom Life is only one of the arms. It is eternal and omnipresent and has all the fullness of knowledge, power, and love. It has four arms: and he who does something does it with one of its arms. Thus, they generate and preserve, do and improve, fight and protect, cognize and give. It dwells in a great dwelling, beyond which there is endless unknown space. Together with it dwell its brothers, whose arms are intertwined with his arms. Now it is immersed into sleep, and in sleep fertilizes itself: thus, worlds are born in its body. These worlds have power over themselves while it sleeps; and they have the power to generate and cultivate good and evil in themselves. And if they cultivate good in themselves, then the one which created them will awake wiser and stronger than it was before. If they cultivate evil in themselves, then the one which created them will not awake until the time when evil is replaced by good. But there is only one day for this sleep; and if it wakes up when this day changes to night, madness will overwhelm it. Then it will tear itself to pieces, and its brothers will devour its remains to turn the old mortal good into the new one – immortal. For the madness not to destroy the one which created the worlds, there are collectors, protectors, and multipliers of Wisdom in the worlds. Among them, people are one of many. But before doing such great work, they must find themselves, for otherwise there will be no one to do it. For this, there are those who know, whose knowledge is like a river flowing from a distant source. They show people what exists so that madness does not arise in them. I am one of the knowers; you see me in front of you – and this is the first thing that is revealed to you from existing.» This is what he said; I said, «Tell me what to do.» And he replied, «Do not deceive me.» And I said, «I will not deceive – for I cannot kill.» Then the Teacher said, «Here I have found something precious.»

ENON VI

The next day, the Teacher told me about the existence. He said, «The world is what it is. If you see it differently, then it means that you are not what you should be. The whole world is earth and what came from it is also the earth. A man and every other creature are filled with life because the earth from which they originated is filled with it. The living does not give birth to the dead: therefore, everything lives. Even a stone is a living thing. Everything has its place, and the life of one does not interfere with the life of another. And the earth from which everything came is not someone’s eternal possession. It takes shape and crumbles again and mixes and takes shape again. Therefore, the earth from which you are molded contains the earth of the whole world. The world lives according to its habitude, and you live according to its habitude, for this is the habitude of the earth from which you are molded. This is how everything exists. This habitude cannot be changed, for the four arms of the strongest hold it. Everything is earth, even the water that feeds the soil. The name of this earth is the Black Earth. It draws life from warmth. The warmth is contained in the Red Earth, which is invisibly mixed with the Black Earth. In every grain of the Black Earth, there is a grain of the Red Earth. You will see it in fire, because in it the Black Earth is crumbling, and the Red Earth shows its appearance to the eye for a moment. The Red Earth is dangerous if it is devoid of clothing from the Black Earth, for then it looks for another clothing for itself; then the outer and inner of the Red Earth of the Black Earth fight, and the Black Earth is torn to pieces by them. The Red Earth draws life from light. It is contained in the White Earth, the grain of which is always contained in the grain of the Red Earth. This light is the arbiter of the habitude according to which the world lives, for the White Earth is held in four arms of the strongest. The White Earth cannot be seen with eyes molded from the Black or the Red Earth. Only the White Earth can see itself. There is nothing better than seeing the White Earth. For this you need to become it; and to become it, you need to fulfill its habitude, which is the true habitude of both the Red and the Black Earths. The fulfillment of this habitude is good. And if every creature fulfills its habitude, the good will reign everywhere. Then the Four-Armed One will wake up wiser, better, and stronger than it was before. Then its life will continue,» the Teacher told me.

