Struan, Platt, Kevin, Roger, David T, Jonathan and Y'all:
"Faith is believin' what ya know ain't so." Mark Twain.
I'm desperate to believe that my postings on mysticism have been read
and comprehended by anyone in the group. I'm convinced that a 5th level
could evolve, but am certain that Pirsig already has a place for
mysticism that is beyond the static levels. But that whole issue is
completely beside the point. In my view, putting mysticism on any static
level only demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of mysticism and/or
the MOQ.
Struan and Platt continue to insist on the pop-culture version of
mysticism and make their arguements based on that distortion. (Hippies,
drugs, old religious forms, etc..) They and others seem to willfully
ignore everything Pirsig says about mysticism, which he refers to dozens
of times throughout Lila. I should point out that the word "metaphysics"
also has a low-quality pop-culture definition, but we don't dismiss
Pirsig's work because of it. Anyone can do a web search on either word
and come up with a lot of trash. But if one sifts through the hits on
either topic, ideas related to Pirsig's MOQ will be found. One of the
best matches I ever found was discovered by searching for "mysticism"
AND "phenomenology" AND "synthesis". But I also found a bunch of new age
garbage in the same batch. Literacy and discretion are all that's needed
to tell the difference.
The average American knows as much about religion, as the Average
seven-year-old knows about reading and writing. The U.S. is the most
religious nation in the industrialized world, by far, and yet the
average citizen has the equivilant of a second grade eduction in
religion. So, it's no surprize that I'm seeing so much confusion and
hostility with respect to mysticism. Am I supposed to conclude that no
one here has any ideas about mysticism outside of the MOQ?
No, that would be going too far. I've read some good stuff. But the
level of ignorance exprressed on this topic is really quite frustrating.
Is anyone persuaded to search out respectable versions of mysticism, or
have I just insulted? I've tried to be nice about it, but that doesn't
seem to work. Struan is a strong and clear thinker and Platt has
provided really really good stuff in the past, but when it comes to
mysticism they know less than nothing.
David T - Asked what role faith has in the MOQ. I don't like the word
at all. I've never heard a definition of the word that did not imply
some kind of suspension of critical thought. Faith is a word used by
people who would like to dismiss all the facts of the world which might
threaten their beliefs. It's used to defend literal interpetations of
scripture against logic, reason, history and genuine spirituality.
The short answer; Faith has no place in the MOQ.
The enabling tradition is another matter. To ignore the traditions of
one's culture is a denial of patterns of value that are within the
individual. To cut one's self off from these traditions is like cutting
off a limb or removing an organ. I guess the trick is to see the value
behind those patterns and learn to appreciate their meaning in your own
existence. The trick is to recognize the heart and soul of tradition
rather that just submit to ancient habits. Cause we all know some
traditons should remain in the past. (Like taking the foreskin of baby
boys, for example. Or eating pork and shellfish. The point is to be
healthy, there's nothing inherently evil about oysters and lobster.)
Jonathan asks, "On what static level does intuition exist?" I'm not
suggesting that there is some absolutely correct answer to this
question, but I raised the issue as part of a larger point. Living
beings like us participate in all the levels simultaneously. It seems
that we, as biological organisms, can respond to experience by instinct.
It seems junping off of the hot stove is an instinctual response, an
immediate perception of and reaction to physical danger. At the social
level there is intuition. This serves tell protect the organism too, but
from different kinds of dangers that are percieved at a social level. It
seems we all have a natural ability to sense the motives and intentions
of others. Intuition tells us "watch out for that guy, he's not honest,
or sane." Intuition tells us she might say yes if you ask her out for a
date. Intuition tells us we'd be happy if we took that job or joined
that club or made friends with that neighbor. At the intellectual level,
this same kind of thing is best described by words like insight and
inspiration. Insight is an intellectual realization that doesn't rely on
working out a solution step by step. It is that feeling of "Ah ha! now I
get it!". One could call it an epiphany. Inspiration is related to
insight, but the former has a creative connotation and suggests an
artful expression of those insightful realizations.
The larger point is that static patterns at all levels are always
getting little bits of help from Dynamic quality. It the same force that
is at the cutting edge of reality. Its the same force that has evolved
the entire universe. Instinct, intuition and insight don't exist at any
level, per se, but they are words that describe the operation of DQ upon
the static patterns. These words represent DQ leading the static
patterns along through existence. The larger point is that while this
kind of extra-ordinary ability is related to mysticism, it is NOT
identicle with it. Mysticism is the abandonment of all static patterns.
Mysticism is not the growth or evolution of static patterns, it is a
transcendence of them.
If you're still clinging to the idea that mystics are just dreamy eyed
pot smokers, please do yourself a favor and get educated. Please
understand that I don't get to "decide" what mysticism means. I just
understand what it means. It's not my opinion that is important, it is
the actual meaning of the concept that is important. Don't take it from
me. And for god's sake, don't take it from pop-culture.
David B.
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