[MD] A Fox Metaphysics

[Heather Perella]

Hello,

     Why would Pirsig say this?
     (Lila; Ch. 32)  "They already know about Indians.
 Their cup of tea is full.  The cultural immune system
will keep them from hearing anything else.  Phaedrus
hoped this Quality metaphysics was something that
would get past the immune system and show that
American Indian mysticism is not something alien from
American culture.  It's a deep submerged hidden root
of it.
     Americans don't have to go to the Orient to learn
what this mysticism stuff is about.  It's been right
here in America all along.  In the Orient they dress
it up with rituals and incense and pagodas and chants
and, of course, huge organizational enterprises that
bring in the equivalent of millions of dollars every
year.  American Indians haven't done this.  Their way
is not to be organized at all.  They don't charge
anything, they don't make a big fuss, and that's what
makes people underrate them."
    
     "...Quality metaphysics was something that would
get past the immune system and show that American
Indian mysticism is not something alien from American
culture." (quoted above)  So, what's American Indian
mysticism?  It's talking bears and snakes.  These are
images that are real.  They have life.  This is the
mysticism that Pirsig's says he hopes the MoQ will
show us, but why is that important?
     "... words (are) sculptors of space, as
turn-keys; liberators or jailers of the powers about
us.” (In the Spirit of the Earth by Calvin Martin). 
These words, perceptions, images and thus, any 'art'
of bears, beavers, foxes, and ravens, etc... are
actually powers that liberate these creatures.  This
to me reflects how the U.S., heavy on the Aristotle,
has downplayed imagination to just child's play.  The
imagination is much more than that.  The imagination
moves the world, has us be the keepers of the cosmic
story.  The imagination is the real event!  And when
we anthropomorphize and are naturopomorphized we are
actually participating in a real cosmic event.  When
has the imagination become something that is just fun
to play with?  The imagination actually opens real
events that are going on with us, and now we're
finally in tune.  We may begin to converse with foxes
- this Amerindian mysticism - why does Pirsig want to
show us this?  This is the mysticism Pirsig wants
quality to find?  When one passes by this U.S.
cultural immune system, and find this root mysticism
Pirsig hopes the MoQ will show us one will find out a
fox can talk and bear can give itself to us, by
choice, as long as we are courteous enough.  The MoQ
is to be a way to notice a fox metaphysics.  But what
does that actually mean?  You can't use you're U.S.
cultural immune system.  This is supposed to be
something that the usual pigeonholing just won't do.  

Thanks,
SA

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