ENON VII

The next day, I asked the Teacher, «Teacher, what should I do?» He replied, «I told you.» I said, «Teacher, instruct me clearly, – for I have never heard any speeches like yours; and what you teach is not clear to me.» He said, «There are fruits that are not like fruits: but the bird knows them and saves its life with them. There is no need to hold such a fruit over a fire to make it better: it will only become poisonous.» I was silent; he said, «If there is a hill, then to climb it, your legs are enough for you.» I said, «Am I right in thinking that everything you told me is simple?» The teacher said, «No, it is not true, – because what I told you about is even simpler than you think.» He also said, «When there is food, you eat it.» Then I fell on my knees before him; he told me to get up. And he told me, «I know that you understand me.» He also said, «Gratitude is not in worshiping. This language can lie, but the language of gratitude itself does not lie: therefore, it is better to be silent when you are grateful.» Then I covered my mouth with my hand; The teacher laughed when he saw this. He said, «Truly, a jewel!» After that we went to get food and gathered fruits and leaves. When we returned, the Teacher said, «This is the food you have gathered; but I won’t let you eat it.» Then he asked me, «Is there a place around here where there are dangerous animals?» And I answered, «Yes, Teacher.» Then he said, «Take off your clothes and leave: I don’t want you to come back here. Go to the place where dangerous animals are to die there – for you are no longer needed the way you are.» And I stood before him; then I took off my clothes and told him, «Forgive me, Teacher, for I do not want to die guilty.» He said, «You are innocent before me, and therefore my lips cannot utter forgiveness.» And I left, tearing my face with my nails. Towards evening, I came to the forest ravine where predators ruled. And I lay on my back and closed my eyes expecting death. I was laying; and soon the night fell. And I heard the voices of beasts, and I cried, shuddering with fear.

ENON VIII

The next day I was weak, because I did not sleep, and fear took my strength. And when dawn came, I was surprised that I was alive. I was laying and was afraid to get up because I thought that now I would die from this. After a while, I heard Teacher’s voice and saw that he was standing next to me. He told me, «Get up»; and I stood up, grabbing his clothes. Then he said, «Speak»; and I told him, «Teacher, you see me.» And I said, «The beasts did not touch me; I don’t know whether to rejoice, or something bad and wrong has happened.» The teacher said, «Rejoice.» Then he said, «There are deaths that should not be grieved over — but there are no births that should not be rejoiced over.» I asked him, «Was I born?»; and he answered, «The world was fertilized by you, and you were born.» He said, «Predators toned the former you to pieces; you, having overcome death, were born again.» I said, «Teacher, I don’t know how to praise you even in my mind.» He told me to follow him; and I walked staggering and stumbling. By noon he led me out of the thicket and brought me to the river; I drank from it. Then he took me up a hill and there he gave me food. I asked him, «What about the predators, Teacher?»; he replied, «I followed you, and at night I was beside you.» And I didn’t know what to say to him, and I just cried. He lay down and told me to lie down and put my head on his chest. And I did it, and so I fell asleep. I woke up before sunset; then the Teacher stood up and gave me my clothes. Then we went and took a long time to pick up wood for the fire; when there was enough, it was already night. The Teacher told me to prepare wood for the fire; and when I did, he blew on the branches and they caught fire. And we ate and then slept by the fire.

