DARK KNIGHT ACADEMY THE PATH OF LEGENDS

DARK KNIGHT ACADEMY THE PATH OF LEGENDS



The Dark Knight Mind

The Dark Lords

The Dark Knight Mind TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE............................................................5 INTRODUCTION................................................. 6 Dark Knight Training: Overview...................................6 DARK KNIGHT MIND ........................................8 The Nine Maxims of the Dark Knight...........................8 Philosophy.................................................................... 15 Psychology....................................................................20 Dark Knight Quotes......................................................22 THE DARK KNIGHT BODY...............................28 THE DARK KNIGHT PERSONA........................29 Elements of Your Identity.............................................29 The Sanctum................................................................. 30 THE DARK KNIGHT'S JOURNEY.....................35 The Nine Summits........................................................ 35 Building the Will..........................................................41 Conquering Fear........................................................... 44 Nighttime Worlds..........................................................46 Developing the Persona................................................49 THE NINE TRAINING HALLS...........................52 DARK KNIGHT TRAINING ..............................55 Physical Training.......................................................... 56 Special Skills Training..................................................58 Spiritual Training.......................................................... 59 . Page 5 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Dark Knight Yoga......................................................... 60 “Superpowers” Training............................................... 61 Master-Apprentice Training.........................................63 BASIC SKILLS TRAINING................................64 DARK KNIGHT TRIALS....................................68 THE LEAGUE OF DARK KNIGHTS...................75 About Us....................................................................... 75 Hierarchy...................................................................... 77 Oaths and Initiations.....................................................77 Dark Knight Clans........................................................ 80 TALES OF THE DARK KNIGHTS......................82 Real Life Dark Knights................................................82 Fictional Dark Knights................................................. 88 EPILOGUE........................................................99 APPENDIX A: RECOMMENDED READING.....100 Comic Books.............................................................. 100 Thriller Fiction............................................................101 Esoteric Fiction...........................................................103 Non-Fiction.................................................................104 NOTES............................................................ 106 DARK KNIGHTS.............................................111 Page 6 PREFACE This book describes a new way of life, a new breed of men, and a new organization that is being born in our time. It is a path inspired by fictional superheroes, but which is very practical and real. It is the way of those who pass through the dark night of their souls and emerge stronger; who conquer their fears and master their will; who become more than men in service to an ideal. It is the way of the Dark Knights. Dark Knight Academy was founded to bring this way of life to all who are ready for it, and to establish it as a legitimate life path. Dark Knights may hail from any religion, culture or land, for every culture has a tradition of dark warriors who conquer their fears and serve something greater than themselves. ... The Dark Lords Page 7 INTRODUCTION DARK KNIGHT TRAINING: OVERVIEW WHAT ARE DARK KNIGHTS? Dark Knights are a different breed of human being, who do not fear the darkness like other men, or flee from their own shadows. They are creatures of the night, who have faced the dark nights of their own souls and been awakened. Dark Knights are not evil, but they aren’t exactly good. They are laws unto themselves. They dispense nighttime justice when the daytime justice system fails. They prey upon predators and criminals, and act as models of courage for those who live in fear. They are men of strength and integrity in a world drowning in weakness and corruption. Dark Knights live for an ideal, in order to become more than ordinary men. They are the type of beings many of us long to be, deep within our souls: freer, braver, darker, greater – heroes! ... Think of this book as a blueprint or roadmap to a more heroic, authentic and meaningful life – the life of the Dark Knight. . ... Why do we call them “Dark” Knights?

What distinguishes them from “white” knights, or just plain knights? Dark Knights take the “darker”, negative emotions, such as hatred, fear and anger, and transform them into something positive. They don’t deny these emotions, or consider them inherently evil, but use them as a source of motivation and passion. They learn to control and channel their passions into something beneficial, rather than being consumed and destroyed by them. This is what the Dark Knight Path is designed to do. IS THIS ABOUT BECOMING BATMAN? You may be wondering if the purpose of this book is to show you how to become Batman, or to idolize Batman. The answer is: definitely not! This is not a role-playing or cosplaying manual, or a bible of “Batmanism”. The Dark Knight Path is strongly inspired by Batman, along with other fictional and non-fictional characters, but it is meant to be a general path for people who seek a more heroic and exceptional life. Each Dark Knight disciple must develop his own unique persona, with his own name, symbolism and purpose, unique to his life experience. Your goal should be to develop your authentic more powerful Dark Knight self; if you find yourself trying to imitate or idolize Batman, you are missing the main point of our path! Nor do aspiring Dark Knights have to be superficially similar to Bruce Wayne. They may come from any national, ethnic or religious background or gender. Some will be more intellectual, others more physical, others more spiritual. Some will be psychologically darker, others lighter. Some will be materially much wealthier, more educated or from a more privileged background than others. But all Dark Knights will share a common ethos and spirit, gained from walking a common path and having a similar inner transformation. We are thus a Brotherhood of Dark Knights, united not primarily by our love for a fictional character, but by our dedication to the way of life described in these pages. Page 9 DARK KNIGHT MIND . The Dark Knight Path places great importance on cultivating the body, the will and a life of action, but it is ultimately about developing a certain mindset, which we call Dark Knight Mind. Dark Knight Mind is a mentality that can only achieved through action; it is not something to be understood as an intellectual abstraction, but to be experienced as a lived reality. Most of this book is concerned with describing the practices that will help you experience Dark Knight Mind. We begin by describing Dark Knight Mind abstractly, by identifying its main principles. THE N INE M AXIMS OF THE D ARK KNIGHT The Nine Maxims of the Dark Knight are nine principles which the Dark Lords have identified as the most vital to success on the Dark Knight Path. They are the basis of our Dark Knight training system, and they form the basic creed of every Dark Knight. Commit these Maxims to memory as soon as possible – print them out and pin them to your wall, chant them during training, meditate upon them, write them out repeatedly – do whatever it takes to ingrain them into your mind. More importantly, begin to apply them in your life, by seeing every new challenge as an obstacle which can be overcome by applying one or more of the Nine Maxims. Page 10 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends 1. Strengthen the body; it is your foundation. 2. To conquer fear you must become fear. 3. The will is everything – the will to act. 4. Seek the darkness and be silent. 5. Devote yourself to an ideal; become more than a man. 6. Controlled passion is power. 7. Theatricality and deception are powerful agents. 8. Always be mindful of your surroundings. 9. Master the Way of Strategy. MAXIM ONE: THE BODY Strengthen the body; it is your foundation. The way of the Dark Knight begins with physical fitness – calisthenics, martial arts, yoga, weightlifting, hiking, sports, nutrition, etc. A fit body is the foundation your power, selfdiscipline and strength; it is a direct manifestation of your inner spirit. Your body cannot be fooled like your mind; it always tells the truth. Your body knows what you fear, what you like, what you love, what you hate. But your body can be mastered, molded, made subject to your will, and this is the first task of the Dark Knight-in-training. MAXIM TWO: FEAR To conquer fear you must become fear. The path of the Dark Knight will bring you into intense contact . with the evil that men do and the things you most fear. To survive this contact, you must learn to face your fears and overcome them. As R’as al Ghul said to Bruce Wayne: “To conquer fear you must become fear.” Or as the Shadow’s motto goes: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.” These two quotes capture the essence of Maxim Two: know the evil that lurks in the hearts of men, and conquer your fear of Page 11 Dark Knight Mind that evil by becoming it. Does this mean that a Dark Knight must become a criminal to fight crime? In a sense, yes. For just as Bruce Wayne travelled the world during his training, learning the ways of criminals in order to get inside their minds, every aspiring Dark Knight must awaken his own inner criminal and face his own worst fears in order to conquer them. MAXIM THREE: THE WILL The will is everything – the will to act. To the Dark Knight, the will is MAXIM FOUR: DARKNESS Seek the darkness and be silent. The Dark Knight is a creature of the darkness. He goes into the unlit places where others fear to tread, and watches from the shadows. In this place, he can see more than those blinded by the bright lights. In the night, the beasts of prey come out to feed, and the darker truths are revealed. The Dark Knight ... The Dark Knight is a man of few words. He observes, he thinks, he acts. He does not waste energy on vain speech or writing. He lets his actions do most of his talking. He stays silent, so that he may better hear the approach of predators in the night, and better hunt them without being detected. When he does speak, his words carry weight, and strike fear in the heart of his enemies. Maxim Four means becoming a master of stealth and shadow. ... MAXIM FIVE: AN IDEAL Devote yourself to an ideal; become more than a man. A Dark Knight is not merely a martial artist, a detective, a crime-fighter, an inventor or a businessman. He may be all of these things, but he is much more, for he has devoted his life to Page 12 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends something higher than fitness, fighting, law-enforcement, . invention, etc. The Dark Knight is a man with a calling, on a quest for his own brand of justice and perfection. He is a role model and an embodiment of integrity. He is not merely out to better himself, but to inspire others, and to bring hope and justice where there is none. In this way, the Dark Knight becomes something more than a man; he becomes a living symbol of our highest aspirations and values. He becomes a Dark Knight, who achieves a superhuman greatness and immortality that only comes to those who embody ideals higher than themselves. ... The Dark Knight must devote himself to an authentic ideal – i.e., one that is the result of his own experience and moral awakening. A person who lives according to a script handed to him by society, who never truly questions the values and roles expected of him, doesn’t rise to the title of Dark Knight. A soldier, a police officer, a teacher or a philanthropist doing his duty may be a perfectly honorable person, but that doesn’t make him a hero. The Dark Knight’s path must be individual, it must challenge something about that person’s values and/or the values of his society, and it must go “above and beyond the call of duty”, as the saying goes. ... (How to find authentic ideal? From Dark Awakening. What is the moral lesson of the Awakening? What reality does it force the victim to face? What ideal does it compel him to embrace? In the Batman stories, the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents forced to him face the reality of violent crime against the innocent, and compelled him to fight back against criminals. ... MAXIM SIX: PASSION Controlled passion is power. The Dark Knight is driven by passion – rage against injustices, Page 13 Dark Knight Mind lust for heroic experiences, fear of enemies, love of family, desire for power, yearning for knowledge, fervor for religion, etc. Each Dark Knight’s dominant passions are different, and define his persona and path. The point is to discover them, and to make them your source of energy, inspiration and power. Dark Knights do not subscribe to the view that their passions are something to be eliminated or transcended, as some extreme rationalist or Buddhist devotees might hold. Rather, they cultivate their passions, as the legendary Shogun Yoritomo-Tashi advised: “Why fear to reanimate ALL the possibilities that lie dormant in our natures? Is it not desirable to cultivate all plants indiscriminately? There are those that are poisonous, true, yet even these are indispensable in the practice of medicine. Large doses of certain drugs cause death; but, administered wisely with the hand of a skilful physician, they bring relief and very often a complete cure. The same may be said of many forces that are evil only because they are not disciplined.” . In other words, the passions must be controlled, to prevent them from becoming a source of evil that consumes and destroys you. Prisons are full of men who acted on their passions impulsively, and thus threw away their lives. We see an illustration of the danger of passion in Batman Begins, when Bruce Wayne, burning with rage at the release of the man who killed his parents, approaches him with a gun with the intent to shoot him down. If luck had not intervened to stop Wayne from completing his act of vengeance, he might have spent many years in prison himself as a convicted murderer. He might never have travelled the world, encountered his Dark Knight mentor, developed his Dark Knight skills, or become a symbol of justice, who did far more to right the wrong of his parents’ murder than any act of swift vengeance ever could. Ra's al Ghul notes the power of Wayne's passion when he tells him: Page 14 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends What you really fear is inside yourself. You fear your own power. You fear your anger, the drive to do great or terrible things. You have learned to bury your guilt with anger. I will teach you to confront it, and to face the truth. You know how to fight six men. We can teach you how to engage six hundred. You know how to disappear. We can teach you to become truly invisible. Bruce Wayne’s life from that moment on under al Ghul's tutelage becomes a lesson in the power of self-discipline in the service of great passion. The point is that a Dark Knight must have both: passion and control of their passion; one or the other alone will never make you truly powerful. MAXIM SEVEN: THEATRICALITY & DECEPTION Theatricality and deception are powerful agents. One of the Dark Knight’s greatest powers is his ability to use his persona to work his magic upon the minds of his foes, and upon society at large. He creates a larger than life persona, uses dramatic acts, deception and symbols to produce a much more powerful impact than he would have as an ordinary crimefighter. In the Batman stories, the Caped Crusader made his presence felt throughout Gotham City by having the police commissioner summon him with a giant “bat-signal” in the sky whenever there was trouble. This wasn’t just a practical way to communicate, but a strong message to the citizens of Gotham that Batman was on the beat, and all criminals should beware! Batman’s pervasive use of his bat symbol – on his uniform, vehicles, weapons, names, communications, etc. – was a brilliant way to advertise the “Batman brand” and create a mystique that was much more powerful than a single man. Similarly, deception (example of deception) ... Therefore a Dark Knight should cultivate some of the skills of the stage magician and the actor – a flair for the dramatic, an ability to deceive, to misdirect, to hypnotize, to entertain – and . Page 15 Dark Knight Mind to frighten. These methods work both to win allies and intimidate enemies – the methods a politician uses to win votes in an election campaign can also be used to demoralize enemies in a psychological warfare campaign. The Dark Knight should understand how to do both to win his wars. This Maxim comes from Ra’s al Ghul’s statement to Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, that “theatricality and deception are powerful agents.” But as Bane says to Batman in the third film, Dark Knight Rises: “Theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated... but we are initiated, aren't we Bruce?” In other words, these techniques work best on those who haven’t received Dark Knight training or some other initiation into the “dark arts”. If your target is sophisticated – perhaps a former Dark Knight who has “turned” and become a Bane-like villain – you will need to up your game or use other methods to gain a psychological advantage over them. MAXIM EIGHT: MINDFULNESS Always be mindful of your surroundings. Dark Knights walk a dangerous path, fraught with foes and pitfalls that threaten them with destruction. For this reason, the Dark Knight must always be mindful of his surroundings, in both the physical and spiritual sense. Physical mindfulness means developing a keen awareness of all your senses, using mindfulness meditation, sensory exercises, and … It means keenly observing everything and remembering important details. Spiritual mindfulness means being in tune to the minds of others – their feelings, thoughts, hopes and fears. It is what Japanese martial artists call haragei: non-verbal, intuitive communication, anticipation and awareness of threats. It means developing a “sixth sense” for danger. Mindful of self, mindful of others, mindful of environment Page 16 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends No matter where you are, you are always “surrounded by yourself.” ... MAXIM NINE: STRATEGY Master the Way of Strategy. A Dark Knight is a warrior, who lives passionately for his ideal and thus comes into conflict with other passionate men with conflicting ideals. To win these conflicts, the Dark Knight must learn the Way of Strategy. What does this mean? Strategy means the time-tested principles of the warriors, used to defeat other men. It means developing an indomitable spirit, so one always gets back up. after being knocked down. It is developed through a deep study of martial arts, and the thoughts of great strategists. It is developed in the struggle for life, by facing and defeating ever obstacle in one's path. Even if the Dark Knight's passion is some peaceful craft or business, he still must learn the Way of Strategy. Why is this so? Because every enterprise benefits when one employs strategy and thinks with a warrior's mind. You must have a plan, be prepared for adversity, and have the inner strength to overcome it. This is the virtue of the Way of Strategy. You will face adversity in any enterprise, whether it is from competitors in a business, or pests on a farm, or bad weather, or bad luck, or political opposition, or simply your own laziness. All of these can be defeated by strategy and a warrior's mind. The Dark Knight knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, and trusts not to their good will and intentions. He knows that this world is a place of conflict, in which the strong survive and the winners make the rules. Like them or not, these are simply facts. So the Dark Knight trusts in Strategy, not in good will, and lets this becomes his guiding law. OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Secrecy: Reveal your identity to no one who need not know it. Page 17 Dark Knight Mind Resilience, flexibility A Dark Knight’s life is full of surprises and unforeseen situations .... He must therefore be prepared for any eventuality, both physically and mentally. Physically, this means being agile, flexible and energetic. Mentally, it means being alert, unflappable, unafraid, and in the place known as “the zone” or the “flow state” … having developing a mindset of resilience and adaptability APPLYING THE NINE MAXIMS The Nine Maxims may sound impressive on paper, but how does one actually apply them in their work as a Dark Knight? (… give examples) PHILOSOPHY What is a Dark Knight’s philosophy of life? It’s a difficult question to answer, because each Dark Knight’s path depends on his unique circumstances and experience. However, we can identify some common elements to the philosophies of those who call themselves Dark Knights, which we describe below. EXISTENTIALISM Dark Knights believe they have free will to determine their fate, create their identity and choose their purpose in life. If you subscribe to a religion or philosophy that conflicts with . this – for example, one that obligates you to place God’s will or the interests of a tribe or nation before your own – you may find our path problematic. IRRATIONALISM Page 18 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends The Path described here is not entirely rational; it appeals to mythical, mystical, romantic concepts that some hard-headed rationalists will reject. However, the justification for our irrationalism is itself rational: because we believe, and have found through experience, that these irrational notions are powerful and effective – they give the disciple a sense of purpose and motivation that a more rational approach to life tends to lack. Dark Knights cultivate a poetic sense of their life’s mission deliberately, then pursue it with technical precision. VITALISM ACTIONISM (WORD FOR THIS??) “It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you.” — Rachel Dawes to Bruce Wayne, Batman Begins A Dark Knight prefers actions to words, real-life tests to thought experiments, heroic deeds to grandiose thoughts. He leaves impotent philosophizing to the coffee shop warriors, preferring to go out on the streets to test himself and seek his destiny. The proof of a Dark Knight’s philosophy is not found in his clever arguments or moralistic appeals, but in his real world success. Bruce Lee expressed a Dark Knight’s practical attitude when he said: “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal,” and “use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.” WILL Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Zen “Zen is a religion of will-power” WILL TO HEROISM Those who embark upon the Dark Knight’s journey may do so Page 19 Dark Knight Mind for many reasons, but they all share a dissatisfaction with their ordinary, Daytime World existence. Buddhists speak of dukkha – the unsatisfactoriness of existence – and counsel overcoming our attachments to the things of the world. On our path, we speak of ... – the unsatisfactoriness of the unheroic life – and teach that cultivating will to heroism is the key to walking a. more heroic path. Every act of will is a decision to be something different than you are now. Every would-be Dark Knight must use his will to decide to become something stronger, freer and more heroic than his old self. Your will to a heroic ideal is your ticket out of the trap of mundane, Daytime existence, into the rarified realms of the Dark Knights. Can you find it within you? FINDING YOUR IDEAL Maxim five emphasize the importance of devoting yourself to an ideal, but it begs the question: what should that ideal be? Here you must let your Dark Awakening guide you; what was the overriding moral or lesson of that experience? What cause is it telling you to devote your life to? ... In the case of Bruce Wayne, his experience of seeing his parents gunned down by a common criminal ignited in him a burning hatred of crime against the innocent, and a desire to stamp it out. THE DARK SIDE When the Dark Acolyte passes through his dark night of the soul on his path to Dark Knighthood, there is a real danger that he may not return to the daylight at all. He may be seduced by the darkness, by the sense of power he feels there, and turn completely to the “dark side”. If this happens, the Dark Knight becomes a villain – Bane rather than Batman, Shiwan Khan rather than the Shadow, Darth Vader rather than Obi-Wan Kenobi. Page 20 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends A LAW UNTO YOURSELF The Dark Knight’s journey requires the disciple to step outside the mundane laws of the Daytime World and act according to higher laws of his own discovery. The fully realized Dark Knight becomes a law unto himself, having faced inner and outer demons and accomplished heroic deeds that justify his authority. What separates a Dark Knight from a villain? In truth, very little; Dark Knights may seem like villains to those who follow the laws of the Daytime World blindly, or who have become corrupted by that world. ... Our purpose here is not to dictate your morality or ethics in detail. Rather, we are describing a path of awakening and transformation that may be used by individuals with very different moral and ethical codes, based on different individual and cultural experiences, to become something more than ordinary men. The only ethical and moral code we share are our Nine Maxims – our emphasis on mastering the mind and body, conquering our fears, devoting ourselves to an ideal, creating a larger than life persona, etc. If someone follows this path with integrity but has values that others consider “evil”, that is not our concern. Dark Knights are “beyond good and evil” (as Nietzsche put it), in that we don’t try to dictate a. moral code that is absolutely true for everyone, everywhere; rather, we emphasize the importance of individual experience, integrity and awakening. IMPECCABILITY A Dark Knight’s life is a quest for perfection; it is an attempt to merge one’s actions and one’s ideals into a harmonious and powerful whole. The Dark Knight looks at the totality of a person’s life as a reflection of their philosophy and state of mind. If a person is brilliant in some narrow area of knowledge, but their home is in shambles, their demeanor shoddy or their personal life a mess, they are not masters worthy of emulation. This is where a stereotypically Western Page 21 Dark Knight Mind approach to life, with its celebration of specialists, “absentminded professors” and autistic geniuses, is unsatisfactory for Dark Knights. We prefer a more “Zen” approach, of seeking impeccability and mindfulness in all one’s actions. A true master of life should reflect their mastery in everything they do, including their mannerisms, speech and appearance.

