> Hello LS,
Dynamic and Static Quality, it has been really interesting reading all your posts, sometimes I get the
feeling that Mr. Pirsig has 'impersonated himself', that he could be any one of you writing to us.
I would like to begin my post with a few words, which come up a lot in the MOQ vocabulary and sometimes
they confused us, somehow. Here is some of them:
1.- Codes
2.- Levels
3.-Patterns
4.- Value
5.-Stagnation
6.-Latching
7.-Degeneration
8.- Arete
9.-Dhyana
10.-Rta
11.-Dharma.- Dharma is Quality itself, like rta means 'what holds together'. See more on p 446 chapter 30.
That's just to mention a few. I would like to look at 'codes' as used by Mr. Pirsig on chapter 24, p. 351:
"The Metaphysics of Quality says there are not just two codes of morals, there are actually five:
1)Inorganic-chaotic
2)Biological-inorganic
3) Social-Biological
4) Intellectual-social
5) Dynamic- static
The last, the Dynamic-static code, says what's good in life isn't defined by society or intellect or
biology. What's good is freedom from domination by any static pattern, but that freedom doesn't have to be
obtained by the destruction of the patterns themselves."
That last code #5 "Dynamic - Static", is the one I would like to beam my attention to. I would like to try
to separated from the other four, it won't be easy, but I will try. The reason is, that I think that this
level is imbedded in the other four levels, and as mentioned by David Buchanan 'LET THE COBBLER SLEEP' for
now on those levels. Are you with me? Is anyone?
The Fifth level has the clues to 'creativity and balance'; creativity being equal to Dynamic and balance
equal to Static.
Let's just assume that this code works imbedded within every one of the previous four levels, and move on
to the FIFTH level and 'see' how it works there. There by 'itself'. This is the only level where you get a
'get out of jail card' in fact you get an infinite amount of cards to get out of jail. The reason I say
that is because, is the only level where you can DESTROY the static patterns of value and get away with
it. In fact, you are encourage to brake from those patterns (if you must), in order to be creative.
As David B, outlined from Diana's post " You have to shut out...whatever you are thinking about before you
get there". It is a estate of deep meditation. And, please don't think I am getting 'fancy' or pretentious
here. [For example, as the mother of a Teen, I see a lot of these "stare", "attending", "dum-look",
"day-dreamming", on my own Teenager as well as in a lot of her peers. A lot of parents, myself included
(at times), seem to worry a lot about it and think that there is something wrong with the Child. I would
say 'let that child be', he or she is in deep meditation]. Back to the idea of 'you have to shut
out....'; M. Scott Peck, outlined a technique called "bracketing" in his book 'The road Less traveled'.
In there he outlines "Bracketing is essentially the act of balancing the need for stability and assertion
of the self with the need for knowledge and greater understanding by temporarily giving up one's self __
putting one's self aside, so to speak__ so as to make room for the incorporation of new material into the
self. Also, such discipline has been well described by the theologian Sam Keen in To a Dancing God. New
York: Harper & Row, 1970.
With all of these in mind, I will like to link what I just mentioned to another of Pirsig's ideas 'The
fundamental purpose of knowledge is to Dynamically improve and preserve society.' Why do we need 'that
creativity' and 'that balance'?, Why not just run naked and eat coconuts and bananas out of the trees? The
answer is in the previous sentence.
For all we know all of this happens at every level. Such an example of the Dynamic-Static codes in the
lower levels:
1.Inorganic-Chaotic.- Carbon atom bonding.
2.Biological-Inorganic.- The cell Dynamically inventing animals to preserve and improve their situation.
3.-Social -Biological .- The animals Dynamically inventing societies.
4.-Intellectual-Social.- Society Dynamically inventing intellectual knowledge for preserving and building
a better human condition.
Now for the BIG-One, the fifth level:
5.-Dynamic- Static.- I think this is a statement 'under construction', we are constructing 'it' during
this month discussion.
Pirsig explains this level very well, but in a very broad sense. It is difficult to grasp the essence of
the concept in "A Statement".
The closest I get from Mr. Pisig's explanation and that has all to do with this level is on page 436-437
on chapter 30. He talks about the natural human process called Dhyana (in Sanskit). Which in our culture
is ambiguous to 'meditation.'
Dhyana is a place where you go to be alone and quiet. "dhyana is, an emptying out of all the static
clutter (bracketing) and junk (karmic garbage) of one's life and just settling into an under defined sort
of tranquility.
As mentioned by Pirsig "Philosophers usually present their ideas as sprung from 'nature or sometimes from
'God',....but is not accurate..... The logical order of things which the philosophers study is derived
from the 'mythos.' DHARMA combines freedom and ritual, it includes both Dynamic Quality and static Quality
without contradiction.
The fifth level static-Dynamic involves putting the static levels to sleep (bracketing). You master them
in such a way that they become second nature. You block everything out, and then whatever you experience
is part of Dynamic Quality. It is the ultimate experience. Ironically to see the world without the MYTHOS
is how one becomes creative. Once you have block everything out, you can sense endless possibilities.
Mythos are very reluctant to change, but if one 'sees' or 'knows' how it works, then one can benefit from
it.
..........."There in the center of the most monotonous boredom of static ritualistic
patterns the Dynamic freedom is found......". P448.
It is important to understand that the rituals, the static patterns are only a representation of Dynamic
Quality, not DQ itself.
Gestalt=Mythos. Prior to bracketing, before you get to a state of total relaxation, the things (gestalt)
you look inside of your mind is not everything, you become 'aware' that there is much, MUCH, MORE.
Sometimes you might get frighten, it is the unknown, you have never seen that before. You realize that
there is much more out there than pure thought. A sort of mental energy which helps you to create a
different escenary__A different Pictute___ . You ignore whatever is in your mind and then 'it starts to
happen', you become creative, after you ignore what's there you are alone with your SENSES. You always see
through the (Gestalt ) shapes and form of the world that surrounds you, the forms and shapes of whichever
society you belong to, makes you human. To go to a Dhyana state and come face to face with Dharma is to
see without Th. Mythos (the Gestalt of your culture), it is to go to your senses, and this is a condition
that cannot be kept very long.
In order to keep 'creativity alive' and the process going/ active, the idea will be to stop the Mythos
before it is exhausted and create another Mythos. If you can see only the Mythos, then you get stuck/trap
and cannot see anymore. [A good example here is how the extremist Muslims justify female circumscription,
you can see they are 'stuck' in the Mythos. The list of examples is endless].
The Dharmakaya light as well as dharma, is another term which belongs to this level, but please remember
that as far as we know it might well be 'embedded' in the lower levels. The Dharmakaya light is the
easiest to grasp because we have all seen it, we might not be aware of it, but think really hard and you
will come to that conclusion. You see it in live objects as well as living objects and you don't have to
be in a state of meditation to 'perceive it'. I would like to go on on this subject but I am running out
of time. (My husband is doing the dishes with that kind of noise and claps that tell me he is got enough
of me sitting down at the terminal, oh, oh, here he is, I better look smart and ready to quit, or
else,....).
Kidding aside, I would love to talk more about this area, even if nobody else says anything, it sure feels
good to write about it.
Ciao, Bello(a)s
Sean Felices,
Carmen.
>
>
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