ENON IX

The next day, the Teacher said, «The one who does not want evil is not afraid. Whoever desires good, should desire good, equal to the world. It is impossible to wish good only for yourself or just one person, or for one nation, or for one day, or one time. Good is like a person: it is powerless if it has no arms, defenseless if it has no eyes, and dead if it has no heart. Therefore, it is strong and immortal only when it is not mutilated. Everyone who desires such good is not subject to evil. The more good you desire, the less you are afraid and the more you can. The real good lives according to the habitude of the world – and this habitude maintains itself. That night, I was beside you and asked the predators not to touch you. There is no enmity; they could not fail to fulfill my request, for we have one habitude, and they honor the mind that observes it. The habitude of the world creating and nourishing its creatures feeds itself; therefore, when you see a certain creature, tell it, «We have the same habitude, and I am you; give me your force, and take mine in return.» And it will give you its force without touching you, and you will also give it yours. And then you will become stronger – for two different forces of one habitude, merging, give rise to a third force, much greater than each of them and both of them taken together. Turn in this way to an animal, a tree, a stone, water, fire, wind, or anything else that exists, and so it will be. But not everyone who says this will get it, for words can be false. It happens that someone believes the words of his language more than the words of his feelings. Such a person rejects the habitude of the world, but says otherwise, believing his lie; and he will receive nothing, and he will not be able to do anything – but he will think that the world has deceived him with a deceitful habitude. If someone sees that something in the world maliciously wants to hurt him, he sees his malice – and takes it for someone else’s. He who does not know the habitude of the world does not know that it is he who goes against this good habitude and that it is he who harms, from which he suffers. But the creatures of the world do not wish evil to anyone, for the habitude of the world knows no evil. There is nothing bad around you – and what seems bad to you is not really like that. It is difficult to learn not to do evil; but it is even more difficult to learn not to wish evil. It is even more difficult to learn to recognize whether you are deceiving yourself into thinking that you do not wish evil. An animal sees in you what you do not see in yourself, and it knows better than you whether you wish it harm or not. And the world knows better than you what you can. Therefore, be careful, because most often those who deceive themselves die. Learn, without deceiving yourself, to wish good equal to the world. There is no small good that is separate from the greatest good. If you wish good equal to the world, then you wish good for yourself; if you wish good only for yourself, it means that you are deceiving yourself, not knowing what good is. Do not wish to save yourself from death, but the Four-Armed One, for if it does not perish, then you will not perish either; if you are saved, and it perishes, then you and everyone else will perish with it. The one who cares only for himself and does not want to die for the great good is a murderer, and he is a dead man. Every creature knows whether you are following the habitude, and knows whether you wish good only for yourself, or for everything, and therefore for it. I tell you this because I know that you will understand me», said the Teacher. And I told him, «Teacher, it’s hard for me.» He replied, «Be patient, because dying is always scary, and being born is always painful.»

ENON X

The next day the Teacher said, «There is no creature more dangerous than a man, and there is no creature better than him. You are a human being, and you know that there is both good and bad in you. There is more good in a person than bad, for he is the earth, in which one grain of good is heavier than a mountain of evil.» I said, «Teacher, I don’t know how this can be.» He answered, «It is.» And he said, «Whether you know or don’t know, this will not make a river flow back.» I said, «What is good?» He replied, «Good is good. There is a habitude of the world: he who follows it does good. A man is made to follow it. This habitude is that holds the earth, from which a man is molded so that it does not crumble. And the one who, following the habitude, preserved a man, created him. It’s the same with every other creature.» And I said, «Teacher, are there any people who follow the habitude? It is difficult for a person to recognize what is good and what is bad.» He told me, «You, barren woman, were banished from the baon, and I healed you. You see that one who follows the habitude is stronger than many who do not. Likewise, the one who knows the habitude can teach all those who do not know it. And to learn the habitude of the world, you need to look at the world. A man is the guardian of the habitude; and he is created so that he can recognize it to keep it.» I asked, «Teacher, will I recognize the habitude?»; he answered, «You will.» And he said, «Now I am telling you about the habitude; and before you know what it teaches and begins to follow it, learn to observe the knowledge of the habitude. And in doing so, you will already observe it. Its essence is to preserve life and multiply it. Life is like a person: it grows up and gains intelligence and strength. This is how life should be cultivated. This is the blessing.» And I said, «Then the habitude of the world teaches to take care of life.» The teacher said, «You have understood.»