The smallest things reflect one’s inner nature, and must be tended to with care. (quote Zen master) FLOWISM Here is a brief description of a philosophy and way of life that I'm calling "Flowism": Flowism is the pursuit of the experience known as flow – a heightened state of consciousness in which one is operating on instinct, in the moment, with supranormal precision, creativity, confidence and perception. Flow is "the zone" where all peak performers and geniuses strive to be: where Michelangelo was when he painted the Sistine Chapel in an artistic frenzy; where Newton and Einstein must have been often during their annus mirabiles ("miracle years") of epochal scientific discovery; where extreme sports enthusiasts go when they are facing life or death decisions on mountain slopes and giant waves. Flow may also be experienced via psychedelic drugs, dance, music, meditation, martial arts, sexual passion, public performance, religious ceremony, military battle and countless other ways. To the Flowite, life is given its value during these moments of peak experience; the rest of one's time is just preparation and training for the flow states. This may be all that needs to be said about Flowism. It is not something that can be understood through words and thoughts, but must be experienced directly. Perhaps Zen, with its doctrine of mushin ("no-mind"), the yogic paths to "samadhi", the spartan warrior creeds, various shamanic ecstatic practices and hedonic artistic schools are the closest historical analogues of Flowism. Neither a philosophy in the Western sense nor a Page 22 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends . religion in the monotheistic sense, Flowism represents a return to mankind's primordial spirituality, informed by modern science. A Flowite saying: "To fly the soul the mind must flow!" PSYCHOLOGY The Shadow: repressed fears, desires, emotions in our subconscious minds. The part of our being we hide from ourselves and others. Batman: bats. The Self: person’s entire being, with integrated conscious and subconscious. Authentic self. This could also be called the Dark Knight Self. Batman: The Batman. The Anima/Animus: feminine aspect of male psyche or vice versa. Batman: Rachel Dawes. The Persona: the person we are in the Daytime World; the mask we allow the world to see. The Persona shields our conscious mind from negative, disturbing thoughts. It also disguises the identity of our Dark Knight Self, protecting him and his loved ones from harm. Batman: Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy. ... Carl Jung said: “Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the Shadow and the world of darkness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.” Traditionally, Western spirituality has long emphasized the “light side” world and shunned the world of darkness as Page 23 Dark Knight Mind something evil and corrupting. According to Jung, this has made many Western people psychologically imbalanced, fearful and neurotic. A Dark Knight represents the Western man who has integrated his dark side and made peace with the world of darkness. He has consciously used his Shadow as a source of power, overcome his fears, and become an aweinspiring figure to those who have not yet confronted their own Shadows. THE FIVE STAGES OF A DARK KNIGHT’S GRIEF Elisabeth Kübler-Ross defined the five stages of grief as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Kübler-Ross developed these stages from her work with terminally ill patients, to understand how they cope with the reality of death and dying. Since every Dark Knight’s journey begins with intense grief, and involves the death of your old, Daytime Self, it is useful to look at the “Kübler-Ross model” as it relates to the Dark Knight path. . Denial: Immediately after his Trauma, the acolyte is still in shock, not yet ready to face the trauma of the death of his old life, enter the Nighttime World or become a transformed person. He tries to pretend that his life can continue as if nothing has changed. Anger: As the new reality begins to set in, the acolyte rages against the injustice of the Trauma. He may act out against real or imagined sources of suffering in unpredictable ways. The acolyte has entered the Nighttime World, or the “dark night of the soul”, and allows himself to be driven by his anger and other emotions. Bargaining: In this stage, the acolyte develops some control of his anger, and finds a way to begin to harness it for something more constructive. This is where the Threshold Crossing occurs, and the acolyte enters into a new regime of training that will conquer his anger, fear and other emotions that torment him. Page 24 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Depression: Acceptance: The acolyte finally comes to grips with the reality that his old self is dead, and accepts INNER SANCTUM The “Inner Sanctum” is a mental version of your Outer Sanctum: a place you build in your mind, where you can always take refuge and connect to your greater Dark Knight self. Inner Sanctums will be unique to each Dark Knight, just as the Outer Sanctums is. It should be a place of creativity, illumination and awakening, that taps into your deepest sources of inspiration on the Dark Knight Path. Perhaps your Inner Sanctum is a monastery at the summit of a mountain, where the ancient masters of wisdom dwell. It could be a stone temple in a remote desert, where you commune with whatever gods or spirits inspire you. Maybe it is a high tech lair dug deep in a mountain or on an uncharted island, where you plan and ... your ... Perhaps it is an ice cave in an arctic wilderness, where you find the solitude and space need by a superman. Maybe it is a space station in orbit, equipped with all your computers and devices, from which you monitor global events and swoop down on trouble spots. Be as imaginative as your like in building your Inner Sanctum; unlike your Outer Sanctum, there are no limits to what you might build except your own imagination. ... (exercise to begin building) (exercise to use the Inner Sanctum) Go into your Inner Sanctum whenever you need a place of power, wisdom and resources. DARK KNIGHT QUOTES “I guess we’re all two people. One daylight, and the one we. keep in shadow.” —Bruce Wayne, Batman Page 25 Dark Knight Mind “They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me.” “Bats frighten me. It's time my enemies shared my dread.” —Bruce Wayne, Batman Begins “If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, then you become something else entirely....Legend.” “You travelled the world... Now you must journey inwards... to what you really fear... it's inside you... there is no turning back.” “What you really fear is inside yourself. You fear your own power. You fear your anger, the drive to do great or terrible things.” “Men fear most what they cannot see.” “You must become more than just a man in the mind of your opponent.” —Henri Ducard, Batman Begins “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” —from The Shadow radio program “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” “Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.” “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause.” “I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor Page 26 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph,” “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” —Theodore Roosevelt . “Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment.” “Do not look upon this world with fear and loathing. Bravely face whatever the gods offer.” —Morihei Ueshiba “The only way to find the path is to set fire to my own life.” — Rabindranath Tagore “There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” “Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the Shadow and the world of darkness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.” —Carl Jung "Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation." —Lao Tzu Page 27 Dark Knight Mind "We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known: we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god: where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; and where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world." “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” —Joseph Campbell “Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.” — Jalaladdin Rumi “There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.” “Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men. Become a criminal of purpose. Be put in jail, and extricate yourself by your own wisdom.” ―Miyamoto Musashi “All great things must first wear terrifying and monstrous masks in order to inscribe themselves on the hearts of humanity.” “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself . does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.” “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” —Friedrich Nietzsche "You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your deep, driving desire is, so is your will. Page 28 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny." —Upanishads “Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary rule. . . that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. . . .Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” — Goethe “Singlemindedness is all-powerful.”―Tsunetomo Yamamoto “There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.” “Defeat is a state of mind. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality. To me, defeat in anything is merely temporary, and its punishment is but an urge for me to greater effort to achieve my goal. Defeat simply tells me that something is wrong in my doing; it is a path leading to success and truth.” “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.” —Bruce Lee “Why fear to reanimate ALL the possibilities that lie dormant in our natures? Is it not desirable to cultivate all plants indiscriminately? There are those that are poisonous, true, yet even these are indispensable in the practice of medicine. Large doses of certain drugs cause death; but, administered wisely with the hand of a skilful physician, they bring relief and very often a complete cure. The same may be said of many forces that are evil only because they are not disciplined.” —Yoritomo-Tashi “Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or Page 29 Dark Knight Mind morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul’s resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his lttle finger. Great . emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.” —William James “Take care of your Thoughts because they become Words. Take care of your Words because they will become Actions. Take care of your Actions because they will become Habits. Take care of your Habits because they will form your Character. Take care of your Character because it will form your Destiny, and your Destiny will be your Life.” —The 14th Dalai Lama "If you must begin then go all the way, because if you begin and quit, the unfinished business you have left behind begins to haunt you all the time." —Chogyam Trungpa Page 30 THE D ARK K NIGHT BODY Diet Exercise Hatha Yoga . Page 31 THE D ARK K NIGHT PERSONA The Dark Knight path is designed to transform you into a new being – to create a stronger, darker, greater persona and make it “the real you.” A Dark Knight is not merely an exceptionally competent, driven and fearless operator who lives for an ideal. You can find such people working anonymously in all walks of life, from politics to education to the military to law enforcement. What separates the Dark Knight from such individuals is the Dark Knight’s use of symbolism, persona, theatricality, heroism and even fear to achieve his goals. The Dark Knight is engaged in psychological manipulation of friend and foe alike – he is a kind of magician or actor, who may take an entire city, nation or the whole world as his stage. The What sort of life should a Dark Knight strive for? What material things should he acquire, ELEMENTS OF YOUR IDENTITY Your Dark Knight persona will be determined by your particular path and passions, but every Dark Knight's persona should include the following elements. Page 32 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends . COSTUME ... mask, ring, cape, cane NAME Your Dark Knight name should be simple and it should strike a chord with your allies and enemies and alike. It will be closely related to your CALLING CARDS Dark Knights may wish to develop one or more “calling cards” that enhance their mystique, notoriety and theatricality. For example, the Shadow had a chilling laugh that struck paralyzing fear into the hearts of criminals just before he struck. Batman had his “bat signal” which flashed above the skies of Gotham, letting the city know that the Caped Crusader was on the case. A strictly professional, mundane operator might consider such calling cards an unwise extravagance that will bring unnecessary attention upon him. But remember that a Dark Knight strives to be larger than life, and a symbol of something greater. As Maxim 7 states, theatricality is a powerful agent which can burn the Dark Knight’s symbolism into the minds of those he wishes to influence. Calling cards, like a heroic name, uniform and symbol, are another way to use theatricality to enhance the Dark Knight’s effectiveness. THE SANCTUM “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” —Joseph Campbell Sanctums are the Dark Knights’ personal strongholds, sacred spaces and training centers. When Dark Knights are not out in the world doing their work, they are usually found here. Page 33 The Dark Knight Persona PURPOSE Sanctums may be used for a wide variety of practical tasks: communications, computing, laboratory work, study, equipment storage, training and meditation. They may also function as survival shelters and secret “safe houses” from which to operate against the Dark Knight’s foes. It’s important to realize that your Sanctum is not only physically very functional, but serves a vital psychological purpose: it forces you to live your Dark Knight persona where you are, every day. By actually going into your Sanctum, in costume, you are stepping out of your Daytime identity and into your Nighttime role in a visceral way. You are physically reprogramming yourself to adopt new habits and a new identity. It has been said that to become a new person and live in a new way, you have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk or think the thought. This is the spiritual purpose of your . Sanctum: it is not just a place to operate, train and study, but a temple to your greater Dark Knight self. You will want to give your Sanctum a name and furnishings appropriate to your Dark Knight persona. Display your costume, mask, weapons, gadgets, etc. in a dignified way around the room. Keep your Sanctum clean and in perfect working order. A shoddy Sanctum reflects a shoddy mind, and is unworthy of a Dark Knight! Don’t have a television, alcohol, drugs, junk food or anything else that encourages addictive or unhealthy behavior. If you have problems with addiction, use your Sanctum to break it by going there whenever you feel the urge to feed your habit. Fictional examples of Sanctums to look at for inspiration include Batman’s Batcave, the Shadow’s Sanctum, the Phantom's Skull Cave, the League of Shadows’ Temple, Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum and the Executioner’s WarWagon. DESIGN Page 34 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Ideally, your Sanctum would be housed in a hidden location on your private estate, with concealed tunnels allowing entrance and exit for yourself and your vehicles, helicopter, jet, boat, etc. However, if you don’t have the resources of a Bruce Wayne, you will have to make do with a less ambitious design. Below are a few ideas for Sanctums that can be built on more modest budgets. ... Your sanctum could be as small as a large closet to a dedicated room, shed, garage, buried shipping container, tree house, cave, tunnel, tower, bunker, fortress or underground complex. CREEPERC@VE CreeperC@ve is the cyber-sanctum of a Dark Knight who calls himself the Creeper. The Creeper is an idealistic super-hacker who uses his skills to fight injustice online – particularly by governments and corporations who seek to shut down free speech and impose central controls on the internet. CreeperC@ve is located in the basement of a building in a rather run-down industrial area of an Eastern European city. The Creeper has wired the Sanctum with fiber optics and set up his network in such a way that tracing his online activity is next to impossible. The Creeper is rumored to work as a senior network administrator at the nation's largest internet provider, which allows him to further secure and disguise his hacking activities. The Creeper has gained access to thousands of government and corporate servers, hacked email and social media accounts of many powerful people the world over, and exposed the shady dealings of dictators, corporate executives and elected officials alike. For this, he has become something of an internet celebrity, ... THE DAEMONORIUM . The Daemonorium is the Sanctum of a rather sinister British Dark Knight known as Lord Blackstone. Blackstone is the Page 35 The Dark Knight Persona Grand Master of a so-called “Black Lodge” and is well connected to the British power and money elite. Lord Blackstone's forte is demonolatry: the invocation and control of demons – including, it is rumored, the Lord of all demons, Satan Himself. He has also amassed one of the world's most extensive libraries of ancient, rare and modern books on demonology and black magick from every age and culture. Below his mansion, Lord Blackstone has constructed a temple in a large natural limestone cavern. A concealed tunnel leads from the library of his mansion down into the temple chambers. In the center of the main chamber, a natural stone outcropping has been shaped into an altar, upon which idols of demons are placed and offerings made to them. Around the chamber, demonic visages have been sculpted into limestone stalagmites and stalactites, and statues of various demons act as shrines. A large pentagram has been engraved in the floor around the altar. There, in the depths of the Daemonorium, Lord Blackstone conducts various demonolatry experiments, in which various demons are evoked, commanded and given offerings in order to harness their power. It is believed that Blackstone's ultimate goal is to engineer Pandaemonium – when demons will erupt en masse to bring about Hell on Earth. THE DRAGON'S LAIR LABORATORY If your Dark Knight persona engages in any kind of intellectual or technical pursuits, your Sanctum should be your laboratory for this activity. For Bruce Wayne, this meant equipping his Batcave with an advanced criminology laboratory. A technologist would include whatever computers and electronics he may require. A warrior might include a gun shop and a firing range. A martial artist might include a dojo or a blade shop. An occultist would have an occult library and ritual area. An artist would have an art studio. Page 