Dear Ian & others,
"...However, it should in no way be associated with that great body of
factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not
very factual on motorcycles either."-Author's note (Pirsig)
The only thing we can be sure of in a book whose title is admittedly
inacurate is that the book refers to its author. Indeed, The Library of
Congress publication data lists the book as being autobiographical. Not
that this means much. I've been in a library that Dewey decimaled the
book under: Montana; travel. I've recommended the book to a friend who
teaches sociology at a community college in Pennsylvania. He used the
chapter on motorcycle tools as a guide for buying automobile equipment.
To extend a metaphor: if the motorcycle we are working on is ourselves,
then the book we are reading is a projection of our own natures. On
first reading, I cheered at the intellectual gunning down of the
chairman. I thought that was what the intellect was for. To this day, I
believe that there exists enough information to prove or disprove most
anything. all that is needed is the will to believe.
In life we all go through negative experiences we'd like to bring back
something of value from. In this sense, Pirsig's book is not unusual.
William Burrough's "Naked Lunch" comes to mind.
Pirsig is a product of his culture though I suspect he would hate to
admit it. On page 74 of the Morrow Quill edition, he says, "In the
European cultures it (reason) is primarily a masculine mode and the
fields of science, law and medicine are unattractive
to women largely for this reason." This information is dated, especially
since American culture is largely founded on the European. I discern an
anti woman bias in "Lila" as well.
Page 128 offers the interesting little phrase, "cells coordinating
senses." Introspection shows us that the senses are uncoordinated. Look
at that car coming down the street. Listen to its engine. Wait a second!
The speed of light is so much greater than the speed of sound that the
car you see cannot be the car you hear. Sic probo.
I could go on & on. I understand one of us is reading, "The Meme
Machine." Since it doesn't square with Pirsig's views, I wonder...
Take care,
Jeff
A mind poet stays in the house. The house is empty
& it has no walls. The poem is seen from all sides, everywhere, at
once.-Gary Snyder
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