ENON XI

The next day, the Teacher said, «To preserve life, one must not wish it death.» And he said, «Not to wish bad is to wish good; it cannot be otherwise, for there is no non-creation in the world. And if you desire good, then you do it; if you do not wish it, then you wish evil. Do not wish evil because there is nothing in the world that deserves it.» I said, «But there are bad things.» The teacher replied, «Everything in the world is bad for one who does not know what is good. But it also has many faces; and among them, there are scary ones. Evil itself is the most terrible of them for those who do not know, but beautiful – for those who know. And evil does not deserve evil; but the good addressed to it can be cruel.» I told him, «Teacher, I cannot see this»; he answered, «All blindness is curable.» Then he said, «Go and gather food: but just as much as you need to be satisfied – no more and no less.» And I went and gathered some food; when I brought it, the Teacher said, «Eat until you are full.» I ate, and some was left; then I said, «I am no longer hungry, but I will eat it easily.» The teacher said, «You have done evil. You took more from the world than you needed; and although you can easily eat the rest, it will die in you. So, you killed a piece of the world.» I said, «Then you eat what is left.» The teacher replied, «You cannot right the evil that has been done: after all, this food was not intended for me. If you gathered less than enough, it would also be evil, because then a piece of the world in you would suffer. You see that it is impossible to do good without knowing its measure. This measure is in you, but you do not know it, and you know the other even less; therefore, to do good, one must know. And therefore, to perceive means to do good.» I said, «It means that he who does not learn is doing evil, and cannot do otherwise.» And the Teacher said, «Yes, it’s true; and among those who do not know, but see this, there is no one to distinguish between evil and good. And they take evil for good, and good for evil, and thus aggravate ignorance. To protect yourself from greater evil, act in favor of the world, not yourself. It is better not to satisfy your hunger to the end than to take the excess from the world. If you don’t see measures in something, do like this. And if you see that someone else needs food or clothing more than you, or needs it in the same way, give it to him. And if you see that someone is dying, replace him with yourself.» Then I said, «Teacher, you are saying something terrible!» He told me, «In order not to be afraid of something terrible, you must first see it. Are you afraid to know?» I answered him, «I am afraid of myself – for what I learn, I will do.» Then the Teacher told me, «If you are like that, then you will not be afraid of yourself.» And he said, «When you know the measure of yourself, then the measure of fear will turn into a measure of courage. Then the measure of the deed will not be beyond your strength.»

ENON XII

The next day, the Teacher left; I was alone. And I didn’t know what he would do, and I didn’t know what I should do. I went to get some food; returning, I met a man from the baon. He told me, «I don’t know what to do: should I greet you, or should I hit you?» I answered him, «Do not do either one or the other, for you do not know me.» He said, «You are Nyneweh»; I replied, «I am dead.» Then he hit me in the thigh with a spear; when he saw blood, he dipped his hand in it and tasted it, and then he told me, «You are lying or crazy.» I got scared and asked him to leave me; he took a part of his catch and gave it to me, saying, «Give this meat to the Teacher: let him eat.» Then he left; and I left that place, and returned to the hill carrying food. The Teacher was there; and I gave him food and told him what had happened. Then he stopped my blood, and divided the food, taking some meat for himself; he lit a fire and told me to roast the remaining meat. I roasted it and gave it to the Teacher, and he said, «Eat»; I answered, «It is given to you, Teacher.» He said, «I took it and gave it to you: didn’t you see this?»; then I began to eat this meat; The teacher ate his raw meat. I told him, «Teacher, this is bad! «; he replied, «It is bad for you, for you are still a baby.» And he said, «The world is not at enmity with me; I honor it as a man and as a beast. There are few like me who have two minds.» I asked him, «Teacher, tell me what I need and what will happen to me.» And he said, «Preserve and increase what I give you, – for if I don’t know what is good for you, then I am not here, and you are insane. There is no need for you to know what will be, as it will happen only if you wish it. Now look at the present; and if you cannot see it, you will not see yourself either.» Having said so, he blew out the fire and left; I stayed. And I understood what he told me to do; then I sat down, closed my eyes, and began to sing about what happened to me these days. I sang about the Teacher, and the Four-armed, and about the world. And when the song had no food left, I sang about the same thing again.

