Hi Ron, > So when people say you can drop subject object distinction, I say you > can not drop it all together. > Pirsigs exact words are ""Zen Buddhists talk about 'just sitting,' a > meditative practice in which the > idea of a duality of self and object does not dominate one's > consciousness. > What I'm talking about here in motorcycle maintenance is 'just fixing,' in > which the idea of a duality of self and object doesn't dominate one's > consciousness. When one isn't dominated by feelings of separateness from > what he's working on, then one can be said to 'care' about what he's > doing.(ZMM, Chapter 25) > > Not Dominating one's consciousness, hardly "dropping" it. When people > glibbly talk of being caught up > in SOM I argue we are all caught up in SOM we are emmersed in it. The > intellection of Quality > is not allowing duality to dominate consciousness.
Admittedly I haven't been following your discussion with SA and David all that closely, but for what it's worth I agree with the thrust of your argument here. As I've argued with Ant, it seems that some here as well as Pirsig will bring the mystic viewpoint into the conversation when it seems to suit them while at the same time denying that the mystic viewpoint is of much use in the "everyday world" where we ride motorcycles, drink beer and pick up bar ladies (assuming we're not married of course). I don't know about them but the everyday world to me is the "real" world where I live, love, paint and will eventually depart from. The mystic world of drugs, dreams and illusions is all very well if living in a monastery is your idea of the good life. Personally, like Pirsig, I'd rather be on an expensive boat cruising down the Hudson River eating steak and, when arriving in NYC, staying at the Ritz Plaza using money I've earned from my books. In any case, you are not alone in your assessment of "reality." Sometimes it's good to know you are not the only one who has no doubt that he is planted firmly on the seat of a speeding bike while enjoying the beauty of passing scene. Regards, Platt . Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
