Story time! So my younger brother was the athlete of the family. He always had WAYYYY too much energy and drove us all bonkers so he was enrolled into gymnastics at a very young age. (I mean I was too... but I was pretty promptly un-enrolled when my coach and mother realized I was far more concerned with Harry Potter than I was about doing splits and standing on my head.) He excelled at the sport though and went from goof-off classes to serious classes to hardcore competitive men's gymnastics, and from there on we traveled a lot to his various competitions and things. We also realized men's gymnastics is quite the underrated sport.

So when the movie came out my parents dragged us to see it because the main character was a male gymnast, and how often does that happen? Now despite the fact that I read through a majority of my brother's competitions (hey I watched his events, okay?) I actually really enjoyed the movie, and when I found out it was a book that was just an added bonus. I think it also may be the key to why I enjoyed this book so much. I didn't read it as a philosophical, self-help, spiritual story. The message was there (obviously) but I boiled it down to it being a way of life that helped Dan rather than one that would help me. Reading it that way made it an inspiring and fun read rather than a preachy you-must-subscribe-to-this-way-of-thinking book. I wasn't reading it to find happiness, just to enjoy myself. So in that regard, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be an excellent read.

Every time the author made a comment about a woman, I threw up a little. Between his objectification of women and all the egotistical descriptions of his physique and his performance, it's extremely difficult to root for the main character...or continue reading the book. The lessons of Socrates are well worth learning, however. There are just plenty of other books out there that have the same teachings without the offensiveness.

I loved this book.

It resembled - in idea - to The Alchemist. It was beautifully written and makes you question. Although it is fiction, the content and the ideas are very valid. It is like reading Buddhist philosophy in fiction format. A must read.

With 11,605 ratings and 844 reviews, including 15 from my friends, I'm going to offer something more useful in this review than simply saying it's a great book or rehashing the content.

It is, by the way, a great book and reminded me of my own journey to enlightenment.

Here's a list of books to check out if you enjoyed "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" and want to study further in the area.

For books that will complement the journey you'll start here, check out Initiation by Elisabeth Haich and for a step-by-step guide, The Awakening Course: The Secret to Solving All Problems by Joe Vitale. For a little less spiritual but still helpful guide, check out The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life by Tal Ben-Shahar. If you're still caught up in the Great Illusion, then your journey may be helped with The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World by the Dalai Lama XIV.

To read something that will deepen your understanding of "The Gas Station at Rainbow's End," check out the classic Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.

To learn how to free yourself from beliefs as written about on page 15, read The Key: The Missing Secret for Attracting Anything You Want by Joe Vitale, Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of LifeMaxwell Maltz and New Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy, and finally Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits by Wayne W. Dyer.

To learn more about "The Web of Illusion," read Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach.

On page 72, Millman talks about using feedback to course correct. You can learn more about feedback from success principle 19 "Use Feedback to Your Advantage," in The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to BeJack Canfield.

To understand more about the "source" that Millman writes about on page 73, read Busting Loose from the Money Game: Mind-Blowing Strategies for Changing the Rules of a Game You Can't Win and Busting Loose from the Business Game: Mind-Blowing Strategies for Recreating Yourself, Your Team, Your Customers, Your Business, and Everything in Bet by Robert Scheinfeld.

On page 108, Millman writes about making a diet of the sun's energy. Janet Bray Attwood writes about finding a man in India who only lived on such a diet in The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Destiny.

On page 162, Millman writes, "The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less." This philosophy is the core of The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 95, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss. The same author applies effective simplicity to habits of the body in The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. You can also find a simpler approach to diet in The Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for LifeDavid Zinczenko.

On page 186, Millman asks, "What is after enlightenment?" This is a question Joe Vitale answers in Inspired Marketing!: The Astonishing Fun New Way to Create More Profits for Your Business by Following Your Heart and Wayne W. Dyer writes about in Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling.

The Allegory of the Cave, which Millman mentions on page 196, can be found at the start of Book VII in The Republic by Plato.

About love, on page 199, you can find more from The Power by Rhonda Byrne.

After journey down the enlightenment path myself, finding out through direct experience what lies on the other side, I see myself more as Socrates in this book than Dan Millman.

I found this book a good and easy read on spirituality...without making the whole subject too heavy. I am from India and have started reading some books on spirituality over last 6 months. Was able to relate to lot of messages in this book to the Bhagavad Gita. But am sure, the message is universal across all philosophies.

Peaceful warrior' is written as a simple story and covers whole nine yards of living a "warrior's" life - beautifully told with a good humour. You have to look for the messages on every page...messages to live the disciplined life, to control your emotions, to find happiness within oneself, to attain a peaceful mind, message on how to be a "peaceful warrior"!