36 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends SURVIVAL SHELTER To be Dark Knights, we must first be survivors. This means we must be able to function even (and especially) in times of natural disaster, war, terrorist attack, riot, enemy action or other breakdown of law and order. To prepare for such events, you should make your Sanctum into a fully functional survival shelter if possible. This means equipping it with all the basic necessities that will allow you to live there without contact with the outside world for weeks or. months at a time. Below are some suggestions for equipping your Sanctum for this purpose. • Backup power: Gasoline generator; solar, wind, hydroelectric or other renewable energy generator. Enough power to run your lights and vital communications and electronics indefinitely. • Food: Freeze-dried, canned and dry goods, vitamin supplements. Enough to last for months or years. • Water: Private well with hand pump, spring or stream, rainwater collectors, large tanks, filters, water purification tablets. • Heat: Wood stove or fireplace with firewood or propane heater and tank, enough to last the winter months. • Bomb Shelter: Underground shipping container, bunker or tunnel … designed to withstand even a nuclear attack. SECURITY Your Sanctum should function as a “safe house” and “panic room” – a place where you can operate securely and secretly for extended periods of time, without criminals, enemy operatives, solicitors or anyone else being able to threaten you. Alarm system Security cameras Reinforced doors Weapons Page 37 The Dark Knight Persona Concealed entry/exit Communications TEMPLE The path of the Dark Knight is a spiritual one, which can serve as the disciple’s religion. To keep himself focused on the practices and principles of his Path, and to remind himself of his membership in a larger Order, the Dark Knight should include a temple or shrine in his Sanctum. The Temple should contain any objects, artifacts or idols that are sacred to the Dark Knight disciple or symbolic of his path. For example, if the disciple has chosen a black dragon to be his totem animal, he can include a black dragon statue and other artifacts in his temple. He will also want to feature his personal symbol prominently, on a banner, altar cloth or poster. If he has acquired any items on his path that have special significance to him, such as a mask, gloves, cape, cane or ring, he may wish to keep them there also. . Page 38 THE D ARK K NIGHT'S JOURNEY THE NINE SUMMITS The nature of our Path is the Dark Knight’s Journey: an adventure of self-transformation that takes the Acolyte from the pits of despair and powerlessness to the summits of hope and power. This is what it means to rise to the challenge of Dark Knighthood. The Dark Knight Path is divided into nine “Summits”, which Page 39 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends are critical stages in the journey to Dark Knighthood. Each Summit is associated with a specific Trial, which tests the disciple’s ability to complete that stage of his path. Below we describe the nine Dark Knight Summits and Trials in more . detail. THE DAYTIME WORLD The Dark Knight’s journey begins in the ordinary world – the mundane existence that we are conditioned for as members of a civilization. In this world, social conventions, roles, expectations and values govern your life. You are expected to go to school, get a job, get married, obey the law, buy the right products, make the right friends, vote for the right candidates, practice the right religion, believe the right philosophy, etc. Dark Knights call this the Daytime World – the conditioned world you live in if you haven’t yet had an awakening to your heroic potential. The Daytime World is the “base camp” from which you will ascend the Nine Summits to Dark Knighthood. TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE The first Summit is really the nadir of the Dark Knight disciple’s life: the point when he awakens to his total powerlessness in the face of evil, suffering and despair. To reach this place, the Acolyte must undergo some kind of dark, traumatic experience, such as the death of a loved one, severe personal injury, betrayal, or mental breakdown. This experience of trauma is vital, because it provides the catharsis for all your future training. The rage and impotence you feel at that moment will become the fuel that drives you onward, through all inner and outer adversity. In the Batman stories, Bruce Wayne’s Traumatic Experience was seeing his parents gunned down in front of him by a common criminal. The feelings of childhood powerlessness, guilt at having been unable to protect them, and rage at the evil that men do, would haunt him forever and drive him to become something more than a man: the Batman. Page 40 The Dark Knight Mind The Traumatic Experience is thus the moment when even the most privileged child’s illusions of security, stability and immortality are wiped away, and the terrifying reality of our insecure, unstable and fleeting lives is revealed. Rather than cower in fear of this dark reality, the Dark Knight disciple is proactive – he goes straight into the darkness and attacks the source of his suffering and fear. How does one become awakened in this way? Must you be the victim of a terrible crime or injury to begin the Dark Knight’s journey? The answer is yes, but the trauma isn’t necessarily a physical experience of death and pain. It can (and should) be primarily a spiritual trauma – the “dark night of the soul” that is spoken of in religious scripture. .... Such experiences are rare, and growing rarer, in an age that values comfort, safety and moderation more than powerful, perilous experiences. Thus the ranks of the Dark Knights grow thin, and few in this age will be qualified to join us. If you wish to be among them, you must find a way to exit the society of the un-heroic and the risk-averse – the Daytime World – and face adventure and danger alone. . Perhaps you will need to take time off from your education, or change professions, or travel, or pursue some art or invention, or explore some spiritual tradition, or involve yourself in some great war. The paths to Dark Awakening are infinite, and there are no maps to help you find them. You simply must summon the courage to leave the well-lit, well-mapped regions of experience and take the plunge into the unknown territories where traumatic experiences await. If this advice frightens you, good! It should! If it isn’t advice you’re willing to act on, then the Dark Knight Path may never open for you. But if you do choose to seek the path of danger and need more guidance than this, I cannot offer it; you’re on your own! Page 41 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends DARK AWAKENING The Dark Awakening is the point when the Traumatic Experience leads to a dark new understanding of the world and oneself, and points to a new direction for one's life. This may not happen until well after the Traumatic Experience; the disciple may live in denial, able to suppress his trauma and conform to Daytime Society for years, until the pressures finally become to great to bear. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne didn't awaken until ... EXPLORING THE OTHER SIDE After the Dark Acolyte experiences his Dark Awakening, he will naturally be full of rage, angst or despair – powerful emotions that can destroy him, or transform him. In this stage, the Acolyte may strike out in all directions, without focus or discipline, raging against the demons that torment him and seeking vengeance upon those who wronged him. The energy unleashed in this stage is vital to the Dark Knight’s path, for it will drive him to leave the Daytime World and explore aspects of the world and himself that he might never otherwise face. This is a time for wild experimentation, adventure, conflict, many victories and defeats. This is similar to the “howling at the moon” phase that many young people go through on their journey to maturity. But the Dark Knight’s explorations should still be focused and driven by a singleminded purpose: to understand the source of his pain, to confront it, and to conquer it. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne’s exploration of the other side began when he confronted the crime boss of Gotham and realized that he was not yet ready to challenge the crime and corruption that ruled his city. The crime boss told him contemptuously: “You're Bruce Wayne, the prince of Gotham. You'd have to go 1000 miles to meet someone who didn't know your name. So don't, don't come down here with your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world . The Dark Knight Mind Page 42 you'll never understand. And you always fear what you don't understand.” Realizing the truth of this, Wayne chose not to go to Princeton and take his place at the head of the family’s business empire as expected. Instead, he boarded a ship and spent years travelling the world, studying the criminal underworld and living as a criminal himself. This gave him a deeper understanding of the nature of crime and criminals – it was a real-world education rather than the abstract, sheltered one he would’ve gotten at Princeton. In your own Dark Knight’s journey, you may also need to spend years educating yourself in the ways of the “dark side” and exploring the Nighttime World. Your goal is not to rage blindly or rebel for rebellion’s sake, but to better understand the source of your Traumatic Experience. Eventually, your explorations will bring you to the next phase of your journey: meeting a mentor. MEETING A MENTOR Eventually, a day will come on the Dark Knight’s journey when he encounters someone who has already walked the Path and mastered it. This is the Dark Mentor. In Batman Begins, the Dark Mentor was Ra’s al Ghul, leader of the League of Shadows. Ra’s finds Bruce Wayne in solitary confinement in a grim Asian prison and grants him a key to entry into the League. Finding their hidden monastery in the mountains, Wayne begins training with Ra’s and his army of ninjas, and his period of intense work toward Dark Knighthood truly begins. But this story, as entertaining as it is, is surely fiction. Where does one find mentors like R’as al Ghul, or groups like the League of Shadows? You are holding one answer right in your hands! For this book describes one such organization, and was written by one such man! The League of Dark Knights described in these pages, and established by this author, is designed to bring such things from the realm of myth and Page 43 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends fantasy into reality. Do you think you are the first to have visions of Dark Knighthood, or that all who have had them are content to leave them in the realm of fantasy? No! Some of us have developed the will to act – the will to make these dreams a reality in this world, and to walk the path of Dark Knight on this Earth! So where will you find your Dark Mentor? Only you can answer that, by actually pursuing the path described in these pages, or by finding another path and other masters. But have no doubt that our League is real – that we have real facilities, real members and real training, and that our doors will open for you and Mentors will appear when you are ready for them! CROSSING THE THRESHOLD Once the Acolyte finds his Mentor, his dedicated Dark Knight . training begins. This is the point where the disciple fully commits to his path and leaves the Daytime World behind for good. This commitment will involve entering into a new life, a new regime, a new world, where different rules apply than in the old world. Much that was learned in the Daytime World will be unlearned, and much that is new will be learned. We call this stage “Crossing the Threshold.” In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne crossed the threshold to his new life when he entered the monastery in the mountains as instructed by his Mentor, Ra’s al Ghul, and began training with the League of Shadows. ... In our League, you may cross the threshold in many different ways, depending on your Mentor. TESTS AND ALLEGIANCES After you’ve begun your new life, and trained for a while on your new path, you will experience tests of your commitment and strength. Preparation Page 44 The Dark Knight Mind The Ordeal The Reward The Road Back The Resurrection In the Japanese warrior tradition, after studying for a number of years in a dojo, the trainee is expected to embark on a mushya shugo – an extended “warrior's quest”, in which he leaves the confines of the training hall and tests his skills and knowledge by adventuring in the 'real world'. RETURN TO THE DAYTIME WORLD The final stage of the Dark Knight’s journey is the return to the Daytime World as a transformed being. For Bruce Wayne, this meant returning to Gotham City after years spent traveling the world and training with the League of Shadows. Once back in the Daytime World, the Acolyte will undergo more Trials to test his ability to use his new powers and knowledge in a way that is beneficial. Will the Dark Knight be too intense, too superhuman, too strange, to be accepted back into the Daytime World? Will he be considered some kind of freak or villain, rather than a hero? … BUILDING THE WILL To build muscles, a weightlifter must exercise them regularly and with increasing intensity. The muscles are thus broken down at a cellular level, prompting the body to build them back up again, stronger than before. To build willpower, the same principle applies. By exercising your will regularly and with escalating intensity, the will is. exhausted, and then it becomes stronger. It is therefore useful to think of your will as your primary mental muscle, something like the muscles of your lower body, which form the Page 45 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends foundation of your mental strength. Without a super-strong foundation in willpower, you will never achieve the Dark Knight Mind. EXERCISE: VISUALIZING WILL MASTERY To manifest something in reality, you must first manifest it in the mind. This is an ancient principle of all esoteric training schools, and it is a core principle of Dark Knight Academy training. Therefore, to develop a strong Will, you should first visualize yourself having a strong Will. Here is an exercise for that purpose. Sit comfortably in a meditative position, whether in a chair, seiza, half-lotus, or full lotus. Clasp your hands in the Rakuzhin mudra (??) described previously. Take a minute to relax your entire body; allow your mind to empty of thoughts, and breathe deeply. Now picture yourself as a person of strong, masterful Will. Play out scenes in your mind of yourself taking decisive action, focused intention, perseverance and success. Imagine how you would look, sound, act, and feel as a master of the Will. Perhaps you are an executive in a corporation, or a commander on the battlefield, or a lover in the throes of passion, or a mountain climber on a Himalayan peak, or a Yogi in a difficult posture, or a detective tracking down a notorious criminal. Whatever scenes come to mind, always be the master of yourself, commander of others, and in control of the world around you. Never doubt, never hesitate, never give up, never give in, never falter, never fail. Feel how satisfying it is to have a Will of iron; savor all the good things it brings you; revel in your own power! Continue this meditation for at least several minutes. As you come out of it, realize that you can return to this state of Will mastery at any time, using your Rakuzhin mudra as a trigger. You can clasp your hands and say to yourself something like: “I am a master of my Will; I am a master of the universe”, and it will be so. Page 46 The Dark Knight Mind EXERCISE: DAILY DISCIPLINE Do things “right” for a week. Accomplish everything you are supposed to do, on schedule. Don’t deviate from your daily routines, job, homework, diet, exercise, etc. Keep a journal of your activities, and write notes to yourself if necessary. This is an important way to prove to yourself that you are actually capable of controlling your life. If you find that you can’t do this, reduce the time period to a few days, and keep . trying. Examine your journal to see where you are failing, and redouble your efforts. There are no shortcuts here; you simply must work through your tendency to slack off, get distracted, and forget what you are supposed to be doing. Note that the purpose of Dark Knight training is not to turn you into a drone who operates according to a fixed routine. This exercise is simply a test of your willpower, to see if you have the ability to organize and command your life. This is critical, because if you can’t command yourself, you will never be able to inspire or command others! EXERCISE: HABIT REPROGRAMMING Evaluate your life and identify your mental and physical habits. Alter or eliminate one habit for a week. For example, you could stop smoking, drinking coffee or watching television, masturbate with your opposite hand or eliminate dairy products from your diet. It is better to make a small change than to try to make a larger change and fail – you should condition yourself for success, not failure. Willpower is like a muscle; the more you exercise it the stronger it will become. Repeat the process with another habit for another week. Record your results in your Dark Knight journal. Note: It is easier to replace one habit with another than to go “cold turkey” and totally eliminate a bad habit – your mind naturally wants to fill the “hole” left by the old habitual behavior with something else. If you are having trouble eliminating an unwanted habit, try replacing it with one that is Page 47 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends more desirable – for example, a smoker might suck on a lollipop every time he gets a craving for a cigarette. EXERCISE: THE WILL TO ACT “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” –The Buddha The path of the Dark Knight is not merely one of thought and meditation, but of action. Action is how the Dark Knight tests and proves himself – by committal deeds that transform him and take him further on his Dark Knight’s journey. Therefore, the Dark Knight Path is designed to cultivate, above all, what Ra’s al Ghul told Bruce Wayne is everything: the will to act. How do you develop this will? ... RITUALS OF COMMITMENT One of the most powerful techniques for steeling your will to accomplish any objective is to commit yourself through dramatic public acts. A famous example from history was the story of the Conquistador Hernan Cortes, who, after his arrival in Mexico in 1519, ordered his men ashore, then burned and sunk all their ships. What more powerful way to steel the will of his men, lost in a hostile new world, hungry for gold and glory, that the only way out was conquest! The result of this dramatic commitment ritual was one of the . great history-making adventures of all time. For this small, beleaguered band of stranded Europeans would go on to conquer an empire– the powerful Aztecs – within two years, and become the vanguard for the