The community Qhapaq Inti Qala

These are the principles that guide the lives of those who walk with the community. They are not theory: they are a way of thinking, of feeling, of working and of being in the world, inherited from the ancestors and upheld in the practice of every day.

1. 01

   Chikiamuyuni

   · Knowing how to think

   It is developing a capacity for discernment; it is knowing how to think. Many people live only on gossip, on what someone said someone said; others fill their heads with fantasies, with a supposed quantum medicine, with positive energies, with orientalisms, with speaking ill of others. Andean spirituality will never be the same as Eastern spirituality, still less as Western: many of those cultivate only selfishness, individualism and mental illusions. Our ancestors left us teachings, and it is our duty to learn to discipline the mind — not with complicated and dangerous techniques, but with the respect for the word that they taught us. By speaking and saying right things we discipline the mind. The mastery of the word is in our tradition, the dialogue with all living beings, the affection, the respect and the love that must prevail in dialogue; keeping away from people who speak destructively or use foul words, and ceasing to listen to fatalism, complaint and suffering.

2. 02

   Chullq'ichuymani

   · Noble feelings

   It is to have noble feelings, a manifold empathy. Sacredness begins there. Our grandparents received advice with love, our ancestors spoke with love, they shared what they produced with love, they expressed their emotions openly; there were no prejudices, flaws or taboos to deprive them of their emotions. Every living being was treated as if it were their own wawa: a child, a mother, a brother, a grandparent, a father. We are all family — a family of living beings.

3. 03

   Q'apa amparani

   · Working hands

   It is discipline: our activities must keep pace with our feeling-thinking. To be always industrious, helping, working, doing something. The hands should never be empty, doing nothing; a person should always be carrying out some activity or learning to do something.

4. 04

   Chijjtañani

   · Being attentive

   It is being attentive to everything nature teaches us. Attentive to what happens around us, attentive to our dreams. Attentive so as to help whoever needs it. Attentive to the teachings, attentive to intuition, attentive to our body. Attentive to the home. Attentive on the pilgrimages. Attentive to the signs of the weather.

5. 05

   Jaqi qanqañani

   · Living as people

   To live as people, decently, not as cattle: that is what the ancestors teach us. To live as people is to be conscious of one's surroundings, of the community of living beings. We are a cosmic family, a universal family; a person is not a separate individual, they are always connected, interdependent with their surroundings. That is why one must lead a ceremonious life, of respect towards all living beings. In these times of crisis of personality and social crisis, it is right to discern what does harm and to step away from people who do harm.