Hi.... my name's Michael.
I have been following some of the posts on mysticism (don't have time to
read them all) and have found the discussion most interesting... I have
recently been reading several books written by and about a prominent Jewish
mystic (who died in the 1930's) by the name of
Abraham Isaac Kook. I thought perhaps I might contribute to the discussion
by telling something about him and his writings.
A prolific author, he did not set about composing a systematic philosophical
system, but rather wrote daily in a notebook as an outlet for his feelings,
thoughts and experiences. Only later did scholars and students try to give
order to his work and attempt to derive its philosophical implications.
Kook described himself as "one with a poetic soul" and his writings are
written in a poetic style. Poetry, he said is "the most penetrating
comprehension, the most intimate within the dephs of the essence of the
concept. Something which is utterly impossible to prosaic understanding."
The ability of poetry to understand stems from the affinity of poetry to the
internal essence of reality, for reality is not "prosaic", but is has a
poetic nature itself:" Woe to him who wishes to destroy from life the beauty
of its poetry, for he destroys the entire essence of life and all its
truth."
In my reading, I have been struck by the similarity between ideas expressed
by Kook and those developed by Pirsig (despite their widely different
backgrounds). Here is some text from a book entitled "Poetry of Being,
Lectures on the Philosophy of A.I. Kook". The quotes are Kook's own words
(translated from Hebrew).
"The desire of being" for perfection and for greater power is evident in
human history in the development of human and spiritual culture.... "It is
just this basic force which propels all of the movements of creation,
evolution and the masterful machinery, which brings to fruition all its
powers in the whole world and in every avenue according to its own value.
And it is just this internal principle which motivates the cultural forces
in man, his parties and his nations, and it circulates among all creatures
without exception, from the smallest of parts in the most dull beings
through to the most exalted and lofty celestial worlds."
"Good" is everything which stengthens "the supreme moral tendency of being"
and "evil" is whatever impedes this process. The Divine "moral plan" thus
rules not only over "the spiritual laws of the world" but "its spark has
also not been extinguished in the physical laws, as the
Divine light which is garbed in the great general moral tendency of all
being, which also blazes its path in all the forces of nature that appear to
be carrying out their tasks as dead inanimate objects, without understanding
or aim."
The power of moral determination which man has "which we refer to as free
will" is but "an agency" of the improvement of being "whose quality is to
emphasize and reveal being in its most profound essence" But the category of
"choice" applies in reality to everything, and it is expressed in the
gradual particularization of the world...
"Each creature has, in accordance with its ability, a part in the choice,
and that is the basis for its betterment in the future... The hidden choice
is what acts on all those creatures where open choice does not reveal its
power. It prevails most at the differentiation of stages, whether physical
or spiritual, and even at the specification of kinds and species that are
far from the circle of life where, too, the Divine justice must run its
course."
(Echoes here of Pirsig's levels, although not stated explicitly. In other
writings, Kook does speak about conflicts between different levels of
existence as conflicts of value)
The special status of man in this development is only that the striving for
improvement which acts in nature... has, in the case of man, reached the
stage "of having revealed the ethical choice in its full character, which
stands before us in the human psyche."
These ideas are also reflected in Kook's thoughts on repentance:
"From the depths comes repentance, from so great a depth that the individual
human spirit is not a unique form in relation to it, but a continuum of the
grandeur of universal existence.... Pentinence is inspired by the yearning
of all existence to be better, purer, more vigourous and on a higher plane
that it is. Within this yearning is a hidden life-force for overcoming every
factor that limits and weakens existence."
(Sounds like the ability to go beyond constricting static patterns by
tapping into Dynamic quality)
Also, regarding evil, which Pirsig calls the negative face of Dynamic
quality, Kook says: " Had there not been the darkness, there would not have
been the constant impetus to elevation"
------------
Well, I hope some of you folks found this interesting. Even though the
language and terminology used are different, I think you can appreciate a
closeness in the sense of what both are saying.
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