conquest of two continents by their own civilization. Such is the power of a Will that knows it has nothing to lose, inspired by visions of greatness. You can use commitment rituals in your own life for the same purpose. For example, you might announce publicly, to other Dark Knights, to family, to the world, that you are going to ... Page 48 The Dark Knight Mind Don’t underestimate the power such acts can have, both on your own psyche and the minds of others. Like Cortes’ shipburnings, commitment rituals send a powerful message to both your conscious and unconscious mind, that you have no choice but to push forward and accomplish your goal. CONQUERING FEAR Fear is the mind-killer. A Dark Knight must learn to make fear his ally, not his enemy. .... In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne had an intense fear of bats since he was a child. It was this fear that caused him to leave the opera early the night his parents were murdered; if he had not been so fearful, they might have left the opera with the crowd and never faced the street criminal who murdered his parents. In this way, bats became a symbol of not just his greatest fear, but his traumatic experience, and the pain and rage it had caused him ever since. EXERCISE: CONQUERING ELEMENTAL FEARS Think of something elemental that frightens you, such as an animal, place, aspect of nature, or type of person, and think of a way to confront it. Before facing your fear, perform a zazen meditation to calm your mind. It may be helpful to recite the Dark Knight Litany Against Fear: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” Now face your elemental fear head-on. For example, if you are afraid of fire, participate in a firewalking ceremony. If you fear water, take up scuba diving. If you are afraid of bats, find a place where bats congregate, and meditate in their presence. If Page 49 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends you are afraid of spiders, capture several large ones and keep them in your home as pets for a while. If you are afraid of heights, climb to the top of several buildings, trees or cliffs and . meditate there, or bungee jump off a bridge. If you fear some group of people, go where they congregate and spend several days in their presence. If you fear the wilderness, take several long hikes into forests, deserts or mountains, until you are comfortable there. If you are scared of the dead, meditate in a graveyard for several nights. If a particular person intimidates you, confront him or her and interact with them until you are no longer intimidated. In each case, try to incorporate your elemental fear into your new persona – conquer your fear by “becoming” it. Bruce Wayne feared bats, and chose to make them part of himself through his Batman persona. In this way, he no longer feared them, but was able to strike fear in the hearts of his enemies. If you fear the dead, perhaps you will make skulls part of your Dark Knight persona, by keeping skulls in your lair, incorporating skull imagery into your costume, and making it part of your name. The possibilities are endless; use your imagination, flair for the dramatic and sense of humor to laugh in the face of your most elemental fears! Repeat this exercise for at least one more elemental fear, and record your experiences in your journal. EXERCISE: PHYSICAL FEAR In Batman Begins, after falling down a well, Bruce Wayne’s father tells him: “And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” ... Bungee jump, skydive, cliff dive, fire-walk Legitimate Fears: being alone, responsibility, EXERCISE: MODELS OF COURAGE One of the most effective ways to overcome any fear you may have is to find someone who doesn’t share your fear, and take Page 50 The Dark Knight Mind them as a role model. Observe how they think and act toward the thing that frightens you, and adopt their mindset and abilities. Just knowing that another person has overcome your fear acts as a powerful suggestion to you that your fear is beatable, and gives you the confidence you need to defeat it. This is where mentoring is critical on the Dark Knight Path. For this exercise, identify a powerful fear you wish to conquer. Now find someone who has already conquered that fear, and take them as a mentor. If you can’t find a person in real life, use someone you have read about, or seen in the media. Study them carefully and adopt their mentality toward your fear. You may wish to imagine that their spirit is possessing you when you go to face your fear. Do this repeatedly, until you become conditioned to the fear, and are no longer limited by it. As you do so, gradually withdraw the spirit of your mentor, until it is just you, facing your fear alone, and conquering it. Now you have become the master, and can act as a mentor to future disciples of the Dark Knight Path. NIGHTTIME WORLDS . After the Dark Knight Acolyte crosses the threshold to the Nighttime World, he (or she) enters into an intensified state of existence, in which his life is infused with a powerful new sense of meaning, learning and challenge. Where is this Nighttime World, and how do you find it? There are endless possibilities, depending on your personal circumstances, inclinations, and the times in which you live. Below we discuss a few common examples of Nighttime Worlds, and some of the exceptional individuals who entered into them. WAR Times of war are a powerful breeding ground for Dark Knights; for what world more powerfully reveals the darker truths of human existence, tests our will, or requires us to face Page 51 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends our fears and perform heroic acts, than war? ... Muhammad himself spoke of the power of war to act as an intensifying, transformative experience when he said: "The sword is the key of heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of Allah, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer." For many Muslims, the experience of going off to fight “jihad” – holy war – is an archetypal Nighttime World experience. ... Even those who became villains, such as Osama bin Laden and other veterans of the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union, were surely transformed by their Dark Knight’s journeys into the Nighttime World. As terrible as war can be, for many veterans it becomes a transformative experience, For Morihei Ueshiba, the great budo master and founder of Aikido, the Nighttime World of war transformed him twice. In 1924, Ueshiba was part of an expedition to war-torn Mongolia as a member of a Shinto/Buddhist religious sect. The group was sponsored by the ultra-nationalist “Black Dragon Society”, who sought to establish a pro-Japanese religious kingdom in Mongolia. The expedition was captured by Chinese troops, who executed the Mongol members of the expedition but allowed the Japanese to return to their country. The following year, Ueshiba had a spiritual awakening, after which his martial arts skills greatly increased and he began to establish his new Aikido practice. Ueshiba’s second transformation came in 1942, at the height of World War II. Previously associated with a “hard” approach to martial arts, and adviser to many militant elites of Imperial Japan, Ueshiba began to preach a more peaceful approach after he had a vision of a “Great Spirit of Peace”: The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to. Page 52 The Dark Knight Mind compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter – it is the Art of Peace, the power of love. (Ueshiba, Morihei (1992).The Art of Peace. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications.) After the War, Ueshiba went on to establish Aikido as a universal, peaceful martial art for all peoples of the world. He serves as a powerful example of a Dark Knight who was transformed by the darkness of his Nighttime World experiences into a “peaceful warrior” rather than a “dark avenger.” (Contrast bin Laden’s experience) Sometimes, the psychological pressures of war can be too much, and they transform a Dark Knight into someone who resembles a villain more than a hero. Consider, for example, some of the veterans of the jihad in Afghanistan against Russian occupation. While they may have started as a noble effort to expel ... some of these warriors would form the organization known as al Qaeda, and go on to launch terrorist attacks around the world – notably the attacks of September 11th, 2001. TRAVEL Gurdjieff travelling, meeting with remarkable men OUTLAW In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne spent years travelling the world, living among criminals and committing crimes himself in order to understand their mindset. EDUCATION RELIGIOUS STUDY FAME AND FORTUNE For some, attaining fame and/or fortune acts as a Nighttime Page 53 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends World – a period of intensified living that drives them to some personal crisis or confrontation with the dark side of life. Perhaps they encounter extreme corruption, greed, hunger for power, or personal demons such as addiction, lust and arrogance, which drive them OTHER POSSIBILITIES Joining the circus? DEVELOPING THE PERSONA BECOMING A SYMBOL A Dark Knight is not merely a man or woman who has undergone a dark awakening, found a mentor, conquered fear . and trained to become something exceptional. He has done these things so that he may become something even greater: a symbol of an ideal. ... In this stage of the Dark Knight’s development, you must reach deep into your unconscious mind – into your fears, hopes and dreams – to find something that speaks to your essence. You must find a symbol that expresses your unique path and destiny. How can you do this? ... What symbol speaks to you? Perhaps it’s an animal, a plant, or a mineral. Maybe it’s a celestial object, god or demigod. Perhaps it’s a man-made artifact such as a weapon or a mask. Only you can decide what totem shall represent your unique Dark Knight path and persona. In choosing your totem, pay special attention to synchronicities – coincidences that are full of meaning for you. They may be pointing you toward your new identity and destiny. In the Batman legend, Bruce Wayne chose the bat as his symbol, because it was a creature of the night that could strike fear in criminals, but also because he took the appearance of a Page 54 The Dark Knight Mind bat at ... as an omen of his destiny. “I shall become a bat!” Bruce Wayne vowed, upon seeing a bat fly ... And so he did, and soon passed into the realm of legend. “People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can't do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man, I'm flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed; but as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.” YOUR REAL FACE There is an interesting scene in Batman Begins where Rachel Dawes tells Bruce Wayne that she found out about his “mask” (i.e. his Batman identity), and Bruce Wayne responds: “Batman's just a symbol, Rachel.” Rachel replies: “No. This is your mask (touching Bruce' face). Your real face is the one that criminals now fear.” Rachel understands that “Bruce Wayne” has effectively become the mask, and “Batman” has become the real self. This represents an advanced stage of the Dark Knight’s journey, when your Dark Knight persona has taken on a life of its own, and become more compelling, more real and more powerful that your Daytime self. The Daytime self is little more than a cover for your more important life as a Dark Knight. At this point, the construction of your persona and your transformation into a super-heroic being is essentially complete. Your task now is to live out your destiny as a Dark Knight, and live the limitations of your Daytime self far behind. Some of you may find it strange, impractical or dishonorable to create a split personality and live a double life in this way. ... If maintaining two identities is problematic for you, you may eventually choose to merge your Daytime and Nighttime selves . – to “come out of the closet” and reveal your Dark Knight persona to the world. Trust your deepest instincts on this matter, and follow the path that fits your circumstances. If your Dark Knight persona is engaged in highly dangerous work, Page 55 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends such as counter-terrorism, espionage, whistle-blowing or undercover crime-fighting, then it will be necessary to maintain your secret identity for your own safety and the safety of your loved ones. But if your persona is involved in activities of a more open nature, it may be appropriate (and more effective) to reveal yourself. If so, you may wish to remember Maxim 7, and use theatricality to your advantage. After building up a mystique as a secret Dark Knight, revealing yourself in a dramatic fashion may have more impact ... Page 56 THE N INE T RAINING . HALLS The Dark Knight's training regimen is divided into nine “Halls”, or areas of skill and mastery. The Nine Halls are based on the Nine Maxims of the Dark Knight, with each Hall designed to develop the disciplines necessary to master the corresponding Maxim. All nine Halls will be attended throughout your Dark Knight training, just as you would attend different halls of a university throughout your education. The Master might take the Apprentice to the Hall of the Body one week, the Hall of the Will the next, the Halls of Stealth and Mindfulness the next, or any other combination he deems appropriate. Each Hall will have trials associated with them, culminating in final Trials that signify that the Apprentice has learned the basic disciplines of that Hall. HALL OF THE BODY The Apprentice achieves Dark Knight standards of physical fitness, strength, agility and general health. Rigorous physical exercises, difficult climbs The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Master of Fitness”. HALL OF THE WILL The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Master of Page 57 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Will”. HALL OF MINDFULNESS The Apprentice learns methods of meditation, intuition and observation to make himself more aware of his surroundings. He will become “telepathic” in his dealings with other people and “mystical” in his awareness of his environment. He will develop a mindset of adaptability and “flow” with his surroundings, such that nothing can daunt or defeat him. The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Mystic Master”. HALL OF STEALTH The Apprentice will learn to move quietly, invisibly, leaving no trace. This means both physical stealth, such as the ability to sneak up on a target and strike them with a staff without being seen, and operational stealth, such as being able to travel, make purchases, use phones, computers and identities without leaving a “paper trail”. The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Master of Shadows”. HALL OF FEAR The Master will put the Apprentice through a series of trials that force him to confront his fears. For example, the Apprentice might be made to walk on hot coals, climb to a great height, confront an … The Master will determine the Apprentice's dominant fear – the one overriding fear that most . effects his life – and will be brought face-to-face with it until it is conquered. … The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Fear Master”. HALL OF IDEOLOGY The Master will probe the ideas, ideals and philosophical orientation of the Apprentice. The Apprentice will hone in on a single animating ideal, and begin to re-design his personality and life around it. … The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Master of Ideals”. Page 58 The Dark Knight Mind HALL OF PASSION The Apprentice learns to identify and harness his passions in the pursuit of his Ideal. He does not deny his passions because he understands that they are his greatest source of power. He learns to cultivate his passions skillfully as an herbalist cultivates plants so that they act as empowering medicine for his life instead of poison. The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Master of Passion”. HALL OF DRAMA The Apprentice will learn techniques of theatricality, deception, persuasion and psychodrama. This will include developing his manner of speaking, his dress, his personal symbols, his hypnotic presence, his dramatic acts, his “brand” and his public image to best serve his Dark Knight ideal. The Apprentice who completes this Hall becomes a “Master Magician”. HALL OF COMBAT The Apprentice develops his warrior mind and body to a keen edge. This means learning one or more martial arts to an advanced level, focusing on not mastering not just the physical forms, but the warrior spirit that commands them. This Hall will balance physical training with the study of great martial thinkers such as Sun Tzu and Musashi Miyamoto. Page 59 . DARK K NIGHT TRAINING This chapter describes the core of the Dark Knight Path, which is training to become something greater and more powerful than you are now. ... Each area of training discussed below could be the subject of many books, so this will necessarily be an overview. Think of this as “Dark Knight life coaching”: a general outline of how the Dark Knight disciple may go about his training. The details of your program will vary depending on your individual circumstances, path, and master, but these are guidelines that all Dark Knights associated with our Academy are expected to follow. DARK KNIGHT’S JOURNAL We strongly recommend that all Dark Knights-in-training keep some kind of journal of their activities on the Dark Knight path. Your journal serves as a vital record of ... In creating your journal, use whatever format appeals to you and fits with your intended persona. If you are technologically oriented, use a cell phone, tablet or desktop app such as .... (and make sure that you secure them and back them up!) If you prefer an old school approach to your training, use a simple paper journal, or even scrolls. Customize your journal with Page 60 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends your own symbols, using software, paint or ink as appropriate. You may wish to build a custom case for your journal and put it in a special place in your Sanctum. Whatever gets you into the frame of mind of your Dark Knight persona … PHYSICAL TRAINING PHYSICAL FITNESS A strong body is the foundation of all personal power. Experience proves that a fit body enhances intelligence, vitality, confidence, perception, endurance and many other aspects of one’s being. We therefore begin our training by focusing on developing a hard, agile, powerful body. The exercises in this section are designed for the active Dark Knight of the world, who on any given day may find himself anywhere on the planet, from a remote mountain temple to a luxury hotel room in the heart of the urban jungle. These exercises can be done anywhere, anytime; they require no special equipment or facilities. All that is needed is a sound . body and a Dark Knight’s will to physical power. BATMAN WORKOUT Squats Push-ups Mountain climbers Tricep dips Cross-punch sit-upsJumping lunges Side plank crunches Leg