The actual day-to-day techniques/methods/philosophy of how you attain the above are left to the reader, it is a good book to make you aware and conscious.

This is a book that I will surely read again and again over years.

This book came to me at a crossroads in my life, when I was uncertain of almost everything I always thought I knew, when I couldn't discern the source of my internal conflict. The story centers around a main character with similar core issues who meets (in quite serendipitous circumstances) another character who utterly transforms his life. The book has stayed with me over the years and remains a personal favorite. There's magic in the simplicity of it, yet an enchantment that transcends the story itself.

This is actually a reread for me, but I can't remember exactly when I read this before. It was definitely after a bad accident I'd been in back in 2006, which makes sense given the path Dan takes through this story. Both this and the movie have such a great message that resonates so much for me. The book definitely gives more quotes and metaphors to learn from, but the movie has its pros as well. I feel like this book should be read by everyone to just help you see the importance of being present. I try to keep this on mind in my life, so I know it's an incredibly difficult task. But check this book out so that the next time you see the sunset or a snow storm or anything you've seen 1000 times before, you can stop and appreciate it. Great book, great message, just trust me.

Either he was high when he wrote it or I need to be high to read it.

This book is really cool!! I had never really read an INSPIRATIONAL book before but my Pagan friend suggested that I read this one and wowzers!! I quite enjoyed it :)

It's all about a guy (DAN) that thinks way too much (I can relate). He runs into a gas station attendant that just so happens to know the way of the peaceful warrior.

And while on the Warrior Path the Dan learns how to let go, how to laugh, and what really matters.

An inspiration :)

My favorite line in the book was: "Dan, there are things you don't yet understand. For now, just think of death as a transformation - a bit more radical than puberty, but nothing to get particularly upset about. It's just one of the body's changes. When it happens, it happens. The warrior neither seeks death nor flees from it."

Even though this is a "Somewhat True Story" I can really see how it can be considered "A book that changes life"

Definately a good read for people of all ages, religeons, and backgrounds :)

The first realization of a warrior is not knowing.

My ignorance is based on this understanding. Your understanding is based on ignorance. This is why I am a humorous fool, and you are a serious jackass.

Everything has a purpose, Danny; it‘s for you to make the best use of it.

It's just one of the body's changes. When it happens, it happens. The warrior neither seeks nor flees from death.

Reading the future is based on a realistic perception of the present. Don't be concerned about seeing the future until you can clearly see the present

Knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge at the right time.

One is insight, the willing of attention, the channeling of awareness to focus precisely on what you want to see. The other process is surrendering, letting go of all arising thoughts. That is real meditation; that is how you cut free of the mind.

Ultimately, you will learn to meditate your every action.

Because your greatest fear is death and your deepest craving is survival. You want Forever, you desire Eternity. In your deluded belief that you are this 'mind' or 'spirit' or 'soul', you find the escape clause in your contract with mortality. Perhaps as 'mind' you can wing free of the body when it dies, hmm??

Fear and sorrow inhibit action‘ anger generates is. When you learn to make proper use of your anger, you can change fear and sorrow to anger, then turn anger to action. That‘s the body‘s secret of internal alchemy.

The right use of gymnastic to focus your full attention and feeling on your actions; then you will achieve satori. Gymnastics draws you into the moment of truth, when your life is on the line, like a dueling samurai. It demands your full attention: satori or die!?

And I felt a growing power, a wave of fury at all those who said I'd never perform again. My passion turned to icy calm. There, in that moment, my fate and future seemed in balance. My mind cleared. My emotions surged with power. Do or die.

Warriors, warriors we call ourselves. We fight for splendid virtue, for high endeavor, for sublime wisdom, therefore we call ourselves warriors. — Aunguttara Nikaya a Buddhist scripture.

That was to develop your will, you see, and to give your instincts a refresher course. And we can say that habit itself--any unconscious, compulsive ritual--is negative. But specific activities-smoking, drinking, taking drugs, eating sweets, or asking silly questions are bad and good; every action has its price, and its pleasures. Recognizing both sides, you become realistic and responsible for your actions. And only then can you make the warrior's free choice--to do or not to do.

Responsibility means recognizing both pleasure and price, making a choice based on that recognition, and then living with that choice without concern.

So whether or not my behavior meets your new standards or not, it should be clear to you that I have mastered all compulsions, all behavior. I have no habits; my actions are conscious, intentional, and complete.?

It was over; I was through being a slave to random impulses.

Why I call myself a Peaceful Warrior? Because the real battles we fight are on the inside.

Find your answers from inside.

Events may create physical pain but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is? the only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.