ENON XIII

The next day, the Teacher returned and told me, «Your song was good.» I said, «Teacher, you were not with me.» He said, «How can I not be with you? You didn’t see me in the forest that night you died; but then I was beside you with flesh and breath – and now the breath is enough. You want me to be with you – and therefore your breath is merged with mine.» I asked him, «Teacher, did I sing correctly?”; he answered, «You did the right thing when you sang.» And he also said, «You sang not the truth and not a lie, but yourself; and so you gave birth to yourself again.» Then I asked him, «Is it possible to be born many times?» He said, «One cannot but be born many times. He who was born only once does not live a real life.» Then I said, «So, only birth is life, and only the one who gives birth cares about life.» The Teacher smiled and said, «There are few like you here.» I answered, «Apart from you, Teacher, there are no people like you here.» And I asked him, «Why did you accept me, and not another person, and let me be with you?» He replied, «Have I accepted you? It was you who accepted me and allowed me to be with you.» And I didn’t know what to say; and then she asked, «How is it possible, Teacher?» He replied, «You have allowed yourself to taste something other than what you have eaten until now. And if you had not given yourself what you take from me, I could not have given you anything.» Then I told him, «Teacher, this means that you have done me twice as much good as I sang in my song because you do both the good that you do yourself and that I do.» And the Teacher said, «Now you have seen a lot.» I said, «Now I will sing a new song, better than the old one.» The Teacher said, «Only a better man than he was before can sing a better song.» Then I asked, «So, should I sing?»; and the Teacher said, «Sing.» And I sang. And I fell silent only in the darkness of the night, for the song was long. When I was silent, the Teacher said, «There hasn’t been a better song in this land. Do you see that even darkness has come to listen to it? In gratitude, the night will guard your peace; sleep, – for sleep wants to listen to your song.» I said, «Teacher, if I sleep, I won’t be able to sing”; he said, «You gave birth to a song – and now it will sing you.» I was delighted and said, «Then I did good.» He replied, «Rejoice.» And I lay down, rejoicing, and after a while fell asleep; The teacher was sitting next to me.

ENON XIV

The next day the Teacher asked me, «What do you want to know?”; I asked, «Tell me about the gods.» And he said, «Gods are everywhere.» He said, «The gods are the inhabitants of the Red Earth, from which they are molded. And as the Red Earth is in the Black Earth, so the gods are in everything that is molded from the Black Earth. Each of them commands his possession: with its flesh, or deed, or desire. And each of them does only its work, not at enmity with others; therefore, there is no enmity between them, but only peace and good. There is nothing stronger than the work of the gods – for each of them manages its life for them.» I asked, «How can I worship them and what should I sacrifice to them to get help from them?» The Teacher replied, «Each of them only minds its work, and cannot do other work. People, however, do not know the work of the gods, and therefore they ask the gods for what they cannot. If someone knows the work of the gods, then he sees that there is no need to ask anything from them, for the gods are already doing what is necessary.» Then I asked, «Teacher, is it necessary to know about the gods?» He replied, «Remember them, for they are. By remembering them and their work, by rejoicing and desiring it to be accomplished, you give them your help and food with your life; other than that, they don’t need anything. They do only good: therefore, in this way, you help them do it. So, you give good to the world, and the world – to you.» I said, «Teacher, I don’t know the world where the gods are like that.» The teacher replied, «You were born in the world – and it became different.» I said, «How great you are, seeing the change of the worlds!» And then I understood who my Teacher was and told him, «Nobody but you, Teacher, allowed me to be born. How great you are, creating better worlds with your word!» And I said, «My mind has seen you, and it is blinded; Teacher, I’m losing my mind.» The teacher said, «The one who can see is weak without light, but the light hurts a blind man who has seen it. You will not go mad, for you have comprehended what you have comprehended; this is how your mind tells you that a good thing has happened.» Then he told me, «Let’s go so that your mind can see what exists.» And we went and walked among the hills, thickets, and waters, and watched until night fell.