raises Bicycle crunches Page 61 Dark Knight Training … curls Lower Body Workout – see Fitness Shinobi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX85ekdRzts BAT-HANG EXERCISES The bat-hang allows the Batman or -woman to identify more closely with their ... animal, the bat, who are known for their peculiar habit of resting in an upside down hanging position. The pose also improves body core and hamstring strength, blood circulation, spinal alignment, alertness, balance, and accustoms the disciple to operating upside-down. To perform the bat-hang exercises, you’ll need a sturdy horizontal bar, which you can set-up in your sanctum. A good choice is an inversion bar and gravity boots system, which allows you to hang comfortably for long periods from any standard doorframe. You can also perform bat-hangs outdoors on a gate, playground equipment, or sturdy branch. You’ll want a bar that is about shoulder height, which you can mount http://www.livestrong.com/article/391106-hanging-upsidedown-exercises/ Inverted Sit-ups Inverted Squats MARTIAL ARTS Dark Knights are warriors; we believe the body is a weapon that should be optimized to conquer fear. If you fear for your physical safety at the hands of other men, you will never become our kind of hero. Therefore, Dark Knights are expected to make mastery of martial arts a top priority. To begin, if you aren’t already enrolled in a martial arts program, you should do so immediately. Sign up for unlimited training at a local martial arts center, or personal instruction from a master if you are more advanced and can afford it. Depending on where you live, there may be many programs . Page 62 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends available, such as karate, mixed martial arts, ninjutsu, tae kwan do, kung fu, krav maga, judo, aikido, systema, etc. Which martial art you choose isn’t critical, as long as you begin to make it a regular part of your life, and choose one that will give you real fighting skills and spirit. As our first Maxim states, the body is your weapon, which should be optimized. Whatever battles you may fight on your Dark Knight’s journey, there is no substitute for having the physical ability and confidence to defend yourself. Martial arts training will help you – physically, mentally and spiritually – to overcome any adversity you will face on your path. Choose the martial arts that you are most drawn to, and which fits best with your developing persona. There is nothing wrong with “softer” or less “practical” martial arts, if you are attracted to them. For example, a Dark Knight named “Shadow Blade” might choose to train in kendo, iaido and tameshigiri because he has made the Japanese sword arts central to his persona. A Dark Knight named “Taiji-2” with a Taoist persona might study taichi and chigung along with kung-fu to deepen his training in the Taoist mind-body arts. Just be sure to train in at least one martial art that teaches real self-defense and combat skills – Dark Knights may wear costumes and have colorful names, but we’re much more than cosplayers. We can fight! STEALTH/ASSASSIN TRAINING SPECIAL SKILLS TRAINING In addition to martial arts mastery, the Dark Knight disciple should develop one or more special skills that help define your persona. Use any advanced skills you already have, and dedicate yourself to acquiring new ones. Choose skills that will be useful in both your “day job” profession and in your nightime activities as a Dark Knight. Here are some examples of special skills that would be useful for a Dark Knight: Page 63 Dark Knight Training Criminology & Forensics Security Hypnosis and Interrogation Firearms Technology & Invention Driving Piloting Boating and ... (name for marine skills) Espionage Stealth and Deception Acting and Disguise Business and Finance Stage Magic . CRIMINOLOGY & FORENSICS TECHNOLOGY DRIVING SPIRITUAL TRAINING SHADOW WORK confronting fear, dark side of mind The Dark Knight’s training is all about learning to operate in the shadows, in both the physical and psychological sense. Shadow work is the process of ... the unconscious, dark parts of your minds, and integrating them into your conscious self. MEDITATION Meditation should be part of every Dark Knight disciple’s daily routine DARK ZEN DARKNESS MEDITATION Page 64 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends DIAMOND BODY MEDITATION The teachings of the Dark Knights demand that an acolyte develops a powerful mind and will, which can in turn only be housed inside a powerful body. To neglect the body is dangerous, for the acolyte who does so learns that the Will burns inside as a flame, and consumes the flesh if the body is not properly trained. The dark side especially is dangerous, as it opens the acolyte to contact with powerful and volatile energies and elementals, and so the flesh must be hardened like steel in order to properly harness them. The Dark Knight practice of Diamond Body meditation allows the Dark Knight to use the Will to harden the body, protecting themselves from internal energies and also from external threats. NB. Believe that this is not merely a visualization, but a willed evolution on the physical level. PRACTICE: Begin the meditation in your Sanctum. Assume a seated position, cross legged on the ground. Maintain a relaxed, upright position. Slow your breathing, so that you feel a sense of calm detachment. Visualize yourself in detail, as you are currently, from your head to your feet. Become aware of your strengths and weaknesses on a physical level. Now visualize an evolved Dark Knight version of yourself. This form has no weaknesses. It is hard and strong, like a black diamond. It regenerates from harm quickly, and does not easily age or become tired or sick. Focus on becoming this new being. See your body changing, shifting into an idealized, supernatural version of yourself. You . are still you – human – but now harder and sharper, like a black diamond. The Force flows freely through your veins now, changing you, making you stronger and stronger with each moment. Maintain this core meditation for at least 30 minutes. Repeat Page 65 Dark Knight Training during the day when you feel tired or weak. POST-PRACTICE: As you embrace this practice, the Tao will direct you to various opportunities to create the new body. You may feel the urge to begin a particular sport or exercise regime. Your appetites and eating habits may change drastically, as the new body begins to impose itself on you. Embrace those opportunities and urges. Maintain a daily written record of your experiences. At the end of the month, write an evaluation of the change in yourself and in your behavior. Be critical and direct. After one month, submit the evaluation to darkknightacademy@gmail.com. DARK KNIGHT YOGA Dark Knight yoga is a recommended part of every Dark Knight’s spiritual training. … DK yoga consists of various physical poses (called asanas), breathing exercises and mental disciplines. Dark Knight asanas tend to be more strenuous and athletic than common yoga asanas, emphasizing flexibility, strength and willpower. Below are some of the asanas we recommend for Dark Knight training. As always, your training should be customized to fit your individual persona. MUDRAS WILLPOWER: hands clasped tightly together, both middle fingers extended straight up. ... “The will is everything” is one of the maxims every Dark Knight lives by, and should be reinforced by meditating upon this mudra regularly. SYMBOL: Page 66 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Create your own custom mudra to reflect your personal symbolism and identity. Associate the mudra with whatever state of mind or ability you identify with most strongly, and use it as a psychological “anchor” you can call upon when you need that ability. For example, a Dark Knight named “Night Owl” who takes the owl as his symbol might use an “owl mudra,” where he clasps . his hands together, with only forefingers and little fingers extended, to represent the ears of an owl. Night Owl might use this mudra in his mindfulness or extended awareness meditations, to associate it with his trademark ability: calm watchfulness and perception. By doing this exercise regularly, Night Owl can go into a deep state of perception simply by placing his hands in the owl mudra position – the mudra provides a “psychic superpower” he can call upon at will. BATZEN “SUPERPOWERS” TRAINING The Dark Knight is encouraged to develop exceptional skills and abilities that may seem like magic or superpowers to the uninitiated. For the goal of our path is the awakening of abilities which lay dormant within each of us, and which only require the right external conditions and self-discipline to bring forth. There is an ancient literature of such abilities, particularly in the East, but increasingly in the West as well, about the seemingly superhuman powers which masters of various inner disciplines may develop. Here are some such powers to consider and research further, if you feel so inspired. Tummo: Tummo (“inner fire”) yoga is a technique of breathing and visualization that has been scientifically shown to generate tremendous core body heat. Tummo was developed by … and described in a famous work called “...”. Tibetan monks use Tummo to survive nights in freezing cold in the Himalayas, evaporating the water from wet robes, as part of their training. Clearly this discipline could be quite useful to Page 67 Dark Knight Training any Dark Knight! Kuji-Kiri: Kuji-Kiri (“The Nine Cuts”) is the mystical system of mudras (hand yogas) used by the ninja to trigger nine heightened states of mind for use in different situations.

KujiKiri originated with the yogis of India thousands of years ago, and was transmitted to China and Japan by Taoist and Buddhist monks. It is part of the esoteric Buddhist practice of the yamabushi and shugenjas – the mountain hermits and fighting monks of feudal Japan, some of whom became the legendary ninja. In its fullest aspect, Kuji-Kiri is a system of esoteric magic that is said to allow the practitioner to read minds, control weather, tap into superhuman strength and more. Hypnosis: Hypnosis is a proven science that taps into powers of the mind that may seem psychic or magical. To be able to probe someone's mind and extract repressed memories, or use the power of suggestion to influence their behavior, or “cloud men's minds” like the fictional Shadow and pass by unnoticed, or cure a destructive habit, or give someone the ability to undergo surgery without anesthesia – all of these powers and more are possible for the master hypnotist. The Polish “psychic” Wolf Messing was able to get bank tellers to hand over money and even talk his way past guards to get into the presence of Josef Stalin, the most well-guarded man in the world, using his hypnosis skills. Hypnotists can put crowds or even entire countries under their spell. The uses of hypnosis for a Dark Knight should be obvious, and of great interest! Fire-Walking: Siddhis: ... MASTER-APPRENTICE TRAINING Dark Knights may take apprentice Batmen (aka “sidekicks”) for advanced one-on-one training. Such apprenticeship is required for a Batman to become a Dark Knight. Program in book is “life coaching” – meta-training, not Page 68 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends detailed training. TRAINING OUTLINE: Physical Fitness: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/08/23/batmanbodyweight-workout/ 9 part Batman workout image Martial Arts: enroll in martial arts program – ninjutsu, karate, mma, tae kwan do, kung fu, judo, etc. Stealth & Assassin Skills: military special forces, apprentice to a Dark Knight Criminology & Forensics: get degree in criminology and/or forensics, work as policeman, detective, private investigator Driving: go to driving school, get personal training Technology: technical school, self-taught, train under Dark Knight tech expert. Page 69 . BASIC S KILLS TRAINING The Dark Knight's basic skill set should combines the capabilities of a Special Forces soldier, spy, detective, martial artist, psychologist, actor, stage magician and entrepreneur. These skills include the following: Unarmed combat Armed combat (blades, firearms, blunt weapons, etc.) Climbing Driving Stealth Wilderness survival Breaking & Entering Intelligence Gathering Disguise Illusion Information technology Page 70 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Drama Branding and Marketing Forensics Human psychology Linguisitics and speech This is a lot to learn... The following is an outline of the trials that the League of Dark Knights may use to test your abilities in the basic skills of the Dark Knight. The precise nature of your trials will not be revealed until you are ready for them. Unarmed Combat: Develop some proficiency in some form of unarmed combat. This could mean enrolling in a local martial arts program, such as mixed martial arts, tae kwan do, karate, kung fu, krav maga, judo, ninjutsu, systema, etc., and reaching the … (belt) level. Or you could complete a self- . defense course such as those offered by … police departments … Even better, train privately with an expert in some combat system, learning at your own pace and receiving instruction that is personalized to your strengths. Choose the combat system that you are most drawn to, and which best fits your developing persona. Be sure the system teaches real fighting skills, and isn't a softer martial art such as tai chi. On your Dark Knight’s journey, there is no substitute for having the physical ability, mental strength and selfconfidence to defend yourself. Test: Demonstrate your proficiency in the combat style of your choice against a DKA Master. Climbing: Every Dark Knight must develop the ability to climb over any type of physical obstacle. They will need to demonstrate basic proficiency in each of the following skills: scaling walls, rappelling, climbing trees, rock-climbing, mountaineering. Page 71 Basic Skills Training If you are training with a Master, … If you are self-training, Some of these skills can be acquired from … courses in rockclimbing or mountaineering clubs outward bound, military, SWAT, boy scouts, Test: Complete three climbing tasks (tree, cliff, building) at a DKA training site. Driving: ddd Test: Drive through an obstacle course within a designated time without hitting any obstacles. Stealth: The Dark Knight seeks the darkness and stays silent. Tests: Sneak through a guarded facility without being spotted. Find an urban hide and observe a target without being spotted. Travel across country without being spotted. Breaking and Entering: Test: Break into a facility and obtain an item of interest. Disguise: Test: Don a disguise and successfully pass yourself off as someone else. Take advantage of your disguise to gain information and/or access to a restricted area. Illusion: Successfully fool a group of people by creating an illusion. This could be a sleight of hand trick, an audiovisual illusion using video cameras, a staged operation such as a distraction or false flag event, etc. Wilderness Survival: Test: go into a wilderness area with only a knife and survive for a week or more. Branding: . Page 72 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Test: Create a Dark Knight “brand” – your name, symbol, public image, etc. Do something to establish your brand in the minds of others, such as leaving calling cards, staging a publicity stunt or making an example of someone to demonstrate the power of your Dark Knight persona. Forensics: Analyze a crime scene and find important clues to the identity of the perpetrator. Urban Exploration: Explore sewer tunnels, storm drains, rooftops, basements, elevator shafts, abandoned buildings, water towers, … This will develop many important Dark Knight skills, including stealth, agility, breaking & entering, fearlessness, navigation, operating in darkness, escape and evasion. Page 73 DARK KNIGHT TRIALS CROSSING THE THRESHOLD The disciple is given a trial to reach the place of his new life or place of training. For example, he might have to walk a long . distance, travel to a remote land, climb a mountain, find a secret place, solve a puzzle or overcome some obstacle. The Crossing is a first test of the disciple’s commitment, strength and will. It weeds out the weak and the non-serious, while keeping the place of training secure from the uninitiated. It also serves to reinforce in the disciple’s mind that he is entering a new world, and leaving his old life with its old rules behind. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne had to find a rare flower and make a grueling hike up a mountain to find the monastery of the League of Shadows. Obviously, the more difficult the Crossing, the more powerful the effects are likely to be. ... PURGING FEAR “You've traveled the world to understand the criminal mind and conquer your fears. But a criminal is not complicated. And what you really fear is inside yourself. You fear your own power. You fear your anger, the drive to do great or terrible things. Now you must journey inwards. You are ready. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe in your fears. Face them. To conquer fear, you must become fear. You must bask in the fear of other men. And men fear most Page 74 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends what they cannot see. You have to become a terrible thought. A wraith. You have to become an idea! Feel your terror cloud your senses. Feel its power to distort. To control. And know that this power can be yours. Embrace your worst fear. Become one with the darkness. Focus. Concentrate. Master your senses. You cannot leave any sign.” What is your greatest fear, or the one that defines your path? This trial tests that fear, forcing you to embrace it, and conquer it. ... The Fear Purging trial will be different for each disciple, depending on their fear. The Master should create a We can’t describe it in detail, but ... This trial should be shamanic – it should alter the disciple’s consciousness and be traumatic enough to force a change in his perceptions. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne inhaled the fumes of a psychoactive flower, then was forced to ... ninjas ... His final test was to open a box, unleashing a swarm of bats around him. Wayne faced the bat swarm, allowing them to engulf him. In his altered state, this created a new perception that bats weren’t enemies to be feared, but allies to be befriended. His master, Ducard, announced “you have purged your fear,” planting a powerful suggestion in Bruce’s mind to reinforce his new perception. The trial had its intended effect, because from then on, . Bruce Wayne was comfortable with bats; he allowed them to swarm around him in his batcave and out in Gotham City, striking fear in the hearts of criminals. Examples of fear trials: Page 75 Dark Knight Trials Spending a night in a cave or chamber full of bats, rats, snakes, spiders, etc.

Walking on hot coals. Spending time in a war zone. Spending time around dead bodies in a morgue, graveyard, charnel ground or catacombs.

Being “buried alive” in a grave or sealed tomb. Diving off a cliff.