Never struggle with anyone or anything. When you’re pushed, pull; when you’re pulled, push.

Granted that you may, in fact, experience the mind of a warrior on occasion; resolute, flexible, clear, and free of doubt. You can develop the body of a warrior, lithe, supple, sensitive, and filled with energy. In rare moments, you may even feel the heart of a warrior, loving everything and everyone who appears before you. But these qualities are fragmented in you. You lack integration. My task is to put you back together again, Humpty.

There are no ordinary moments.

This moment is the only thing that matters.

Where are you? Here
What time is it? Now
What are you? This moment.

The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination.

If you have enough money to satisfy your desires, Dan, you are rich. But there are two ways to be rich: You can earn, inherit, borrow, beg, or steal enough money to meet expensive desires; or, you can cultivate a simple lifestyle of few desires; that way you always have more than enough money.

The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.

If you don't get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.

Wake up! Wake up! Soon the person you believe you are will die - so now, wake up and be content with this knowledge: there is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all ONE, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor, and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life; just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are for more than you imagine. you are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else too! It's all the marvelous Play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don't worry, just be happy. You are already free!

I looked aimlessly at the clouds below, drained of ambition. All these years I had been sustained by an illusion--happiness through victory--and now that illusion was burned to ashes. I was no happier, no more fulfilled, for all my achievements.

Finally I saw through the clouds. I saw that I had never learned how to enjoy life, only how to achieve. All my life I had been busy seeking happiness, but never finding or sustaining it.

Sometimes the story of how we come to a book is more interesting than the book itself. This one came to me by way of a tough old Brooklynite with a self-assured bravado more persuasive than a million book reviews.

"You reading?" he snarled at me. "I got a book you should read. Change yer fucking life."

"Oh yeah?" I said, "It's that good?"

He shrugged and laughed derisively. "Buncha bullshit from the 90s."

Intrigued (and too scared to say no) I accepted a copy to see for myself what the appeal could be. Speaking frankly, the book is unexciting and quite sappy. But whatever, right? Pancakes are nothing fancy either but I still like them anyhow. And with plenty of syrup, too.

2 stars. For the right person at the right time I imagine this book could make quite an impact.

Dan Millman beschreibt in seinem Buch „Der Pfad des friedvollen Kriegers“ die Wandlung von Dan, einem Studenten, welcher erfolgreich Leistungssport im Turnen betreibt, von einem eher unbewusst vor sich hin lebenden Menschen hin zu einer bewusst sein Leben gestaltenden Person. Hilfe erhält er durch den mysteriösen Tankstellenwart Socrates, welcher im späteren Verlauf sein spiritueller Lehrer wird und Dan nahezu jeden Abend über die Lebensweise des friedvollen Kriegers belehrt; dadurch wird er in die Gesetze eines glücklichen und erfolgreichen Lebens eingeweiht.

Dan Millman macht es dem Leser dabei recht einfach in eine Welt einzutauchen, in der deutlich mehr möglich ist, als wir uns vorstellen können. Durch die besondere Erzählweise bleibt es teilweise unklar, ob die geschilderten Ereignisse in der Realität, in einer Traumwelt oder als innere Erfahrungen stattfinden.
Während des Lesens wird ersichtlich, wie Dan durch Socrates zum Nachdenken angeregt wird und, trotz vieler Schicksalsschläge, zum Durchhalten motiviert wird und sein Leben zum Positiven verändert. Obwohl Dan als Leistungssportler ein recht „außergewöhnliches Leben“ hat, kann man sich selbst mit den Problemen der Hauptperson identifizieren und wird so, auch als Leser, in gewisser Weise mit einbezogen.
Dabei vermittelt das Buch, dass man auch dankbar für die kleinen Dinge sein soll: "Wir sind die ganze Zeit auf der Suche nach dem Sinn des Lebens und wollen unseren eigenen Weg finden, anstatt einfach mal grundlos glücklich zu sein."
Auch wird eine ganz andere Auffassung über den menschlichen Tod vermittelt.

Das Buch ließ sich gut lesen und ich kann es empfehlen, da man durch Socrates mal eine andere Sichtweise auf das Leben vermittelt bekommt. Allerdings sollte man sich ein bisschen mehr Zeit beim Lesen lassen, da es vom Genre eher in den Bereich Spiritualität & Esoterik gehört und die „Lehren“ teilweise erst im Nachhinein deutlich werden. Die ersten 200 Seiten fragt man sich, ob da nicht noch mehr kommt, ohne richtig verstanden zu haben, was das Buch einem schon alles vermitteln wollte.
Wer das im Hinterkopf behält und sich darauf einlassen kann, der wird gefallen an dem Buch finden.