ENON XV

The next day, the Teacher said, «A man is good for another man. Where the gods cannot help a person, another person can help him. Everything in the world is good; but a person cannot leave people even for the best. His main aim is caring for people. He who does not love people and does not care for their welfare is the most unfortunate of all, for he has lost himself. And the one who loves everyone but one, and cares for everyone except one, is the same. If there is only one person next to you, and there is nobody else, and you love him and take care of him, then you are the same for others.» I said, «You are like that, Teacher.» He answered, «Are you not like that? Are you at enmity with me, and won’t you do me good?» Then I said, «Teacher, are all the people of my baon in you?» He replied, «If I am not, and you love them, then they are in me.» I said, «Then you are with me when you are not near me.» And the Teacher said, «Yes, that’s right.» And he said, «So you will not lose anyone, – for if a person is near you and you love him, then it will always be so.» Then he said, «Look around and you will see that you are dwelling in the world. The world has given birth to a man, and cares about him, nourishing him with itself. Remember that if you love people and care about them, but do not love the world and do not care about it, then you are an enemy to people. It is difficult to know the measure between the world and a man, but without it, you cannot distinguish between benefit and harm.» Then I asked the Teacher, «What should a person do if he does not know the measure? «; he answered, «Look for it; and let him remember that the world knows measure better than a man, for the world has given birth to a man through it.» Then I asked him, «Teacher, do you know the measure?» He replied, «I know a lot that you do not know, the world knows a lot that is unknown to me; so, it is with the measure.» Then we went to the river and bathed and took food; when we returned, we ate it. And the Teacher said, «No one can harm a person except a person; but a person can also save him from this evil. And a man can save the world from the evil done by a man. A person can know what is good and what is evil; but if he knows, then let him teach the ignorant. You can speak; the world has endowed you with this skill so that you can do good, something beyond your hands. What could be better than doing good and teaching good?» I said, «So, by teaching me, you command me to teach others.» He said, «When you do not command yourself, then no one commands you; but you don’t command yourself if you don’t want to.» And I said, «I cannot but want because I know what I want.» Then the Teacher laughed and said, «Here is the one who will not be his enemy.» I asked, «Is it possible to be your enemy?» The Teacher answered, «The one who is an enemy of one is an enemy of all; whoever is an enemy to everyone is an enemy to himself.» I said, «Teacher, you saved me from the terrible.» He said, «You don’t know how awful it is what I’m trying to save you from.» Then he told me to be silent; and that day we said nothing more.

ENON XVI

The next day the Teacher asked me, «Do you want to return to the baon?» I replied, «I do, Teacher, because my people are there.» He said, «Do you know that you have become worse for them than before? The world is different for you and them; and your words have changed; and they did not see that you were healed.» Then I asked, «What should I do?»; he answered, «Follow me.» And we took food and went. And when we had gone far, we sat down and ate food; then I asked the Teacher, «Teacher, what will you do? If we go further, we will come to the baon closest to my baon. He replied, «We are going there; Didn’t I tell you that they honor me there? « And we went on; and entered the baon almost in the evening. And people, seeing the Teacher, approached him, rejoicing, and he greeted them, calling their names. And he said, «Let those who honor me come to me.» Then all people came to him, and they took their children with them. The teacher told them, «I know, and you know, that there are those among you who wanted to leave the baon and go with me; but I told them to stay. Now I call them; they ought to go where they ought to be, but not with me. This woman is from the nearest baon; she will not be there, and she will not be here. I know and I tell you that the time has come for a good deed. Let those of you who want to come out of their baon, and let them build new dwellings so that there is a new baon between the two old ones. Those who honor me know it will be good.» One of the people said, «It has never happened and no one has done it before.» The teacher answered, «Why then did you come to me, and why don’t you banish me of the baon?» Then several men came out, and with them – their women and children, saying, «Let’s go where you tell us.» And the Teacher told them, «Do what you should do here; two days later, go to the place where the hills are between the river and the ravine, beyond which there is a forest, and where many stones have the color of blood.» Then one of the people said, «That is a bad place, Teacher, and our children should not be there.» The teacher said, «If it were not within your power to turn a bad place into a good one, I would not come to you today. Nothing bad will happen nor with those who know that I am not doing evil, nor with their children.» Then the Teacher entered one of the dwellings, and I entered the other. There I was given food, and there I slept.