Bungee jumping Sky-diving COMMITMENT “We have purged your fear. You are ready to lead these men. You are ready to become a member of the League of Shadows. But first, you must demonstrate your commitment to justice.” –Henri Ducard to Bruce Wayne After his Fear Purging, Bruce Wayne’s next trial was to demonstrate his commitment to the ideals of the League of Shadows – to “justice” and “defeating evil.” This required him to execute a criminal by his own hand. Wayne considered this unjust, and instead of executing the criminal, he attacked his Master, burned down the League’s temple and fled. On one level, Wayne failed his trial, but on another level he passed a greater trial: his willingness to defy unjust orders and take heroic action. Your Commitment Trial will depend on your Master and ... This Trial will demonstrate to other members of the League of Dark Knights that you are truly committed to our ideals. You will take an action from which there is no going back, and prove not only to us, but to yourself, that you belong among us. ASPIRANT INTERVIEW Once the Dark Knight Aspirant crosses the threshold to his Monastery, he should be interrogated immediately by his Mentor. The Mentor should ask the Aspirant what he is seeking at the Monastery. After receiving an answer, the Mentor should Page 76 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends make a statement of what will be required of the Aspirant to fulfill his quest. The Mentor should ask the Aspirant if he is ready to begin. If the Aspirant says “no”, he is sent away from the Monastery. If he says “yes” or is uncertain, he should be immediately probed and challenged in a way that relates to his quest. For example, if the Aspirant says he is seeking more . power, he might be asked “what is power?” and “what will you do with power?” He might then be told “you want to see power?”, followed by a demonstration of power by the Mentor that in some way awes and/or humiliates the Aspirant. This challenge should be another test of the Aspirant’s will, and his fear, ideally when the Aspirant is still exhausted from the Threshold Crossing trial. Our model for the Aspirant Interview comes from the scene in Batman Begins where Henri Ducard interviews Bruce Wayne, who has just completed his Threshold Crossing trial and is exhausted from his hike up the mountain to the League of Shadows’ monastery: Ducard: What are you seeking? Wayne: I seek the means to fight injustice. To turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. Ducard: To manipulate the fears in others you must first master your own. Are you ready to begin? Wayne: I can ... I can barely stand. Ducard: Death does not wait for you to be ready! Death is not considerate or fair! And make no mistake, here you face death. Tiger. Jujitsu. Panther. You're skilled. But this is not a dance. And you are afraid. But not of me. Tell us, Mr. Wayne, what do you fear? DARKNESS TRIALS Wearing your Acolyte uniform, make a night excursion to a wilderness area as far from civilization as you can get. You should do this exercise on a moonless night far from city lights. Bring only the bare minimum of equipment with you, such as a Page 77 Dark Knight Trials knife, firestarter and water. This trial is intended to test your wits, survival instincts, and night awareness, not your ability to purchase hiking gear. Perform the exercises below … NIGHT STALKING: In your black uniform, without light, move stealthily through the wilderness for several hours. Use your night vision and try to move instinctively through the darkness. Pause periodically and perform zazen, nature meditation (see below) or other Dark Knight exercises that you have learned. … Darkness is a Dark Knight’s natural habitat, so you must become as comfortable in it as others are in daylight. As you move through the wilderness, try to sense any predators or other animals in your midst. If you detect any intelligent animals, hide from them and see if you can stalk them. Observe the animals closely and see what you can learn from them about survival in a predatory world. If you are skilled enough, you may get an opportunity to kill an animal yourself. If so, you should prepare and eat the animal where it falls or pack it out to be consumed later. When you consume the animal’s flesh, give some thought for its part in the eternal struggles of life. All wild animals are naturally in harmony with the Dark Tao, and deserve a Dark Knight disciple’s highest respect! NATURE MEDITATION: . Sit comfortably in a meditative position and open your senses to the raw nature that surrounds you. Listen for the sounds of nocturnal animals, smell the scents of earth, flora and fauna, look for the signs of life’s eternal struggles in the shadows, feel the planet’s surface beneath you as it spins through the cosmos. Do this meditation for at least a half an hour; the longer you sit quietly, the more nature will reveal to you. URBAN SENTRY DUTY: Most Dark Knights operate in urban areas much more than in wilderness areas, and will want to become even more adept in the urban jungles than the rural ones. One of the best ways to Page 78 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends familiarize yourself with the true nature of the urban jungle is to simply observe it in the darkness. Find a concealed location high above the city, such as a rooftop, wall, pole or balcony. You should choose a location where there is significant activity in the streets below – particularly criminal activity. Binoculars or a telescope are recommended to help you zoom in on locations of interest. Make sure you have at least one escape route from your post if you have to make a hasty retreat. In this spot, simply observe what goes on in the urban jungle below. Don’t make any noises or movements that will reveal your presence. Don’t eat, take a bathroom break, use a mobile phone or do anything else to distract you from your observation. Stay in this spot for at least four hours during darkness, and note everything that you see. Repeat this exercise for at least three nights, and note any patterns in the activity. Also try at least two other locations for three nights each, and note any differences in activity that you observe. ... OUTDOOR TRIALS The Dark Acolyte must develop a mindset that all things are possible. He must see the world as a test of his will and a set of obstacles to be overcome on the path to Dark Knighthood. An excellent way to develop this mindset and develop new skills is by giving yourself challenging outdoor trials. OUTDOOR TRIALS EXERCISE: Set yourself at least two challenging outdoor trials for the next month, which will test your physical strength, endurance, willpower and agility. The possibilities are endless, and will depend on your environment and resources. Here are some possibilities: Climb a tall tree Climb a cliff, rock formation or steep slope Page 79 Dark Knight Trials . Scale a building Bungee jump off a bridge Canoe or kayak down a river, across a lake or ocean Climb up a mountain Hang from a cliff, bridge or building Meditate under a freezing waterfall It is essential that these tasks contain a strong element of danger, such that you may experience injury or even death if you are weak or incompetent. Shame your Daytime Self with your feats of derring-do! What are you waiting for? Why not start right now?! WATERFALL MEDITATION This Challenge tests your ability to will your body to go outside its comfort zone, face nature and overcome shock. It is based on an ancient practice, used by the Yamabushi fighting monks and hermits of Japan for centuries, known asTakigyo. To perform this challenge, you will need to locate a cold waterfall which you can stand or sit under. If this is not possible for you, you will need to simulate the experience using ice-water buckets, an ice-cold shower, or some other method. You will also need a Clan brother to assist you. With your League brother, go to the site of the waterfall. Strip down to a black loincloth or shorts, and perform some preliminary exercises, such as the Willpower Mudra and FetterCutting Code, to focus your mind. The League brother should be standing by with a dry blanket and should allow you at least a few minutes of mental preparation. On the League brother’s command, slowly walk under the waterfall, immersing your arms and legs first, then your shoulders and neck, and finally your head. While standing under the water, put your hands in the Willpower Mudra and chant the Fetter-Cutting Code for as long as you can. When you feel your body being overcome by shock and on the verge of collapse, walk away from the waterfall. The League brother should wrap you in the blanket and congratulate you on your Page 80 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends triumph of will. You are one step closer to Dark Knighthood! . Page 81 THE LEAGUE OF DARK KNIGHTS ABOUT US The League of Dark Knights (LDK) is a community of individuals who are walking the Dark Knight Path described in this book, and guiding others on the Dark Knight’s journey. The League is motivated by a conviction that the world today needs true heroes more than ever – people dedicated to the pursuit of ideals that bring both self-realization and benefits to others. They believe the Dark Knight Path offers a unique, practical path of inspiration that is well-adapted to the modern world yet timeless in nature. ... The LDK is a decentralized organization, open to anyone who lives according to the ideals laid down in this book. The League has a three-level hierarchy: Dark Acolytes, Dark Apprentices and Dark Knights. NOTES: LDK is a “life coaching” organization; we guide the Acolyte on his journey to Dark Knighthood in a manner appropriate to his life circumstances. WHAT WE OFFER: . Page 82 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Personal Evaluation – an evaluation of your life experiences, aptitudes, passions and resources, your current stage on the Dark Knight’s journey, and advice on how to proceed. Mentors – life coaches and masters on your Dark Knight’s journey. Places of training and suggestions for places to train. Dark Knight Trials or suggestions for places to undergo them. Initiations – Access to Dark Knight gatherings Access to resources shared by Dark Knights THE DARK APPRENTICE Individuals who become fully realized Dark Knights may choose to take ... MATCHING ACOLYTES AND KNIGHTS “When the pupil is ready, the master will appear.” —Buddhist Proverb The League of Dark Knights maintains a database of profiles of our members: all Acolytes, Apprentices and Dark Knights who have chosen to participate in our organization. These profiles contain detailed information about the members’ life histories, skills, psychological profiles, philosophical and spiritual inclinations, contact information and current stage of their Dark Knight’s journey. Contact information can be as discreet as desired, and may be as little as an anonymous email address. One of the main functions of this database is to allow the League to match up Acolytes who are deemed ready with Dark Knights who are seeking Apprentices. Eligible Dark Knights are allowed to browse the Acolyte profiles and choose an Acolyte who is the best fit for them, in terms of personal history, inclinations, skills and goals. Once the Acolyte is selected by the Dark Knight, the Knight will plan his first meeting with the Acolyte – the critical Page 83 The League of Dark Knights “Meeting With a Mentor” stage of the Dark Knight’s journey. This meeting should be designed for maximum psychological impact, using surprise, disguise or an exotic location. For example, the Dark Knight may ... A good example of a powerful Meeting With a Mentor was the scene in Batman Begins where Henri Ducard first met with Bruce Wayne. Ducard appeared by surprise, in the depths of an Asian prison cell, at a moment when Wayne was psychologically most vulnerable, having just been put in solitary confinement. Ducard himself is a kind of disguise, being in reality Ra’s al Ghul, the sinister Dark Knight and . leader of the League of Shadows. HIERARCHY DARK ACOLYTES Dark Acolytes are the lowest ranking members of the LDK, who have not yet been taken under the wing of a Dark Knight and become a Dark Squire. They are expected to train religiously, to study the methods and personas of the Dark Knights, and to act as assistants to Dark Squires when needed. ... Dark Acolytes dress in a uniform style, similar to the classic “ninja”: with black gi, balaclava, gloves and boots. DARK SQUIRES Dark Squires, also known as Dark Apprentices or sidekicks, are Dark Acolytes who have been taken under the wing of an active Dark Knight for intensive personal collaboration and training. This Dark Squire The Dark Squire is ... to replace Dark Knights and continue the League’s lineage into the future. Dark Squires are expected to the assist their masters in their Dark Knight work in whatever capacity is appropriate. For example, if the Dark Knight is a private investigator, the Dark Squire might help him tail or track a person of interest; if the Page 84 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Dark Knight is a Special Forces warrior, the Dark Squire might be ...; if the Dark Knight is an inventor, the Dark Squire might assist him with product research and testing. Obviously, the Dark Squire should ... DARK KNIGHTS Dark Knights are the ... OATHS AND INITIATIONS ACOLYTE INITIATION (Example for young addict from broken family named Aaron Black) Aaron Black: You have had your childhood problems and your fun and and games. Now you must journey inwards, to what you really fear. It’s inside you, and once you face it there is no turning back. Your family’s problems were not your fault. Your recovery programs are nothing. The will is everything. If you make yourself more than an addict, more than a man – if you devote yourself to an ideal, you can become something else entirely: a Legend. Are you ready to begin? VOW TO AN IDEAL Early in your Dark Knight’s journey, after your Traumatic Experience and the discovery of your life’s purpose, you should say a vow that commits you to that purpose. When saying the vow, incorporate items that have a powerful . meaning to you, such as pictures, artifacts, books or other people. Keep one of these items near you at all times to serve as token of your vow – perhaps a ring on your finger or a picture on your desk. This vow ritual will reinforce in your subconscious mind the main purpose of your life, and prevent you from forgetting it. It is another “ritual of commitment” that will strengthen your will to act. Page 85 The League of Dark Knights In the Batman comics, a young Bruce Wayne made this vow before a portrait of his parents: “I vow that I’ll dedicate my life to bring your killer to justice... and to fight all crime!” (Detective Comics #235) Keep your vow simple and private like this, and let its power guide you on your journey to Dark Knighthood. ACOLYTE OATH Emerson Hood, say the Acolyte Oath below and take the actions described: I, Emerson Hood, pledge my undying loyalty to my master, Mister Blackstone And to the League of Dark Knights to which we belong. I vow to struggle in the way of the Knights, To seek the knowledge and power of the Dark Path, To defend my master and the League to the death, To the best of my abilities, without fear or weakness or surrender. I stand before you and say the Dark Knight Code: To conquer fear I will become fear. My passion is my power I pledge myself to an ideal And let my will have the hour I kneel before you and take the Dark Knight Pledge: I pledge allegiance to the code Of the League of Dark Knights of all nations And to the ideals for which they fight, One Order, under wills indomitable, With victory and justice forever. Page 86 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Master: Rise, Acolyte Emerson Hood. You are now an Initiate of the League of Dark Knights. . May you seize the night and win the day. APPRENTICE OATH Black Hood, say the Apprentice Oath below and take the actions described: I, Black Hood, pledge my undying loyalty to my master, Mister Blackstone And to the League of Dark Knights to which he belongs. I vow to struggle in the way of the Knights, To seek the knowledge and power of the Dark Path, To defend my master and the League to the death, To the best of my abilities, without fear or weakness or surrender. I stand before you and say the Dark Knight Code: To conquer fear I will become fear. My passion is my power I pledge myself to an ideal And let my will have the hour I kneel before you and take the Dark Knight Pledge: I pledge allegiance to the code Of the League of Dark Knights of all nations And to the ideals for which they fight, One Order, under wills indomitable, Page 87 The League of Dark Knights With victory and justice forever. Master: Rise, apprentice Black Hood. You are now the Black Hood, Apprentice of Mister Blackstone of the League of Dark Knights. May you seize the night and win the day. DARK KNIGHT CLANS Dark Knights may choose to form into groups called Clans. Clans will meet to train, share resources, conduct operations, initiate new members and pursue whatever particular passions unite its members. A Clan may form in a particular region, or it may form around a shared interest of its members. For example, the “... Clan” might include Dark Knights from the American Southwest, from Southern California to New Mexico. The “Killmaster Clan” might be composed of Dark Knights who have a shared interest in assassination techniques. CLAN SANCTUMS A Clan will normally have one or more Sanctums where they . meet to conduct Clan business. Clan Sanctums are just like individual Dark Knight Sanctums, except that they will be known to the entire Clan and must allow all members access. Security will therefore be more complex; in addition to giving all authorized Clan members keys (for an indoor Sanctum), you may want to set up a video monitoring system, sentries, guard dogs and a system of passwords or “secret handshakes” to screen out Clan members from interlopers. ... For an outdoor Sanctum, a secluded, secret location is the most important consideration, on property that is either owned by the Clan or is not under any immediate jurisdiction. This could be something as simple as a grove in the woods, a tree house or a Page 88 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends cabin, to something as elaborate as a private estate or an underground cave complex. Page 89 . TALES OF THE D ARK KNIGHTS The following stories illustrate the range of possibilities offered by the Dark Knight Path. ... Put below somewhere else?? Ours is a very general Path, which can be applied by people of every political, cultural, personal and spiritual orientation. You may be “right wing” or “left wing”, “liberal” or “conservative”, atheist or devout, “spiritual, but not religious”, “progressive” or “traditional”, “high-tech” or “low-tech”, urban or rural, “outdoorsy” or “indoorsy”, intellectual or instinctual, romantic or rational, etc. – all of these types can find a unique Path to Dark Knighthood that speaks to their inner nature. Nor are we suggesting that the Dark Knight Path will produce people with a common outlook, uniform opinions, or unity of purpose. As the stories below illustrate, Dark Knights may come to very different conclusions about their role in the world, and may even find themselves on opposite sides of many conflicts. We are not preaching peace at all costs or trying to create a cult of cookie-cutter soldiers; we are interested in helping people awaken to their true nature, and find their higher purpose, even if it means conflict with others who have come to different conclusions. Our emphasis is on the authenticity of your path, not on its conformity to social Page 90 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends rules or inability to offend. REAL LIFE DARK KNIGHTS ... The reality of this world is that times of strife and suffering produce more great heroism than times of peace and complacency. Therefore we find many examples of Dark Knights from the annals of war. … TOSHITSUGU TAKAMATSU (see “The Complete Ninja Collection”, pp. 488-495) THE ROUGH RIDER RISES . http://www.american-presidents.org/2008/07/did-teddyroosevelt-help-to-inspire.html http://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodoreroosevelt-the-rancher.htm Theodore Roosevelt is a man who made the Dark Knight’s journey from the depths of despair to the summit of world power. His life story reads in many ways like a real world Bruce Wayne; Christopher Nolan, director of the Dark Knight film trilogy, reportedly said “Bruce Wayne is Teddy Roosevelt.” Teddy Roosevelt was born into a life of affluence in New York City, son of a wealthy philanthropist who was admired by the people of his city, and a hero to his son. TR was a frail child, but developed a determination to become physically indomitable. He took up competitive boxing as a teen ager, and maintained a passion for martial arts throughout his life – he trained with champion wrestlers, Japanese judo masters and sparred regularly even while living in the White House. Roosevelt’s Traumatic Experience came on February 14 th, Page 91 Tales of the Dark Knights 1884, when his wife died two days after giving birth to a daughter, and just hours after his mother had died of fever in the same house. Roosevelt wrote a large “X” in his diary that day, and a single sentence: “The light has gone out of my life.” A few days later he wrote: “For joy or for sorrow my life has now been lived out.” Devastated, Roosevelt sold his house, left his daughter with his sister, and moved to the Badlands of North Dakota, perhaps to die. But the light did not go out of Teddy Roosevelt’s life on that fateful Valentine’s Day. Instead, the young man, who had grown up in urbane Manhattan, found a new passion for life among the rugged cowboys of the Western frontier. Roosevelt learned new skills, a new way of life, and the value of selfreliance, law enforcement, nature conservation and what he called “the strenuous life.” The scrawny New Yorker was transformed into a burly rancher, big game hunter, cowboy and lawman. During those several years in the Badlands, the great man who would later be called “the Rough Rider” was born. As TR put it, “it was there that the romance of my life began.