Gurdjieff: Real Understanding

Among Gurdjieff's closest pupils there has been no unanimity as to how we are to understand his intentions. He made many confusing and contradictory statements that could not be attributed either to carelessness or to caprice. … He was well aware that the sense of satisfaction that overtakes our thinking apparatus when we recognize a formula that fits our mental patterns is a barrier to real understanding.

-- J.G. Bennett, from Gurdjieff: Making a New World