ENON XVII

The next day, the Teacher came for me at dawn, and we went back. And when we sat down on the way to eat the food given to us, I asked, «Where are we going, Teacher?» He replied, «To the former place, – for the new is not yet waiting for us.» And we returned to the hill; and there the Teacher made a fire. And he told me, «I called them for your sake; and you are that person who is good for them. If you are not with them, they will forget me; if they are not with you, then you will be alone, and so you will die, having lived your years. Indeed, you are the best for them; and your mind is the greatest among people of your baon and their baon. Therefore, they will obey your word.» Then I got scared and said, «Teacher, it cannot be that men obey a woman.» He answered, «They obey the knowledgeable and the good, for in this there is no difference between a man and a woman. And is it good not to obey a knowledgeable woman, when even one who does not have knowledge can give birth to a man himself? « And I didn’t know what to say; The teacher told me to listen to him and told me a lot. He spoke to me about people and taught me how to recognize the stupid and the bad among them. And he said how a man should live with a woman. And he spoke about how to teach children kindness. And he said how to live in a baon; and taught how to command people, and how to do it so that they do not see anything wrong with it. And he told how to act so that hostility would not pour out from other baons on our baon. And he talked about a lot; after we ate, and then he told me the same thing again. And he said, «Remember this, for otherwise, you will harm your people.» Then I asked him, «But you, Teacher, won’t you be with us?» He answered, «If I stay with you, then by doing this I will harm those who do not yet know me.» And he told me to remember what he said; and did not say anything else that evening.

ENON XVIII

The next day the Teacher took me to my baon and asked, «What is this?» I answered, «This is my baon»; he said, «No: not yours anymore.» And he said, «Your relatives are there, but this is not your baon; yours already exists, although there are no dwellings in it yet. Then I said, «Where there are no dwellings, there is no baon.» The teacher said, «People do not live in dwellings but in the world. And if there are people who will live with you in a new baon, then this means that there is already a baon. A person may not live in a dwelling; and these people will live with you not because your dwellings will be near, but because your lives and work will be near. This is how the baons are built, and not from dwellings.» Soon the men of the Baon saw us, and approached us, saying, «You are still here, Teacher; peace be with you.» The teacher told them, «And let there be peace for you. Know that there will be a baon where the red stones are; let it be at peace.» And they asked, «Do you, Teacher, wish to build a baon where there are red stones? Do you know this is a bad place?» He replied, «Those whom I bring there will turn a bad place into a good one for themselves. Do not do them harm, for that this place not to be bad for everyone.» And they said, «Nothing like that happened before; and now we do not know what will happen. But let us not harm them, for this place is a bad place, and there they will perish; if they do not perish, then we will not be able to harm these people.» Having heard this, we left them and returned. And the Teacher again instructed me, teaching me how to do so that people would not be bad for the world. He spoke and repeated more than once; I listened with fear, and then said, «I am afraid of the work that you have chosen for me.» He replied, «Do not be afraid: I know you, and I will not do what would be bad. Your fear will not leave you soon; and you will feel worse than now. But remember how you went to die, not knowing what it was for: do you really feel worse now than it was then? Don’t you know that I care for the good? I tell you that it will be good: you do it.» And I said, «I will, Teacher, for if I do not, then it is better for me to die.» Then we went and took food, and when we returned, we ate. And after that the Teacher again spoke to me about many things. When night fell, he said, «In due time you will bear children; let them not see the differences between themselves and the other children of the baon. When dying, do not impose on anyone the work that I now entrust to you. After your death, the best one will be found. But I will tell you about this later when I return to your baon to speak with you again.» In great joy I asked him, «When will it be, Teacher?»; he answered, «I know my path, but I do not know its timing.» And he said, «Do not expect me, in order not to eat the wind instead of food.» I said, «I will not wait for you, but joy will be with me.» And the Teacher said, «And I will be with you, – for I am inseparable from what I gave you.» I said, «Then I will not rule in the baon, but you»; he replied, «Where you are, there I am: let the people of the baon know this.» I said, «It is good for me that I know this.»