“ In true Dark Knight fashion, Roosevelt returned from the Western frontier to New York City with a renewed sense of strength, willpower and purpose. He rose quickly, becoming police commissioner and then governor. Roosevelt fought the rampant corruption in the city, fought for the rights of immigrants, ... LAWRENCE OF ARABIA THE AVENGING LAMA In his classic book Beasts, Men and Gods , Ferdinand Ossendowski recounts his incredible adventures in the brutal Nighttime World of Russia and Mongolia in the 1920s during the Russian Civil War. Particularly interesting was his account of Tushegoun, the “avenging lama” – a Dark Knight-like fighting monk and sorcerer who struck terror in the hearts of. his enemies. Tushegoun was from the Kalmyk republic of southwest Russia, the only European region with a majority Page 92 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Buddhist population. He was a Buddhist lama, a doctor and a close friend of the 13 th Dalai Lama. But his experiences in the prisons of the Czars and the Bolsheviks had turned him into a fiercer type of Buddhist – the personification of Vajrapāni, the fearful, wrathful guardian of the Buddha's wisdom. Tushegoun travelled to Mongolia to escape persecution, where he soon developed a great following and a fearsome reputation – reputedly due to his irresistible mystical powers: His influence was irresistible, based as it was on his great control of mysterious science...its foundation largely in the panicky fear which he could produce in the Mongols. Everyone who disobeyed his orders perished. Such an one never knew the day or the hour when, in his yurt or beside his galloping horse on the plains, the strange and powerful friend of the Dalai Lama would appear. The stroke of a knife, a bullet or strong fingers strangling the neck like a vise accomplished the justice of the plans of this miracle worker. (Beasts, Men and Gods, p. 116) In true Dark Knight fashion, Tushegoun used dramatic gestures to terrorize the persecutors of the Mongols, such as galloping out of he darkness and swooping down on a Chinese rabblerouser, kidnapping him and riding off, to return only his head later in thenight. The Avenging Lama is an example of the dark knights  created by dark times – and few times were ever darker than Mongolia in the 1920s. THE FALCON TAKES FLIGHT Christopher Boyce grew up in an affluent Southern California neighborhood, a conservative Catholic altar-boy liked by all. Highly intelligent, curious and idealistic, … Boyce's great passion was falconry; he spent many days in the wilderness with his childhood friend Daulton Lee, stalking and trapping the birds, training them and using them to hunt. This hobby gave Boyce strong wilderness survival skills and a deep appreciation for the timeless freedom of … “Black Vault” Page 93 Tales of the Dark Knights The Falcon escaped from Lompoc prison in 1980 by … Fleeing into the surrounding wilderness and evading an intensive search, Boyce survived on berries and insects until he was able to take refuge with a friend. Eventually Boyce made his way to the Northwest, where he hid out with an outlaw … in Idaho and … went on a bank robbery spree to support himself on the lam. Finally he made his way to the Olympic Peninsula, where he purchased a boat with the intention of sailing to Alaska, across the Bering Strait and defecting to Russia. Changing his plans, Boyce began taking flying lessons, intending to fly out . of the country to safety (Boyce later revealed in his autobiography that he actually intended to fly back to Lompoc and break his accomplish Daulton Lee out of prison). Boyce was two weeks away from obtaining his pilot's license when U.S. marshals apprehended him at a burger drive-in in Port Angeles, Washington. A SEEKER OF MIRACLES George Gurdjieff was a legendary mystic who travelled the world in the early 20 th century in search of esoteric knowledge and meetings with remarkable men. Gurdjieff's journey began when he witnessed seemingly miraculous events as a child which no one in his village could explain. These traumatic experiences, which shattered the Daytime World of his upbringing, compelled him to set out on a lifelong quest to understand them. Gurdjieff's quest would take him to sacred sites in Egypt, monasteries of Tibet, ruins in the Gobi desert, Sufi Orders in the Levant, and to a legendary secret community in the remote mountains of Afghanistan called the Sarmoung Brotherhood. Along the way, Gurdjieff fought native tribesmen, eluded hostile soldiers, He also developed immense esoteric knowledge, the ability to speak dozens of languages, indomitable willpower, tremendous vitality and irresistible personal magnetism. After years of such travels and learning, Gurdjieff returned to the centers of civilization, setting up communities in Paris and New York. There, he taught the comfortable Page 94 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends children of elite society to perform amazing acts of gymnastics and self-discipline, while sharing some of his esoteric knowledge in his sly and seductive manner. Thus Gurdjieff became one of the first Western gurus who returned from the East with mystical knowledge to share, and in the process became a living legend. He is undoubtedly one of the realworld inspirations for the many fictional Dark Knights who been transformed in the East and returned to theWest to share the fruits of their experiences. THE WRATH OF GOD A recent real-world example of Dark Knights were the Mossad kill teams who hunted down the Black September terrorists responsible for the Munich Olympics massacre in the 1970s and 80s. Their path began in the summer of 1972, when eight Black September operatives killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich. Burning with a desire for revenge, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir gave the green light to “Operation Wrath of God” – a covert operation to hunt down and kill those responsible for the so-called Munich Massacre. Frustrated by the failure of European countries to bring the killers to justice, Operation Wrath of God would continue for ... years, until ... Like Batman’s exploits, this dramatic operation sent a message to Israel’s enemies and contributed to the myth of the Mossad’s invincibility which is probably worth more to them than any weapon. THE WAR ON TERROR Undoubtedly the traumatic events of September 11 th, 2001, . created many new Dark Knights – men and women who were shocked out of their complacent Daytime World existence and driven by their rage to seek vengeance against the perpetrators. .... Page 95 Tales of the Dark Knights FICTIONAL DARK KNIGHTS The following are stories of individuals who followed the Dark Knight path and became something more than men. They illustrate the key trials, pitfalls and potential of our path; perhaps they will inspire you on your own Dark Knight’s journey. THE BLACK DRAGON AWAKENS Aaron Black was a man who seemed well on his way to attaining the best things in life – wealth, status, respectability, relationships and a creative career. He was highly intelligent, in his third year at an elite West Coast university, getting good grades and making friends with some of the best and brightest people. He had a career in the Valley as a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist all lined up for himself after graduation. He was something of a technological wizard, with a mind for new innovations that, with luck, could make him quite rich. And just to complete the picture of the 21st century man of privilege, he was handsome, athletic, and popular with the ladies. Truly, Mr. Black had been blessed with an abundance of riches in his life, and from the outside seemed to want for nothing. But inside, it was a different story. Inside, Mr. Black’s mind was racked with strange feelings he couldn’t understand or come to grips with. He sensed that there was something vital missing from his life, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. So he began reading a few books of philosophy, psychology and spirituality – subjects he had avoided in his education until now – to try to understand what was bothering him. He also spent many late hours watching online talks by various spiritual teachers and philosophers. Aaron found most Western philosophy and psychology teachings rather dry and unenlightening. But in the great Eastern spiritual traditions he found a few clues. Buddhists spoke of dukkha – the sense of the unsatisfactoriness of life, no matter what one achieved or possessed. They believed this to Page 96 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends be an inherent part of the life, which could only be overcome by ending one’s attachments to illusory and impermanent things. Aaron discovered that Muslims had a similar belief: that attachment to dunya – the transient things of this world – was . an evil to be avoided. Hindus and Taoists also taught that the world was without form, immaterial, and all attempts to control or mold it were doomed to fail. Was Aaron's perfect materialistic world a giant lie? Then one sunny spring day, Aaron Black’s abstract sense of dissatisfaction with his near-perfect life was shattered by an overwhelmingly real crisis. For that was the day he watched ... What was Aaron supposed do, confronted by this unforeseeable act of evil? What in his life of had prepared him for such a moment of irrationality, chaos and darkness? Nothing. He realized right then how ignorant and deprived he truly was. He felt in his bones the nakedness of his existence; the disarmed and impotent nature of the man who sleepwalks toward success without spiritual struggle. He had been living a lie – a dream that had suddenly turned into a nightmare. Five days later, after attending the funeral of his brother and spending three days with his ..., Aaron Black boarded a plane headed for ... without bothering to notify anyone at his school that he wouldn’t be completing his courses that semester, or telling family or friends where he was going. He simply disappeared. In fact, Aaron had gone to ... … (Enrolls in strict Zen monastery in British Columbia) Aaron’s Threshold Crossing came on the cloudy winter’s day … The previous day, he taken a ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles, a rather run-down port town in the far northwestern corner of the United States, to Victoria, a much more pleasant city on the southwestern tip of Canada. The customs agents had given him a bit of a grilling, but he Page 97 Tales of the Dark Knights answered their questions … From the Victoria …, Early the next morning, Aaron boarded the first city bus to a park on the outskirts of town, where he had been instructed to meet his contact from the monastery at 7 am. He brought only a small rucksack with water, snacks and minimal clothing. wore khaki pants, walking shoes and a light jacket … Arriving a few minutes early to the empty park, he found a man waiting for him … The man was dressed in a dark track suit, with a shaven head and healthy physique that made it difficult to determine his age. As he got closer and exchanged greetings, Aaron could see from the fine lines around his eyes that the man was surely at least forty, and possibly much older. The man introduced himself as only “John”, which was the name of the contact he had been told to expect. After a bit of discussion about his trip and his provisions, John asked: “So, are you ready to begin?” When Aaron replied that he was, John nodded, motioned for him to follow him, and said “This way please.” … Here is the trail. It is about 30 kilometers to the monastery. A MEETING OF THE NIGHT EAGLE CLAN . The Night Eagle Clan gathered at their usual meeting place, which they called the Eyrie – a craggy mesa outside of Tucson that was said to have once been a lookout spot for Apache scouts. The Night Eagles never doubted this legend, and the flint arrowheads they had found at the site only confirmed it. The Eyrie suited the Clan not only because it afforded them panoramic views of the surrounding desert, but because getting there required enough climbing skill that they rarely had to worry about company. This was certainly not a concern for them at this hour – nearing midnight. {location e.g. Battleship Mountain, AZ} The Clan members sat cross-legged on the rim of the mesa, gazing intently down the sheer slopes beneath them and out into the night. The moon hung like an immense planet in the Page 98 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends black Sonoran sky; the desert below was an alien landscape, pocked by craters, pierced by crags and carpeted in a profusion of cacti of every shape, size and color. A vulture circled in the moonlight overhead, perhaps drawn to this strange nocturnal gathering. Each Night Eagle was dressed in the uniform of their Clan: gi jacket, baggy hakama pants bound tight around the shins, face wrap, leather sash around the waist, fingerless gloves, and a tanto dagger strapped across the back – everything black in color. They each wore a headband with the Clan symbol embroidered in the center: a, wings outspread, against a round white moon. On this night, the Night Eagles were living up to their namesake: watching from their high perch, waiting for their prey to appear. They awaited the arrival of an Aspirant to their Clan, who chosen name was Nightclaw. Tonight was to be Nightclaw's final trial of initiation; if he passed, he would be admitted as a full member of the Clan, with the rank of Acolyte. They had not seen any vehicle parked at the base of the mesa, nor any approach since they started their ascent. If Nightclaw was nearby, he had done well to conceal his arrival. The Clan Master, whose name was Talon, … “You have done well, Aspirant Nightclaw. Talon Darkwing Nightclaw Blackhawk Moonshadow Deadeye Swoop . Tales of the Dark Knights Page 99 As was their custom at such conclaves, the Clan members brought several sliced and boiled several The Shugendō temple where Tony Rossi trained for five years THE SHUGENJA After a devastating …, Tony Rossi travelled the world, eventually finding himself in the mountains of Japan. There, he took part in a … mountain trek … On this trek, Rossi made contact with an ancient sect of Shugenja – mystic mountain ascetics who practice Shugendō – the way of training and testing. Rossi would stay and train with the Shugenja for 5 years, developing great spiritual strength and physical endurance through trials such as mountain marathons, icy waterfall meditations, walking on hot coals and cliff climbing. He advanced to one of the highest ranks a non-Japanese ever had within the sect, mastering many of its esoteric disciplines and secrets. After five years, Rossi left Japan with the encouragement of the order to assist in establishing a Shugendō temple in Washington state, USA. Page 100 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends THE COBRA UNCOILS Benjamin Green … Spends two years learning “Naga Yoga” at the Cobra Temple in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. Trauma: death of his brother Fear of death, snakes Arriving in Goa, Green quickly grew dissatisfied with the commercialized, “tourist trap” For more than a year, Green wandered around India, visiting temples and ashrams, participating in rituals and yoga with other pilgrims, taking in the sights and sounds of a different world, without much sense of purpose or discipline. Still feeling lost, and no closer to finding ..., he ... It was there that . Green met a striking ..., who told him about a place called “” (“Cobra Temple”), located in the Himalayan foothills, which could offer him a path to a “new self.” The man’s inner power and calm made a dramatic impression on Benjamin, and he decided right then and there that he would visit this Cobra Temple and learn more about their path. ... At the Cobra Temple, his guru, ..., emphasized the four pillars of the Naga Yoga practice: developing flexibility, calmness, “venom,” and the ability to “shed one’s skin.” Flexibility meant both the suppleness of body required for the advanced yoga postures, and the suppleness of mind needed for whatever surprises life throws at you. Calmness meant the relaxation, awareness and control developed by regular “cobra meditation”. “Venom” referred to inner power and lethal effectiveness the Naga Templars sought to cultivate in everything they did. Green learned that the Nagas were founded by a Learned Kalaripayattu and marmakkala, the ancient yogic Page 101 Tales of the Dark Knights martial arts of southern India. Kalaripayattu gave him skill with bladed weapons, sticks, hand and foot fighting, climbing, jumping and flexibility. Marmakkala taught him how to use the body’s vital points to wound or immobilize opponents. THE (SYMBOLIC GREEN ANIMAL) Sharon O’Neil was an ecology graduate student from the University of California ... While doing field research for her doctoral dissertation, on “... (rainforest)”, she ... has a “Gaian awakening” after spending time in the Amazon rainforest with shamans and native peoples. The sight of tropical rainforests – the very “lungs” of the planet – being clear-cut by multinational agricultural corporations to make room for crops to feed people and livestock in distant cities awakened her to the horrors of modern industrial civilization. Her traumatic experience came the day she saw a native activist get shot dead by security guards of the ... (agricultural corporation). Her transformation to a Dark Knight began with a ceremonial vow, taken under a full moon at the memorial near the ... where ... had been murdered. “I vow to avenge the death of ..., and to fight all those who cut down the forests, drive out the animals, pollute the air, foul the seas, rape the earth, and exploit the indigenous peoples of the world.” THE NIGHT EAGLE TAKES WING NOTES: Character is part Native American. Incorporates traditional beliefs about “night eagles” (owls) into his Dark Knight persona. Associated with death, wisdom, intuition, watchfulness, . spiritual guidance, personal change. Traumatic experience: Page 102 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Primary passion: Symbol: owl THE SKULL-FACE GRINS Fear: death Trauma: death of fellow soldiers in Iraq/Afghan Training: U.S. special forces Mentor: Zack “Skull-Face” Haynes. Showed him how to face and conquer his fear of death. Profession: soldier Symbol: white skull on black circle The rank-and-file soldiers were quite sick of the whole war by now, disillusioned about its purpose, and demoralized to realize that the people of Iraq weren't welcoming them as liberators with flowers and hugs, but as occupiers with improvised explosive devices and hostile glares. ... At that point, something in Marcus snapped. He simply no longer cared about the rules and regulations created by bureaucrats in suits sitting in safe, comfortable offices thousands of miles away, who had never looked death in the face or lived as a warrior like he had. He realized that such people had not earned their authority; that it was an empty, meaningless kind of power they wielded; that real power and authority belonged with the warriors who faced the life and death consequences of their decisions every day on the ground. Not that Marcus could have articulated his feelings so clearly at that moment. For him it was an instinctual realization, which instantly freed him from an invalid chain of command and compelled him to act; compelled him to be a hero – at least in his own mind. Marcus took the sheet from his bunk and laid it out on the Page 103 Tales of the Dark Knights floor. With a black sharpie, he drew a cartoonish black skull across the sheet. He gave it a rather disturbing, leering grin, then drew a thick circle around it. Admiring his handiwork with a grim smile, Marcus muttered: “the Skull-Face grins.” THE NIGHT OWL FLIES John Zane had always been a bit of an oddball. He never liked the company of other people much. Even as a child, he preferred to spend his time alone in the woods, drawing or in. quiet thought rather than out playing with friends. He always seemed to have trouble waking up for school; his parents often found him awake late into the night, drawing, reading or just thinking. They sometimes scolded him and tried to change his habits, but because he was also a child prodigy they mostly indulged him. It was all part of being a genius, they figured. Zane was a young man of many talents, but what he really excelled at was ... Zane’s Dark Awakening came on September 11 th, 2001, when his older brother was killed in his office on the 86 th floor of the second World Trade Center building. His brother Marcus had been his hero as a child – the sort of well-adjusted, successful and popular person he often fantasized about being. When Marcus was burned alive in the blazing jet fuel on the terrible September morning, something inside Zane snapped, and what had been the eccentricities of a genius took a turn toward something much darker. ... There are a few who might accuse the Night Owl of being a creepy character – a vigilante, a role-player, a peeping tom, a fascist – but that wouldn’t bother him. As long as his enemies feared him, he was content. Skills: hypnosis, hunting, night vision, art, occult and religious knowledge Ideal: fighting