Many thanks for expanding on a couple of points there, Arlo. I think your post
here is a vignette of clarity of thought which is the type of post that makes
this Discussion group worth reading. Anyway, without Platt to give a good
kicking to, any more (metaphorically speaking of course; as Craig carefully
observed in 2011, Mr Holden does indeed have a heart!), I'm glad to hear your
e-version of "East & West" is still being worked on. Northrop's clarity of
thought is - again - second to none.
Likewise, talking of ongoing projects, I need to upload the various MSU
material (such as Dave Buchanan's and my lecture) at robertpirsig.org sooner
rather than later. David and I are still both writing-up our respective
speeches but I think you'll enjoy them when they are finally published -
hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I do know that you (and Ian
Glendinning) were asking about this in December. I haven't forgotten about the
last installment of the AHP lecture either (just in case Andre is reading this
too).
Best wishes,
Ant
Arlo Bensinger stated February 5th 2013:
[Ant]
Isn't the primary use of the MOQ to improve the Quality of your life? There's
just a certain limit that pondering from the Dynamic perspective of the World
of Buddhas is going to take you. It ain't going to fix yer bike!
[Arlo]
I think this is spot on, Ant. Holding static patterns in the MOQ as, well,
"static" isn't about giving them metaphysical primacy but about how, as such,
they can improve your life. If the MOQ was just an updated Heraclitian "flux"
philosophy, I don't think it would have near the strength as it does to
actually improve the human condition. It may be that you can never step into
the same river twice, but holding the river's patterns as "static" affords us
the ability to generate navigational strategies, to build ships to explore and
transport people and goods, to build dams to generate electricity, to improve
our ability to fish and find sustenance in the river's bounty, to avoid dangers
such as flooding or back currents, to irrigate fields and plan for vacations. I
may never sit on the same motorcycle twice, but holding it as a constant (in
the MOQ sense) gives me the ability to travel across the country, to diagnose
and repair problems, to know that when I need my brakes they
are there. This is, of course, not the same thing as saying something has an
objective, or metaphysical firstness, as some seem to struggle with.
[Ant]
(Isn't Arlo finishing a project on an e-version of Northrop's "The Meeting of
East & West", btw?)
[Arlo]
He is, and he's a bit behind, but working slow and steady. But its good this
type of bridging is foregrounded, because I do not think Pirsig was simply
advocating Buddhism any more than Northrop was saying every one in the West
should become like everyone in the East. There are certainly important bridge
points (on both sides), and their philosophies are about a way of building
something better from the best parts of each. I certainly admire Buddhism, but
I think there is more to Pirsig's ideas than restating that philosophy. Its as
much about bringing Zen into motorcycle repair as it is about bringing
motorcycle repair into Zen. And I think that gets lost sometimes.
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/md/archives.html