ENON XIX

The next day the Teacher took me to the place of the baon. Then I saw that I was not afraid of this place, and was surprised, and told the Teacher, «Teacher, I am not afraid: what is this?» He replied, «You have already settled here; Could you be afraid of your home? « And we walked around that place for a long time and looked around. Afterward, the Teacher said, «Let’s prepare everything for the fire.» And we went to the forest, took food for the fire there and brought it to the place of the baon. And then we went again; and collected food for a long time, and carried it to its proper place. When we had enough, the Teacher ordered me to prepare the fires; and he left. I made fires and laid food for the fire beside them; the Teacher soon returned and brought food for us; he ate it himself and gave it to me. After that we went to the forest again and took soft branches and grass there; when we returned, we made bed from these by the fires. We did this until evening came. Then the Teacher lit fires, saying, «There is one who comes and there is one who calls.» Soon I saw that people came – men, women and children. And they told the Teacher, «Teacher, you terrified us. As we walked, we saw a fire in this place in the darkness, and we were frightened, thinking that something bad was happening in a bad place. And if they had not seen you in the midst of the fire, they would not have dared to approach.» The teacher told them, «From this day on, this place will know no evil, except evil that you might do. Watch out for evil, lest you defile your dwellings, for wherever you do it, it will enter into your dwellings with you and remain in them. Now here is a fire for you, and here is a bed; may you be happy here.» And they sat around the fires; they laid their children on the bed. And they ate the food that they brought with them and fed the Teacher and fed me.

ENON XX

The next day, the Teacher told me, «I have to speak with those who have come. I will talk to them and tell them about you, and them, and about the baon. Go to the ravine and wait for me there; now take your food and go.» And I went where he told me to. There I waited for him for a long time; and when noon was over, the Teacher came to me. And he said, «What needed to be done is done.» And then he said, «I’m leaving you. I taught you, and begot you, and perfected you; and now the world has become different – for you are not what you were before. I know you, and I know a lot about you that you don’t know either. Now I will not tell you about this, for I cannot do more than is necessary. I will return at some time; then I will see your work, and I will see whether you do it properly and whether they do you. Then I will accomplish what is needed here; now I won’t tell you about it. I will leave now; Go to your baon, for there your people are waiting for you. I told them about you and that you are good for them. And I know that they will obey you as they would obey me; but you should remember that you are the same as they are. Let every deed of yours be for them, and you– be for their sake. Remember what I taught you, and teach them the same; it will be good if each of them can sing as you sang. If you had not learned what I wanted to teach you, there would be no baon, and there would be no children who would be born in it. You see how great is the work accomplished by a word. Remember, this baon was born from the word; therefore, everyone who lives in it should honor the word of truth about the world, as you honor mothers, and should take care of it, as you care about children. Everything I have given you is good for this; and if you don’t lose what I have given, I will give you more when I return. Remember that the world is for you when you are for it. And if you live the way I taught you, you will save the life of the world.» So he said; I was silent, bowing before him. Then I said, «You, life-saver of lives, tell me: what am I supposed to do now?» He replied, «I did everything and said everything; you remember and accomplish it. Now I will be gone; you look at me. And when your eyes stop seeing me, may your gaze not lose me.» So he said, and walked away from me; I was looking at him. And when my eyes stopped seeing him, I went to the baon.

Translated by Amradkhari