terrorism, war and violent crime against the innocent. Sanctum: The Owl’s Nest. Located in a hidden alcove, high on Page 104 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends a cliff overlooking bay and city. Symbolism: Zane adopted the owl as a symbol, for its calm watchfulness, its wisdom, and its ferocity toward the “rats” who bring disease and disorder into his world. THE CREEPER CREEPS OUT “Hacker” TAO-CAT The man who calls himself “Tao-Cat” is a cat burglar with impressive skills an intriguing personal philosophy. He … Steals jewelry from the wealthy. Believes this is legitimate to restore balance of the Tao. He justifies his thievery to himself by recalling the words of Taoist sages such as Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching. These sages warned repeatedly against the accumulation of wealth, preaching that theft is a result of valuing treasure, and ostentatious displays of wealth brings about one's downfall. In Tao-Cat's mind, those who flaunt their obscene wealth on their bodies in the form of jewelry were violating the Tao, and by robbing them, he was restoring balance to the Tao and acting as an agent of the Tao itself. Tao-Cat's Sanctum is his garage, where he constructs tools of his trade, including grappling hooks made by welding together three large fishhooks. He also keeps photographs, maps, blueprints, newspaper articles and other material useful for planning his operations there. His secondary Sanctum is a rented storage space where he stashes jewels and cash. . The poster shown below is tacked on the back wall of the Sanctum. It lists several quotes from the Tao Te Ching which pertain to the Cat's chosen profession: Page 105 Tales of the Dark Knights There is no greater crime than desire. Not valuing wealth prevents theft. Keeping plenty of gold and jade in the palace makes no one able to defend it. Displaying riches and titles with pride brings about one’s downfall. Abandon cleverness, discard profit, and thieves and robbers will disappear. Greed is costly. Assembled fortunes are lost. Who has excess and supplies the world? Only the one who follows the Way. THE RISE OF RATMAN Despised, homeless, penniless, … could've laid down and died or become another broken, institutionalized ward of the state. But he had too much pride for that. His Sanctum is located in an abandoned sewer tunnel below the city. Ratman makes contact with the underground community that dwells there, enlisting them as his informants and operatives. NOMAD-1 A fugitive from the daytime society that wronged him, he Page 106 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends becomes a perpetual traveller on the fringes of society. “Never again will I settle down and allow myself to. become a target of governments, gangsters or corporations. I will wander the Earth a free man, without a fixed address, a permanent identity or a long-term occupation. I may be poor in society's eyes, nothing but a hobo, but I have the most precious thing, which is the birthright of all mankind: the freedom to wander into the next valley, without attachments to the settled life, the prisons and gilded cages called civilization. Thus, I consider myself the richest man in the world.” Rides rails, stows away on ships, hitches rides, Page 107 EPILOGUE . Page 108 APPENDIX A: RECOMMENDED READING COMIC BOOKS Batman #431: Batman journeys to the East, trains with Master Kirigi. “The Man Who Falls”: V for Vendetta, Alan Moore. The character “V” in Alan Moore’s famous graphic novel is an example of a more radical type of Dark Knight. Unlike Batman, who is an ally of the authorities and a promoter of law-and-order, V works against the existing order of society and is basically an anarchist and a terrorist. Yet V is surely a Dark Knight, who wears a mask and becomes a powerful symbol of resistance to an oppressive political system. V’s traumatic experience was being subjected to medical experiments as a prisoner that killed everyone but himself, . Page 109 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends whom they gave super-powers. He becomes a master of many physical and mental skills, devotes himself to the ideal of overthrowing the government, uses darker, violent methods, builds a Sanctum called “The Shadow Gallery”, and keeps his identity secret. For aspiring Dark Knights who find themselves in oppressive circumstances, V offers a very different role model from the likes of Batman that may be more appropriate. Other comic book characters who fit the Dark Knight archetype include Moon Knight, ... The Shroud. THRILLER FICTION ERIC VAN LUSTBADER The Ninja Shan Shibumi, Trevanian. A brilliant novel about the making of Nicholaï Hel, a master assassin raised in Japan who becomes the world’s most feared professional killer. In many ways, this is a Batman myth for adults; Hel is no generic Bruce Wayne hero, but an eccentric aristocrat, lover, artist, spelunker and Samurai with a strong sense of honor. Shibumi is one of those rare books, and Hel one of those rare characters, who can truly change your outlook and inspire you to pursue a more heroic, authentic path of life: the Dark Knight’s path! Death of a Citizen, Donald Hamilton. In this novel, “counter-assassin” Matt Helm is a retired Dark Knight, with memories of his heroic exploits as an assassin in the Nighttime World of World War II. Now back in the Daytime World of middle class American life, he is pulled back into the Nighttime World of Cold War international intrigue and assassins. Matt Helm thus becomes a “born again” Dark Page 110 The Dark Knight Mind Knight; he undergoes a second “death” as an ordinary citizen and returns to the heroic and dangerous path of the Dark Knight. The first in a series of 27 excellent novels about the gritty exploits of super-agent Matt Helm. THE SHADOW JASON BOURNE The Bourne Identity (and sequels), Robert Ludlum The Bourne Legacy (and sequels), Eric Van Lustbader Jason Bourne is a classic Dark Knight, with a tortured past, a. mission of justice, incredible willpower and almost superhuman skills. Bourne’s first Traumatic Experience came during the Vietnam War, when his wife and children were killed by an unidentified fighter jet. Filled with rage at this injustice and seeking revenge, his Threshold Crossing came when he met a mentor name “Delta”, joined the secret mercenary organization Medusa, and was trained as an assassin. Like the League of Shadows in Batman Begins , Medusa turned out to be a criminal organization, which became Bourne’s nemesis after his second Traumatic Experience: the killing of his brother by Medusa assassins. Bourne would undergo another major trauma when he suffered amnesia after nearly being assassinated, and was subsequently hunted throughout the world by the covert agency that once employed him. While often over the top, the Jason Bourne novels (and films) are very entertaining and have many interesting details that anyone pursuing a “spy”, “assassin” or “international fugitive” type of Dark Knight persona can take inspiration from. THE EXECUTIONER Mack Bolan is an archetypical “dark avenger” type of Dark Page 111 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Knight, who becomes as ruthless as the criminals he fights in order to wage his “holy war” against the Mafia. Bolan’s Traumatic Experience came when he learned that the Mafia had forced his sister into prostitution and driven his father to murder his own wife and daughter. Using the skills he acquired as an elite special operations soldier in Vietnam, Bolan targeted the mob in cities across America. To better strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, Bolan created his “Executioner” persona, complete with a fearsome “blacksuit”, a marksman’s medal calling card, and a mobile Sanctum called the “war wagon”. Grandmaster, Warren Murphy and Molly Cochran Tulku, Stephen K. Hayes ESOTERIC FICTION The following are examples of “Esoteric Fiction”: stories that are presented as factual accounts of the adventures of individuals who experienced powerful inner awakenings, but which are generally considered to be fictional (or at least highly embellished). Carlos Castaneda Deng Ming-Dao Deng wrote an excellent trilogy about the adventures of a “wandering Taoist” who is inducted into an ancient lineage of Chinese Taoist hermits. The three novels (The Wandering Taoist, Seven Bamboo Tablets of the Cloudy Satchel and Gateway to a Vast World) are collected as Chronicles of Tao: The Secret Life of a Taoist Master. Deng does for China's ancient Taoist esoteric tradition . what Lobsang Rampa does for the Tibetan tradition: give us a glimpse into ancient magical world before it was disrupted by the upheavals of the 20th century. Deng explores the secrets of everything from Taoist philosophy and Chinese history to Page 112 The Dark Knight Mind meditation, Qigong and Kung Fu. Lobsang Rampa Lobsang Rampa wrote an entertaining series of novels about the past life of a Tibetan lama who has been reincarnated as a … in 20 th century Britain. Beginning with The Third Eye , Rampa takes us into the magical world of old Tibet, before the Chinese invasion and its opening to the modern world. While widely considered pure fiction, like Castaneda's books, Rampa's are full of fascinating details about an ancient mystical tradition, and contain much esoteric wisdom that should stimulate your curiosity and stretch your imagination. The Magus of Java, Kosta Danaos The remarkable story of John Chang, reputed to be the master of an ancient Taoist discipline that has given him the ability to start fires, move objects and communicate, directly with his mind. This book may convince you that the superpowers of the comic book heroes are real, and available to those few with the will and vision to seek them out. Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Tao Wizard, Chen Kaiguo, Zheng Shunchao, Thomas Cleary Meetings With Remarkable Men, G. I. Gurdjieff. NON-FICTION The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell Hagakure (The Book of the Samurai), Yamamoto Tsunetomo A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy, Miyamoto Musashi The Spiritual Practices of the Ninja, Ross Heaven. When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chödrön A Masters Guide to the Way of the Warrior, by Stefan Verstappen Page 113 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends Seven Years in Tibet, Heinrich Harrer The amazing true story of a champion German mountain climber who is imprisoned by the British during World War II, escapes across the Himalayas into Tibet, where he becomes a tutor and friend of the Dalai Lama. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T. E. Lawrence. . Anyone who has seen the film “Lawrence of Arabia” knows this story: An eccentric British ... who ... in Arabia ... Lawrence had many traumatic experiences ..., including a stay in a Turkish prison, that transformed him from an eccentric British scholar into a legendary figure whose exploits helped transform the Middle East in a way that is still reverberating today. Beasts, Men and Gods, Ferdinand Ossendowski. The incredible adventures of a Polish journalist in the Nighttime World of Russia and Mongolia in the 1920s. Ossendowski experiences the true darkness that lurks in the hearts of men, unleashed in all its horror during the Russian Civil War. His Threshold Crossing comes at the end of the book, when he encounters a Tibetan Buddhist mystic who tells him about the Shambhala ... Particularly interesting was his account of Tushegoun, the “avenging lama” – a Dark Knightlike fighting monk and sorcerer who struck terror in the hearts of his enemies. The Long Walk, Slavomir Rawicz The unbelievable account of a Polish army lieutenant who escapedfrom a Siberian Gulag in 1941 with six other people and proceeded to walk 4000 miles through the Gobi desert, Tibet and the Himalayas to reach British India. The hardships and adventures the party endures are a true Dark Knight's journey that should inspire anyone on this path. The 2010 film The Way Back is based on this story. The Falcon and the Snowman and The Flight of the Falcon No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, by Hiroo Onoda Page 114 The Dark Knight Mind MOVIES Batman Begins The Dark Knight The Dark Knight Rises The Shadow Bourne Identity … . Page 115 NOTES Dark Knight. Master of Darkness. Dark Avenger. Dark Jedi. Black Hat. Shadow. Batman. Phantom. Punisher. There have been many names for individuals we call Dark Knights in fiction and in fact, but they all refer to the same breed of men. In history, there are many examples of real orders of Dark Knights: samurai, ninja, Hashashin, holy warriors, Knights Templar, Shaolin monks, old Western lawmen, bounty hunters, special forces soldiers, snipers, ... and untold other warriors, known and unknown, who faced the darkness within their own souls and the souls of others, conquered their fears, and became something more than ordinary men. Four Gates to Freedom (ninja): courage, power, clarity of vision, zest for life (spirit) Initiations to pass through four gates: Walking on coals (fear) Finding a treasure in a hidden cave (power) Jumping into an abyss (clarity) Wilderness vision quest (spirit) THE DARK KNIGHT SPIRITUAL JOURNEY The following was written by a Dark Knight ...( the esoteric side of the Dark Knight’s Journey) Page 116 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends . The Dark Acolyte must journey to a place mystics call the Dark Land: a spiritual realm accessible from the depths of your soul, where you’ll encounter the things you most fear, hate and shun. The Dark Land is a mysterious, elusive place not found on any map; entrances to it normally only appear after great personal traumas and trials. The Dark Knight’s journey begins with your entrance into the Dark Land, via the Traumatic Experience that begins your Dark Awakening. The rest of your journey is about learning what you can in that pathless land, finding a way out, ascending to the Realm of the Immortals, and bringing your knowledge of both realms back to the Daytime World. Note that unlike religions like Christianity or Islam, in the Dark Knight Path you do not end up in Hell or Paradise depending on your conduct in the mundane world. Rather, you begin in the mundane world, pay a visit to Hell (the Dark Land), ascend to the heavens (the Realm of Heroes), return to earth (the Daytime World) as a demigod, then retire and dwell for eternity in the Realm of Heroes. Ninjas In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne received his Dark Knight training from “The League of Shadows,” an ancient order of ninjas based somewhere in the mountains of East Asia. And this is fitting, because historically, ninjas are perhaps the closest thing to archetypal Dark Knights: shadow warriors, masters of martial arts, stealth, deception, theatricality, resilience and fear. ... Ninjas practiced kyojitsu: the art of deception. The idea of kyojitsu is to control your opponent’s perceptions, to create illusions that induce him to act in predictable ways. This allows you to anticipate their responses, and counter them. Kyojitsu might be as simple as a feint in hand-to-hand fighting, and as complex as a ... in a war. Page 117 Notes Kyojitsu served another vital purpose for the ninjas: it gave them a larger-than-life reputation, as superhuman, supernatural warriors capable of doing the impossible. Even today, centuries after their heyday, we see the legend of the ninjas continue to grow. Surely every aspiring Dark Knight legend can learn much from the ninja masters of deception! BRUCE WAYNE’S JOURNEY (NOTES) Trauma: parents killed Awakening: reality of crime and corruption in Gotham Leaving Daytime World: Bruce travels world Meeting Mentor: meets Ra’s al Ghul Crossing Threshold: travels to LoS monastery Purging Fear: trial of darkness and bats Test of Commitment: executing criminal Transcending Training: escapes the monastery . Revelation of Symbol: sees bat, becomes Batman Developing Persona: batman costume, gadgets, etc. Applying Knowledge: begins fighting crime in Gotham Great Test: defeat major foe PERSONAL TRANSFORMATIONS The Dark Knight’s journey can be described as a series of personal transformations, from less powerful and awakened states of being to more powerful and awakened ones. Sleeper: Most of us begin our journey as “sleepers”: people who live according to the conditioned values and myths of the society in which they are born. They Sleeper -> Adventurer -> Warrior -> Magus -> Legend Page 118 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends DARK KNIGHTS IN FICTION The Dark Knight Path is inspired first and foremost by the great “dark heroes” and “dark avengers” of fiction. Batman is the most obvious of these, and the first one to actually be referred to as a Dark Knight. In particular, we model ourselves on Batman of the “Dark Knight” movie trilogy: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and the Dark Knight Rises . This masterful series brought the Dark Knight’s journey to cinematic life, and gave the world a powerful new myth for our time: the Legend of the Batman. The Batman comics that inspired the films are another source of inspiration: the original dark avenger from the 1940s, invented by ...; the dark detective and ... from the Denny O’Neil/ Neal Adams comics of the 1970s; the darker, edgier Batman of Frank Miller’s “Legends of the Dark Knight” ... in the 1980s and continuing to the present. ... The Shadow is another important fictional Dark Knight worth studying, since he was such a clear inspiration for the Batman. Like the Caped Crusader, the Shadow wears a dark cloak and masks his face; he uses fear, theatricality and a larger than life image to terrorize criminals; he spent years in the East among hidden masters, studying mysticism and martial arts, learning the secrets of hypnotism, invisibility and “clouding men’s minds”, then putting these powers to work fighting crime. Like Batman, the Shadow was a wealthy playboy by day, who employed ingenious gadgets and had a secret “Sanctum” beneath his mansion from which he directed his campaign against crime. There are many other fictional role models for Dark Knights worth looking at. Mack Bolan of The Destroyer novels and the Punisher of comic books are classic “dark avengers”, who had loved ones murdered by criminals and turned themselves into ruthless vigilante supermen. Many fictional spies and assassins also fit the Dark Knight archetype: Jason Bourne, Matt Helm, Quiller, ... Nicholas Hei of Trevanian's great novel Shibumi is a brilliant example; … Eric Van Lustbader created several . Page 119 Notes interesting Dark Knight characters that incorporate Eastern training and mysticism, such as Nicholas Linnear of The Ninja series, Jake Maroc of Jian and Shan and Michael Doss of Zero. In a somewhat different vein, the Character “V” of the V for Vendetta comics and movie provides an example of a more political, subversive type of Dark Knight. All these darker heroes have undergone life-changing traumas become larger life than life figures; men who are willing to kill and risk death in the service of their ideals. While their exploits may be somewhat far-fetched and unrealistic for you to try to imitate, they can still serve as powerful role models and sources of inspiration on your path. THE JOURNEY EAST In the East, there is a long tradition of larger-than-life, perfected men – Bodhisattvas, yogis, lamas, monks – who trained themselves relentlessly in various esoteric arts and acquired seemingly superhuman powers. ... The Journey East, or myth of “Shangri-La”, is really a metaphor for the journey inward – the quest to acquire inner, occult, mystical knowledge, or seek perfection, in a way that is unavailable in the West. This surely explains why so many fictional superheroes have travelled East, to remote temples and monasteries, where they learned ancient secrets and acquired fantastic powers under the tutelage of mystic masters. Many fictional Dark Knights ...– Batman, the Shadow, Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Nicholas Linnear ... – acquired their special knowledge in the East and returned to the West to apply it in the service of an ideal. ... LIFE LESSONS FROM BATMAN (From http://www.slideshare.net/bright9977/10-life-lessonsfrom-batman) 1. Build a better you 2. Find what drives you Page 120 Dark Knight Academy: The Path of Legends 3. The night is darkest before the dawn 4. Be the hero we needed 5. It’s what you do that defines you 6. Be prepared for any eventuality 7. Always be kind to people 8. Always think about others before yourself 9. Give and share knowledge freely 10. Humanity deserves to be saved LESSONS FROM DARK KNIGHT: . http://www.slideshare.net/thinktank1987/10-lessons-i-learnedfrom-the-dark-kight Have a vision for your life Be a lifelong student Be humane (doesn’t kill enemies or use firearms) Synergize (team up when necessary) Become an active citizen Be the leader Be the legend Be the best detective (observe & study) Think strategically (backup plans, preparation) Keep on mentoring (your ideas will live on after you) LESSONS FROM DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: http://www.slideshare.net/RogerGomes2/leardhips-lessons-tolearn-from-the-dark-knight-trilogy Organizations should be built around ideas, not people Build great, everlasting legacies Actions matter more than intentions Trust people with the truth Trust the good in people You need to risk failure in order to succeed Page 121 Notes Don’t let failure destroy you Learn from mistakes DARK KNIGHTS Dark Knights are individuals who have devoted themselves to an ideal and become more than men. Dark Knights as fully realized spiritual beings who use physical training and crime fighting as spiritual tests of their material beings. .