9.24.2006

i read too

Some favorite thoughts from a book I'm almost finished with, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

"First you get the feeling, then you figure out why."
... what's there to figure out if there is no feeling?

"How could I meet him at the top of the mountain when I'm already with him?"
... is it possible to "meet" someone you are already with? If you look at the definition of meet, I'd say you can. In fact, I think finding someone you are already with would be quite a reward.

meet:
1: to come upon: FIND
2: JOIN, INTERSECT
3: to be introduced to

"The sun of quality does not revolve around the subjects and objects of our existence. It does not just passively illuminate them. It is not subordinate to them in any way. It has created them. They are subordinate to it!"

"He's here but he's not here. He rejects the here, is unhappy with it, wants to be farther up the trail but when he gets there will be just as unhappy because then it will be 'here.' What he's looking for, what he wants, is all around him, but he doesn't want that because it is all around him. Every step's an effort, both physically and spiritually, because he imagines his goal to be external and distant."
... we all see this "he" everyday, everywhere. I try not to be this person, but sometimes it happens. Uggh.

"A photograph can show a physical image in which time is static, and a mirror can show a physical image in which time is dynamic, but I think what he saw on the mountain was another kind of image altogether which was not physical and did not exist in time at all."

Lesson 3: Sometimes it's a good thing to put down the camera and process.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey, I'm just about to finish Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as well! I'm really loving it and writing down my favorite parts too.

Enjoy!